As reducing carbon emissions continues to be a focus for many countries worldwide in a bid to reduce its impact on the environment, investing in renewable energy has never been more important for Australian businesses.
If you’ve been hesitant to make the switch or feel like your business isn’t quite ready to take the next step, here are some key reasons why investing in renewable energy is a good idea for your business.
Decarbonising electricity use
Decarbonising electricity use is an integral part of reaching net zero carbon emissions by mid-century as per the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement establishes a global goal to hold average temperature increases to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced, both by government action, as well as through initiatives by businesses and households. To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, global emissions have to reach “net zero” by the middle of this century. A number of state governments in Australia have set aspirational targets to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.
Buying GreenPower equates to net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and offsets the emissions caused by your business’s electricity use. The GreenPower program is an independent government accreditation scheme and is recognised as the most highly regarded standard for off-site renewables in Australia. GreenPower is also recognised as reducing Scope 2 emissions from electricity use, and therefore is great to use if organisations are aiming for B-Corp, RE100 or ClimateActive certifications.
By selecting Next GreenPower for your electricity plan, we will source electricity equal to 10%, 50%, 82% or 100% of your business′s electricity usage from accredited GreenPower renewable energy sources.
Corporate social responsibility
For years, organisations have set themselves sustainability targets and considered social and environmental factors alongside economic ones. They recognise that customers are increasingly better educated and expect products and services to align with their changing values.
However, it is not only customers that expect companies to do the right thing, but also investors and internal stakeholders. Buying renewable energy demonstrates your commitment to being a socially responsible organisation.
Brand recognition
According to a report by ARENA from 2017, four out of five Australians believe businesses should use renewable energy. Three-quarters of Australians would buy a product or service that was made with renewable energy over a comparable one that was not. This is supported by the Nielsen Global Survey poll which found that 55% of consumers will pay extra for products and services from companies committed to having a positive social and environmental impact.
Environmental credentials and local investment, like buying renewables, enhances your organisation’s reputation and may also directly or indirectly influence potential customers to engage with your business.
Using GreenPower can increase the NABERS or Green Star Performance Ratings for buildings, which in turn attracts higher value tenants. You can also use the GreenPower customer logo to improve the brand recognition of your business.
Increased energy productivity
Boards and CEOs in many organisations are not always aware of the cost of their energy bills. By failing to consider this crucial area of your operations, you may miss out on the opportunity to significantly reduce your energy costs. There are many ways that your organisation can reduce the amount it spends on energy.
Minimising energy demand will increase your energy productivity and unlock savings that can be used to decrease energy demand further and install renewables on site. The money saved from these projects can then be reinvested to change the rest of your electricity supply to GreenPower. In this way, businesses are proactively taking control of their energy supply
and use, with cost, productivity and reputational benefits.
Next GreenPower
Once renewable energy is generated and fed into the grid, it is indistinguishable from energy generated from fossil fuels. The only way to know that renewable energy was produced is to assign it a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC). The Clean Energy Regulator distinguishes between small-scale (<100kW) and large-scale renewable energy generation (>100kW). RECs generated by large-scale generation are called “Large-scale Generation Certificates” (LGCs). Under the GreenPower program, only LGCs generated by GreenPower accredited large-scale renewables are included.
As an accredited GreenPower Provider, Next Business Energy purchases accredited GreenPower LGCs for the % of electricity usage you nominate. We charge you for Next GreenPower at your nominated %, and then we buy GreenPower accredited LGCs to offset carbon emissions, for the amount you nominate.
Each year an independent auditor confirms that Next Business Energy has purchased and surrendered GreenPower certificates, for your Next GreenPower purchases. This helps Australia meet its carbon emission targets.
Visit this page to find out more about Next GreenPower or make an enquiry.