Making all UK homes carbon-neutral could save more than 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, the equivalent of 22% of the nation’s total carbon output, according to a calculation from energy supplier OVO.
Home decarbonisation and renewable energy are at the forefront of a new advertising campaign from the UK’s second-largest energy supplier.
The campaign, including broadcast adverts, estimates that an individual’s home accounts for 26% of their carbon footprint and ”optimistically highlight[s] what we can all do to reduce our collective carbon footprint, tackle climate change and preserve our world for future generations,” OVO said.
The advert showcases OVO’s new Beyond tariff, which offers 100% renewable electricity, ‘carbon neutral’ gas (15% green gas and 85% carbon offset) and a range of tools to help households reduce their energy costs and carbon output. OVO’s standard tariff supplies electricity that is 50% renewable.
With Beyond, a smart meter records your household’s energy use, OVO crunches the numbers and offers you “Energy Spotlights.” Then the “Zero In” tool digests those Spotlights into “energy saving, bill shrinking” actions, emailed to you every month. OVO will also help customers keep track of how well they’re performing. The supplier estimates these measures could help households trim their energy bills by as much as 10%.
OVO will also plant three “carbon-fighting trees” for every household subscribed to the service each year and offer customers fixed-price boiler repairs for £175.
OVO Beyond and the advertising campaign is part of the supplier’s Plan Zero, a pledge to help its customers halve their domestic emissions by 2030.
Sarah Booth, OVO Energy’s director of brand and marketing, said the supplier was focusing on delivering optimistic messages about climate action, to “give us a sense of agency and inspire action.”
“With this campaign, we want to highlight that although the climate crisis can be incredibly overwhelming, there is every reason to be optimistic,” she said. “Our home energy accounts for 26 per cent of our carbon footprint; by making changes to the energy we choose and how efficiently we use that energy, we can start to reduce that to zero. If everyone in the UK does this together, we could eventually reduce our national carbon footprint by over 101 million tonnes per year. We have immense power and together we can take meaningful steps to change climate change.”
OVO joined the ranks of the Big Six earlier this year with the acquisition of SSE’s retail arm and now supplies more than five million households.
