Words by Smiley Team
These days we are spoilt for choice when it comes to sustainable alternatives in the way we shop, bank, do business and go about our everyday lives. Energy is another area where more eco-friendly options can help reduce our carbon footprints.
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The UK’s Big Six energy providers, British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, Scottish Power, and SSE have tariffs that offer green electricity. But if you want green gas too you should look to suppliers that specialise in environmentally-friendly energy.
By switching your gas and electricity supplier, you can reduce your household’s carbon footprint, and by spreading the word you can encourage others in your community to ditch fossil fuels too.
The process isn’t difficult and should take just a couple of minutes. You only need to provide your postcode and details of the property you live in before selecting the energy deal that works best for you.
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To help you compare energy suppliers and select the most energy-efficient option for you, here are some of the UK’s most environmentally-friendly energy suppliers, ranked from the greenest first. This practical guide is based on how each supplier sources their energy, on the grounds that burning biomass is less sustainable.
Note that you can also find local green energy providers, which may be an even more eco-friendly option. These include Green in the North East of England, Bristol Energy and London Power.
The list also accounts for how each supplier produces its gas, on the understanding that offsetting is less sustainable than anaerobic digestion, which is best done with grass cuttings rather than animal manure.
Other factors not accounted for in this ranking include customer reviews and price. According to T3, the UK’s leading consumer lifestyle website, Bulb is the best overall. Their assessment is based on sustainability and tariffs, as well as consumer reviews.
Although not ranked the highest, Ecotricity is possibly the UK’s greenest energy provider. It offers 100% green electricity from wind, solar and hydro power. In addition, they are transitioning to sustainable gas made from the biomethane produced by grass clippings. The downfall is that it is a more expensive option.
For the second most environmentally-friendly source of energy, Green Energy UK is another good bet. It offers 100% green gas as well as 100% green energy, although this comes from less sustainable animal manure.
Like Ecotricity, the main drawback is the price difference. When T3 conducted its price comparison of green energy suppliers it found that the company was 38% more costly.
A newbie on the green energy scene, OVO Energy launched in 2009. It offers 100% green electricity besides 15% green gas from natural waste. They then offset the rest by supporting projects that reduce emissions and fight climate change.
At the higher price range, Good Energy offers 100% green electricity with positive customer reviews. Part of their electricity comes from biogeneration which is usually less sustainable, but they claim to follow only sustainable and responsible biogeneration practices. Ten per cent of their gas comes from biogas produced by farm waste, while the rest is offset.
Ranked as the best green energy provider in the UK, Bulb offers 100% green electricity sourced from wind, solar and hydro power. Ten per cent of its gas comes from renewable sources, bought from homes in the UK. The remaining 90% is offset by support for carbon reduction projects around the world.
Bulb offers just one tariff that varies according to rise and falls in market values and there are no exit fees should you wish to later switch away to another energy supplier.
Pure Planet offers green electricity from solar, wind and hydro power. It also offers green gas, but it is only deemed “green” because the company offsets emissions by investing in carbon capture initiatives. It has fewer reviews on TrustPilot, and so far these aren’t entirely positive.
Like Bulb, Octopus Energy offers 100% renewable electricity. This comes from anaerobic digestion, solar, wind and hydro power. It’s gas supply is nonrenewable but they offer advice for how you can ditch or offset your gas consumption.
Rated the best energy provider by Which? for customer satisfaction, Outfox the Market is one of the cheapest green energy providers. It offers 100% green electricity mainly from wind power. But, unlike others, it does not offer a supply of green gas.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
