GRAND DESIGNS LIVE 2012

EcoSwitch have been exhibiting at Grand Designs Live for the past few years but this year we are visiting all of the exhibitors for a change.

We are going on the last two days of the show – always the busiest and always the most expensive time to get in although we find it great value given what is on display inside. Normally tickets are £15.00 but Direct Line, the sponsors are putting them up for £9.00 if you input the following promotional code into the Grand Designs Live booking page:

DIRECTLINE

Incidentally, I saw an advert on the Grand Designs site with Direct Line giving 3 months of free home insurance which I think is a pretty good deal. Given that I’m a property manager part time, I need to get some new quotes so I’ll be checking them out. I’m doing an attic renovation in Edinburgh so need to look at Velux’s selection of roof windows as I need as much light up there as possible! So it will be interesting to see what deals can be had, particularly as Velux are a main sponsor of the event. I do love show specials. I’ve also been told to check out Econoloft for that purpose.

Our main reason for going as a company is to see green and environmental stuff and next year our intention is to group all of the green exhibitors together to create an easy to find and navigate ecozone. Grand Designs like the idea so we hope to be able to realise it.

So far, the show has over 500 exhibitors and is in its eighth year. You’ll find pretty much everything you need to if you want to create a new home from scratch – in terms of materials – or want to renovate or spruce up your home with the latest gear.

If you want to relax, you can book a Harrods lunch in advance on their site as well. You will likely see Kevin McCloud if you go on the 12 May 2012 because he is having lunch there with some lucky competition winners!

To book tickets at Grand Designs Live, visit their site at Grand Designs Live.

ECOVELOCITY

What is doubly impressive this year is the opportunity to cross the corridor and go into a completely different but very exciting exhibition called Ecovelocity- a show case of leading manufacturer’s environmentally friendly cars and now billed as the ‘UK’s biggest eco friendly motor show’. Everything from electric, to hybrid to economical in terms of tax, maintenance, fuel consumption and insurance. So make sure you see the latest cars on offer. Test drives are also available from Honda, Nissan, Peugeot and Chevrolet be sure to book your desired car to test-drive before the event.

EDF GREEN ELECTRICITY

It is worth mentioning that EDF are the main sponsor of the Ecovelocity event so they are giving some free tickets away this weekend if you hurry. They are right to sponsor the event – after all, electric cars are only as green as the electricity put into them! EDF are promoting their ECO2020 100% renewable electricity tariff on the site, so it is worth checking out if you want to sign up to that tariff. Apparently 35% of all pollution comes from traditional generation (more than cars and aviation combined) so it is the single biggest thing we can all do for our environment – switching to renewable energy without even having to put up solar panels or wind turbines, but if you can afford to do that as well, you’ll be true pioneers of the green movement! The codes to try on the Ecovelocity website only are as follows:

EDFCOMP

TCPCOMP

Both events are held at the ExCel exhibition centre in East London and easy to reach by the Docklands Light Railway.

Posted under Environmental News

For those of you who may not know, Rackspace is an international web hosting company, with offices across the globe including the US, UK, Netherlands, Hong-Kong and Australia. You may be checking them out and wondering whether it is worth the money to go with Rackspace? After all they have many large clients, a serious commitment to 24/7 customer service, a claim of 100% up-time (when most companies can only manage 99%) but is the hosting worth the money charged? From our recent experience – absolutely yes – and here’s why.

EcoSwitch were a client of Rackspace until last year when we thought it would be a good idea to see if we could reduce costs by moving to another hosting provider. Unfortunately it turned out to be a false economy – although the service was cheaper, the old adage applies ‘you get what you pay for’. Only a short time after switching our site to a new hosting provider, it went completely off-line. We clicked the ‘on-line’ customer service button but no-one answered, even when it was listed as being ‘online’. We sent e-mails with screenshots of our non-existent website alerting them to our site being offline, but even those fell on deaf ears. We then phoned their offices and the call was forwarded to a personal Orange Mobile answerphone with no subsequent returned call. You can make up your own mind about the level of (non-existent) customer service. The new hosting company did eventually get back in touch and apologized profusely (hence we don’t feel the need to now name and shame them), but by this time we had already decided enough was enough.

We had, by this time told Rackspace that we were moving back to them as soon as possible. Being an on-line social enterprise ourselves, the cost of the site being down for many days was substantial and something we could ill-afford.

BACKGROUND OF RACKSPACE MANAGED GREEN HOSTING AND WHY THEY WERE CHOSEN

EcoSwitch initially migrated its website to Rackspace in 2008 to trial their new ‘green hosting’. As an ethical, green lifestyle guide, we wanted to ‘walk the talk’ and make sure that our hosting was as green as possible. A lot of companies like to be ‘seen to be green’ but Rackspace have introduced a number of initiatives over several years that have helped keep them ahead of their competition. So what exactly is ‘green’ about Rackspace’s hosting? Below is a review of some of their initiatives:

REVIEW OF RACKSPACE’S GREEN HOSTING CREDENTIALS (WELL WORTH THE MONEY!):

In terms of Rackspace’s green credentials, they have introduced a number of measures:

1. Reduced energy consumption

Rackspace have installed the latest power efficient hardware including dual-core Dell AMD Opteron low voltage processors and Intel Xeon servers. These have SFF hard drives and DDR2 memory which means that they consume considerably less power.  Reducing energy consumption is a key component of any ‘green’  hosting data-centre and is the most important criteria in our opinion. With less energy consumption, there is obviously going to be less waste of our finite energy resources and consequently less pollution.

2. Creation of energy efficient facilities

Their new data centre in Slough comprises of 55,000 square feet of net technical space and been purpose built to ensure the efficient use of energy through the use of ambient cooling technology.  This power efficient cooling technology utilises the cooler outside air temperature where possible.

3. Carbon offsetting through Tree Planting

For every new customer that takes out Green Hosting, Rackspace plants a tree to help absorb some of the Carbon Dioxide generated from the equipment used to host each new website. Rackspace have planted over 11,000 trees in the UK, filling two sites in Pembrokeshire, Wales and another in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. Their third site is not up and running where they are currently planting 1,000 trees per year. In 2011, Rackspace commenced the planting of 10,000 trees in Kenya – trees in the Tropics are particularly effective at absorbing CO2 due to their year round foliage and the ideal growing conditions.

4. Employee education and implementation of internal initiatives

Rackspace use green cleaning products, paper from sustainable sources and recycle their aluminium, paper, cardboard and plastic. They have contracted a firm called PaperRound  to make sure this happens and the local council assist with this. The success of the program led to 2,130 kg of paper and 185 kg of cans and plastic bottles being recycled saving the equivalent of 25 trees or 10,900kWh of energy!

RACKSPACE’S AWARD WINNING  GREEN HOSTING:

Rackspace don’t claim to have the total answer but their ‘green’ initiatives are in their words ‘designed to support its commitment to contributing towards the larger environmental solution’. Rackspace were in fact the first hosting company to introduce greener hosting and their plan is to continue working hard to be as green as possible by introducing more initiatives.

In recognition of their efforts towards the environment, the prestigious Green IT Magazine awarded Rackspace ‘Green IT Operator of the Year’ award in 2010 and the Green ‘Team of the Year’ award in 2011. These awards provide a benchmark by which IT companies are measured in terms of their environmental performance. They reward companies that run energy efficient operations or are particularly good at sustainability communications – for example, making staff, customers and the supply chain more aware about green issues, initiatives, products and lifestyle products. Readers selected Rackspace from some 75 different entries.

WHAT OTHER FACTORS DID ECOSWITCH LOOK FOR IN A HOSTING COMPANY?

1. A DEDICATED SERVER – MORE SECURE AND 100% UP-TIME

Back in 2008, EcoSwitch asked for a dedicated server to ensure that we had 100% up-time and didn’t share with anyone else (apparently more secure). Both of these factors were very important to us. Even 1% downtime would cost EcoSwitch a fortune with customers being unable to switch to greener products and services.

The reason Rackspace are able to guarantee 100% uptime is because they have back up power generation in the event of power cuts. Similarly, they have informed us that they have never had a breach of security on any of their client’s websites since they commenced hosting operations. This is due to their formidable team of security specialists and their list of high profile clients whose privacy can not be compromised under any circumstances.

2. REPUTATION, TESTIMONIALS AND CLIENTS

It goes without saying that it is important to get client testimonials before switching to a new hosting provider. Rackspace have plenty – 170,000 customers globally to be exact as well as an impressive list of large corporate clients and organisations including Domino’s Pizza, the MOD, GoCompare and the  consumer ‘Which?’ Magazine.

3. A HIGH LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

Enjoy customer service teams that can help you with any technical query 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. As a Rackspace customer, you can go onto their website and chat with a live assistant at any time, you can raise a ticket online and they will answer your query without delay, you can get through to them on the phone anytime and can always email them if required. There are no long queues and they pride themselves on a the best service possible.

From experience, when an individual’s work depends upon the website and the internet, there is nothing worse than a website going down, being unable to send e-mails and being unable to get in touch with the website hosting provider to resolve the issue. Rackspace have got the service thing sorted. Just check out their website! They certainly give a strong sense that they truly care about their customers.

4. THE COST OF RACKSPACE CLOUD AND MANAGED HOSTING PACKAGES:

Rackspace’s ‘cloud’ hosting package is immensely popular with prices starting from £65 per month (prices as at 02/03/2012) the last time we checked (should be very affordable for small business) but if you are a medium to larger sized business or just want the best quality hosting you can get, go for their dedicated managed servers which are the Rolls-Royce of green hosting products starting from £598 per month.

There are other companies out there like Heart Internet, Fasthosts, the EcoHost and a few others that we researched, but they aren’t backed by the same quality or level of customer service, uptime and reliability as our friends at Rackspace. Thank goodness our website is back in safe hands and we recommend them highly to you and so do two other comparison services – the Which? magazine and Go Compare.

To enquire about Cloud Hosting products, visit Rackspace’s green hosting in the cloud.

To enquire about Managed Hosting, visit Rackspace’s managed green hosting page.

To enquire about Dedicated Green Server Hosting, visit Rackspace’s dedicated server hosting page.

Posted under Articles, Computer & Internet

E.On has just received planning permission from South Lanarkshire Council for the development of a 29.9MW wind farm consisting of 13 turbines able to power around 20,000 homes. The development, located on land at Dungavel Hill, south of Strathaven, Scotland, should help offset around 40,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide per year.

The permission granted by the local council will allow E.On to help the Scottish Government achieve its’ Green Energy Targets of 31% by 2011 and 50% by 2050. Ahmed Mulla, E.ON’s project developer for Dungavel, said:

“This is excellent news for us and another step towards helping Scotland meet its renewable energy targets.”

The scheme will also bring contract opportunities to local employers in the region. During the construction phase there are expected to be between 50 and 60 contractors working on site.

South Lanarkshire Council are also pleased as E.On have agreed to make a minimum contribution of £60,000 per year to the Council’s Renewable Energy Fund for the lifetime of the project.

In response to these community and social initiatives, Ahmed Mulla commented:

“We’re especially pleased the planning report recognised the benefits this project will bring to the local community and beyond.”

The above development is another positive development for E.On and another example of how a large multinational is now trying to make serious efforts to balance environmental considerations with the need to make profit.

The above development follows a similar announcement back on 07 October this year, when E.On decided to shelve plans for a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth. That would have been the first one built for three decades. But E.On recognised that Britain didn’t need another Coal Fired power station, particularly in light of the constant deluge of environmental pressure from a variety of organisations spearheading ‘The Big If and Give Coal The Boot’ campaign.

These positive environmental developments are increasingly helpful to E.On as their Environmental Performance is measured partly by the amount of energy that they source as a Company from Renewables. EU targets require the UK to source 20% of their overall energy requirements from Renewables by 2020. The latest Fuel Mix data provided by Suppliers indicated that E.On are sourcing 0.3% of their energy from Renewables so developments like Dungavel will only serve to help their environmental performance longer term.

Posted under Articles, Corporate, Electricity Generation, Gas & Electricity, Renewable Energy

Cut your consumption, cut CO2 emissions, save money, save energy and save our environment.

You can make your home or business more energy efficient by applying a number of simple energy efficiency tips. Not only will this cut your energy bill by up to 50%, but the planet will appreciate you reducing your CO2 emissions.

1. Turn down your Thermostat – save 10% on your energy bill.

Turning down your Thermostat by only 1 degree will shave approximately 10% off your energy bill. If it is too hot in the house, resist the temptation to open windows. Just turn the thermostat down and take some time to properly understand the settings on your heating system. When you go on holiday, turn the heating down to the minimum- enough so the pipes don’t freeze.

2. Switch off lights! As simple as that – save 10% on your energy bill.

Cut your consumption by switching off indoor and outdoor lights when not needed. It seems obvious, but the amount of energy wasted this way is colossal on a worldwide basis.

3. Replace your light bulbs – save 25% on your energy bill.

After Brussels declared back in March 2007 that old style incandescent filament bulbs would be phased out during 2009 (to help fight the battle against climate change), it would make sense to upgrade your lighting as soon as possible.

Incandescent old-style bulbs are inefficient because 95% of all energy used is converted into heat rather than light. They cost a bit more but last up to 15 times longer and will pay for themselves in about 6 months.

We recommend installing ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) or LED lighting. Phillips, Osram, Sylvania, General Electric or Greener Living energy efficient light bulbs are all good brands and switch on almost immediately (some new-style CFL bulbs can take a while to reach full brightness – annoying if you need light instantly so select carefully).

If you are a business, get rid of the outdated, inefficient T8 and T12 light tubes. These are costly in terms of energy usage and CO2 emissions. Replace them with high frequency T5 bulbs or LED bulbs. These don’t flicker when you first turn them on, save 70% on your energy bill (they use 4-6 Watts rather than 14 Watts) and have durability of up to 5,000 hours.

4. Switch off your appliances – save 5% off your energy bill.

It seems obvious, but flick the main cooker switch off when you are finished. Don’t leave Microwave ovens, Washing Machines and Dishwashers on standby. That will cut your energy bill by roughly 5% per year.

If you do buy new appliances, make sure you get A rated appliances which will save you money and the environment in the long run.

When you are using appliances such as your hob or oven, make sure you leave lids on pans as that cooks food faster and requires less energy. Microwaves also use less energy than ovens.

5. Switch off electronic equipment you’ve left on standby – save 10% on your energy bill.

Modern equipment, such as TV’s, DVD players, Digital TV Set Top Boxes, Internet modems, Personal Computers, Printers, Scanners and Phone Chargers amount to approximately 20% of an average household energy bill. About HALF (10%) of your energy bill comes from equipment left on stand-by or sleep mode losses – when the equipment is still connected to the grid but not in use.

6. Save energy and money using a Multi Plug Adapter.

Try plugging all of your multimedia equipment into a multi-plug adapter and then switching the whole adapter off at night with one switch. That will shut off all of that ‘standby’ power being consumed. Did you know that standby consumption of such equipment costs European citizens €15 billion yearly without really being aware of it? It currently takes 10 large 1GW power stations, producing 100 billion kWh per year to supply the ‘standby’ electricity needed.

7. Save energy and money correctly charging your mobile phone and laptop.

Mobile Phone – charge your mobile phone when you are awake so you can unplug it once it is full. Leaving it to charge overnight is wasteful as a phone typically only needs an hour to charge fully.

Laptop – to save energy and significantly prolong laptop battery life, make sure you plug it in as soon as the battery indicates it only has 5-10% remaining. When it is fully charged, unplug it straight away. This makes the battery work harder, thus preserving its life. A battery will last roughly half as long if you let it switch off due to running out of power and then leave it plugged in all the time when it is fully charged.

8. Invest in Cavity Wall Insulation and Roof Insulation.

You can buy Eco wool from many DIY stores which will insulate your roof and walls better. Up to 35% of your home’s heat escapes through the walls and up to 25% through the roof.  Alternatively contact your green energy supplier for advice and quotations where applicable.

9. Renewable Energy – Solar Thermal Panels and Wind Turbines.

Invest in Solar Thermal Panels on your roof as the hot water from these can be fed into your Boiler. This saves your boiler having to heat up cold water. The energy savings are substantial and Solar Panels will add to the energy efficiency rating of your home, as well as the value if you sell it. Fossil fuelled power is becoming increasingly expensive and Solar is now commercially viable.

Also consider looking into a domestic wind turbine although these work better in the country where they can be mounted in a position that gets a direct, uninterrupted wind flow – essential for efficiency and payback!

10. Energy Efficient Double Glazing.

It goes without saying that double glazing stops energy escaping from the house and makes a home quieter as well. If you haven’t had this installed, consider doing so as it will improve the energy efficiency of your home and will add value to it as well.

Make sure that you get lined curtains to cover your windows and draw them just before dusk to stop heat escaping. Try to keep curtains behind the radiators so that the radiators emit heat into the room. This stops the heat going behind the curtain towards the window.

Good luck with the above. If you need any advice or help, please contact at enquiries [at] ecoswitch [dot] com.

Please share your views and comments on how you save energy below. We’d love to hear from you and create a Top 20 or 30 energy efficiency tips to help others.

Posted under Uncategorized

Green Car: The New All-Electric Tesla Model S. Family sedan – range 300 miles

EVERY day, as I wake up, I see a layer of brown smog hanging over London. We are not alone. Every big city with a million or more people (we have six) has a pollution problem. It affects the quality of the air we breath and motivates us to fly more at this time of year – many of us trying to soak up fresh Alpine Air (if we are lucky).

We all know pollution, air quality problems, increasing CO2 levels and Climate Change are caused by the combustion of fossil fuels. One of the biggest contributors to Climate Change is the transport sector and the Government have now recognised this. Not only has Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently said that EV’s would be one of the key cornerstones of his economic recovery plan, but Mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled a plan to introduce 100,000 Electric Vehicles (EVs) and back the technology with the introduction of 25,000 charging stations in the capital.

The Government’s wholehearted backing of green car technologies comes at a historic and exciting time for green car companies in the U.K. And there are several green electric car manufacturers now that you should know about – if you care about the environment as much as we do!

TESLA MOTORS – LAUNCH OF ROADSTER, NOW THE SEDAN (pictured above)

In the two weeks following the launch of Tesla Motors new Model S – an all-electric family sedan that carries up to seven people and travels up to 300 miles per charge – over 700 reservations have been taken. Credit crunch or no credit crunch, people are flocking and backing green car technologies like never seen before. And the performance of the Model S is not just encouraging, but astounding – 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 130 mph. Yes it could go faster! To make your journey more comfortable, there is an inbuilt 17-inch touch screen with in-car 3G connectivity – meaning you consult Google Maps, listen to Pandora Radio or check the car’s state of charge remotely on your iPhone. The Model S can be recharged from any 120V, 208V or 240V outlet or quick-charged from an external direct current supply in only 45 minutes.

Two other cars, the Nice Megacity and the Reva L-Ion, both ‘city’ cars with a top speed of 50mph, are also proving popular.

REVA – L-Ion

Since 2001, India based Reva have sold over 2000 units according the New York Times. Initially, there were problems with the Reva after Jeremy Clarkson did a crash test and labelled it the ‘worst car in Britain’! Reva have now strengthened the car and have introduced new Lithium Ion technology that allows the car to travel 75 miles and reach a top speed of 50mph. The price tag varies between £7995 for the Reva I which uses lead battery technology and the latest Reva Lithium Ion which retails for £15,795. It is marketed through GoinGreen based here in Britain.

NICE Megacity

Similarly, the Nice Megacity is proving very popular. Not only does it sound amazing with its all electric sound, but it is manufactured in Europe (France) and is distributed from Nice Car Company’s Notting Hill base. The price tag on the nice range of cars is £8995-£14,000, so not unreasonable for the latest cutting edge technology. You can now book your test drive of the Nice Car at the Westfield shopping centre in London or if you live outside London, you contact them for alternative arrangements.

THE WAY FORWARD – WHAT SHOULD I DO?

I urge each one of us to do our bit and there is still time. Many people feel hopeless given the enormity of the Global Warming Problem but there is good news. At the recent Sustainability Summit at the Dorchester in London (which EcoSwitch attended), David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF UK, said it definitely wasn’t too late. If we all do our bit now – and many of us are warming up to the idea of tacking pollution and Climate Change – then we will mitigate the impact of Global Warming. We did it with aerosols and the Ozone Layer and we can do it again with Climate Change.

We can start with a switch to a greener car. If you can’t afford it yet, please save a bit each month so you can.

In the meantime, you can still do simple things which have a very positive effect on our environment, such as switching to a green electricity provider. Did you know that Power Stations in this country are responsible for an estimated 33% of all CO2 emissions? You can cut your individual 33% by switching to one of the genuine green energy companies – Ecotricity, Good Energy or Green Energy. You will then be ready to order your green car – remember electric cars are only as green as the electricity you put into them. So it is important to find a genuine provider as there are lots of ‘Green’ tariffs but they vary enormously in quality.

EcoSwitch.com will shortly be launching a comparison of the most genuine green companies (links above) to help you with the switch – and it should only take 5 minutes to apply.

Posted under Cars & Transport, Climate, Corporate, Gas & Electricity, Renewable Energy

The term green renewable energy is now being banded about Europe as more and more consumers realise the implications of Global Warming and switch to eco friendly energy providers. Green Renewable Energy refers to energy that comes from renewable and non-polluting sources such as wind, solar power, hydro, fuel cells, ground source heat pumps and other geothermal energy. It is believed that switching to Green Renewable Energy suppliers has a significant impact in the reduction of Global warming, rising sea levels and deteriorating air quality.

Domestic consumers, businesses and organisations are able to switch to green energy suppliers and there are a few genuine ones in the UK, for example, such as www.goodenergy.co.uk, www.ecotricity.co.uk. Switching is free and the rates are now very competitive with fossil fuel produced electricity generated by the more traditional energy companies such EDF, British Gas and Scottish Power. It should be noted that only 5.5% of all power generated in the UK comes from renewable resources, whilst companies such as Ecotricity and Good Energy produce 37.4% and 100% of their energy from green sources respectively. Although consumers can sign up to a green tariff from the traditional energy companies, companies such as EDF, British Gas and Scottish Power and E.On only produce 6%, 6.2%, 7.6% and 11.2% respectively.

Green Renewable Energy is growing in the UK as real growth of renewables is experienced and investor confidence is building. This renewed confidence has been helped by the introduction of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) in 2002. These oblige renewable generators to make an extra payment for every megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity they produce. Currently ROC’s have a value of about £45 or around $67US in today’s market which is helping the renewable energy industry. Whilst this small additional cost may get passed onto consumers, it is worth switching to a green renewable energy supplier to avoid the greater social and environmental cost longer term.

Good Energy Chief Executive Juliet Davenport said ‘The UK has to be brave. We have to explore new technology…let’s view this as an opportunity to secure our energy supplies, build our economy and, most importantly to preserve our environment.’

Posted under Gas & Electricity

Green Car Rental is now available from National Car Hire…but what is so green about National Car Hire? We all know that many companies claim they are ‘green’ when they often aren’t!

We went to find out at the massive World Travel Market held at Excel in London this week. In addition to numerous green hotels (which we will write about in due course), we found National Car Rental showcasing their multinational green initiatives in response to demand for cost-effective, environmentally friendly travel solutions. National were proud to announce that they were the first green car rental brand in the UK to add information on average CO2 emissions for each car group.

Were we impressed with this? Well, it is a definitely a positive step in the right direction and we would like transparency to be offered from all car rental companies in terms of what average CO2 emissions are for each car group.

The only thing they might do to further improve their green credentials (but this will take time) is introduce all electric cars which have zero emissions as long as your electricity supplier is also green. So make sure you sign up to www.good-energy.co.uk or www.ecotricity.co.uk if you are serious about reducing your emissions immediately.

So if you don’t already own the latest Lighting or GWiz All-Electric car and want to use a green car rental company, go with a high mpg green rental car such as those offered through National Car Hire. For information, the best cars are A or B Rated in terms of emissions. National have a full list of what they have available on their website and they have some excellent deals to. To take a look or enquire, we have enclosed a direct link below:

http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=1020&awinaffid=!!!id!!!&clickref=&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalcar.co.uk%2F

Posted under Cars & Transport

On 11^th November, Good Energy won the title of ‘Greenest Energy Supplier’ at the prestigious national Sustainable Housing Awards. The company beat other green suppliers, including Ecotricity, Green Energy and Energy4All, to the title due to their outstanding commitment to sustainable housing – including their award-winning home generation scheme.

The award comes just months after the Concerned Consumer Survey (2008) rated Good Energy top of the list as the preferred green electricity supplier in the UK.

On winning the award, Juliet Davenport, CEO and Founder of the company, said: “We are delighted to have been voted the ‘greenest energy supplier’ in the UK. At present, 30% of the country’s carbon emissions come from our homes, and this is where we provide solutions. By offering 100% renewable electricity and schemes rewarding renewable generators – both on heat and electricity, we are playing an active role in helping reduce emissions related to energy use at home, and it is fantastic that we have been recognised in this area.”

Posted under Environmental News, Gas & Electricity, Renewable Energy

If you are worried about the impact you may be having on the environment through the bank you use, switch to an Ethical Bank or Building Society.

Ethical or Green Banks as they are called, provide all the services of regular banks, are regulated by the same authorities and also have to adhere to the same rules. The difference is that they leave you feeling more positive about your savings and who you are dealing with.

When I first heard about Ethical or Green Banking, I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it. Were credit cards now being made of recycled plastic material or what?

After researching the market, I was pleased to find that the Co-operative Bank did launch a Greenpeace credit card in 1998 and this was the first non-PVC card to enter the market. Apparently, the Co-operative Bank is still working on converting all of its credit cards to non-PVC plastic but this takes time. Given all of the accumulated toxicity to our environment resulting from the manufacture and disposal of the billions of PVC Credit Cards currently in circulation, I think it is about time that all leading UK Banks started to help our environment by producing only non-PVC credit cards.

Aside from the PVC Credit Card issue, I sought to find out what Ethical Banking really means. EcoSwitch met with the Co-operative Bank at their Headquarters in central Manchester. The first thing that struck us was the fact they were really walking the talk by having a prominent solar tower on the skyline which contributes solar photovoltaic electricity for their offices. It was really impressive to see. When asked what was meant by Ethical Banking they informed us they have a range of products from Ethical Bank Accounts, to Loans, Investments, Mortgages and Credit Cards. I asked how these were ethical and whether they were genuinely ethical rather than being products covered up in a lot of ‘greenwash’! Yes, we all know some companies are guilty of this. But the Co-op reassured me that all of their investments, loans and other financial products are only given to projects that have a positive social or ecological impact. They explained that they have full transparency about the social and environmental projects that they finance. This allows their customers to see exactly where their money is going. I asked for examples and they provided me with a Bank Account Application Form. Although the form was quite long for a Bank Account application, it was thorough. I wasn’t allowed to be connected to the MOD in any way or be involved in any Arms Deals. The criteria used to separate genuine green and ethical customers from the other camp was clear. The Co-op were clearly interested in having only genuinely green and ethical customers rather than just taking on anyone. They brought my attention to their new ’Think’ Credit card. Not only is the APR very reasonable but it has some impressive environmental credentials- half an acre (yes I’m serious) of Brazilian rainforest is purchased and protected in your name when you transact on your credit card for the first time, plus a contribution of 25p for every £100 you spend on the card is made to Cool Earth who oversee the forest preservation project. You may have seen the Cool Earth.org logo around but they are fast becoming a leading organisation for the preservation of our rainforests.

After meeting with the Co-op, I sought to find out what other factors make Bank products Ethical. Rather than publishing all of my findings here which would definitely inundate you, I have decided to publish my relevant findings on each Bank and Building Society separately, in further articles.

In the meantime, if you want to feel good about who you bank with and want to find some competitive deals, I’ve posted some direct links for you below. The most prominent Ethical Banks are:

* Co-operative Bank

* Triodos Bank

* Charity Bank

The leading ethical Building Societies are:

* Ecology Building Society

* Nationwide Building Society

* Norwich and Peterborough Building Society

* Yorkshire Building Society

Posted under Corporate, Environmental News, Money & Finance