Challenger supplier Ovo Energy, which recently acquired the retail arm of SSE, has pledged to halve its customers’ carbon footprints by 2030.
At an event hosted at the Tate Modern in London last night (18 September) company chief executive Stephen Fitzpatrick unveiled Plan Zero – Ovo’s strategy to transform its business and cut carbon emissions.
The plan sets out how it will mobilise its customers to form a “zero-carbon community”, helping them halve their total lifestyle carbon emissions, and eliminate their household emissions by 2030 – two decades earlier than the government’s net-zero commitment. The company confirmed to Utility Week that the pledges would cover the customers it is assuming from SSE.
Plan Zero sets out 6 commitments to reach by 2030:
- Help customers halve their carbon footprint through mobilising them as part of a zero-carbon community and helping to reduce their lifestyle carbon emissions.
- Achieve net zero carbon operations underpinned by science-based targets set for emissions associated with powering and heating Ovo’s buildings and its fleet and offsets for the remainder.
- Optimise 5 million homes with flexible, low-carbon technology through the use of smart meters and by intelligently controlling smart electric car chargers and heating systems in ways that save customers money, reduce carbon levels and support the grid.
- Fight the climate crisis and advocate for greater action on climate change by ramping up advocacy and using the power of collective action.
- Unify staff around plan zero and be the “best company to work for in the UK” by ranking top of the UK’s Best Workplaces by 2030 as measured by the Great Place to Work programme.
- Take customers on its “low-carbon journey by being the most trusted company in the UK using customer Net Promoter Score (NPS)” to assess its performance.
Fitzpatrick said: “It’s clear we all have to work towards a world beyond carbon. It’s clear that government and business need to lead the way and take bold action or risk losing the trust of the people they serve. Plan Zero sets out how Ovo will play its part.
“Starting now, we’re going to be measuring ourselves not by how much energy we sell but by how much we move the dial on carbon. We’re mobilising all our customers to form a zero-carbon community and providing them with tools and services they need to help them eliminate the carbon emissions from their homes.
“Putting the needs of customers, employees, community and the planet first undeniably creates a platform for long term commercial success. It is with this knowledge that we begin our next chapter at Ovo, continuing our mission to power human progress through clean, affordable energy for everyone.”
Also in attendance was professor Mike Berners-Lee who is an expert on carbon footprinting.
He said: “Unless we radically improve the quality of our stewardship of the planet we will get ourselves into enormous trouble.
“We need to see a systemic change in the way businesses and individuals operate.
“We need to be pushing on all fronts. Ovo’s new direction and Stephen’s ambition to move the dial on carbon will play a part in creating the conditions under which this change becomes possible.”