Southampton City Council goes green
From Tuesday 1 October 2019, Southampton City Council commercial buildings will be using 100% green electricity
The switch to renewable energy will remove nearly 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment annually. It also supports the council’s target of being carbon neutral by 2030.
The supply to all council run schools, offices and street lights will be part of the change. Since 2010, the council has reported its reduction in carbon emissions from commercial buildings as part of the Carbon Reduction Policy, a reduction of 54% in CO2 levels has been recorded since the launch of this policy. This has been implemented to help council meets the goals set out in its Green City Charter by using energy generated from renewable sources and by reducing its overall consumption.
Councillor Steve Leggett, Cabinet Member for Green City and Environment, says: “We are delighted announce our switch to renewable electricity. Such a simple action is helping to reduce our carbon footprint. We want to lead the way in making changes that have a lasting, positive impact on our environment.
“Switching to a green energy provider is easy and we are encouraging our residents to consider the environment when choosing their gas and electricity supplier. CitizEn Energy*, established by the council, is not only a competitively priced supplier that reduces our impact on the environment but it also supports the local community by reinvesting any money made to deliver real savings for those most in need. We were delighted to announce that in its first year, CitizEn Energy’s 1,500 customers saved over 15,000** tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.”
*Our green electricity tariffs are certified as being sourced from UK based wind and solar generators. For every Megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity purchased for our customers, we also purchase a Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificate, which proves the electricity is certified as being sourced either directly from the renewable generators or through a green wholesale energy provider.
**The CO2 saving for an average electricity consumption household switching from a non-renewable electricity tariff to CitizEn Energy’s electricity tariff is 1,012kg of CO2 over a year (using gov.uk emission reporting). All calculations correct as of 1 June 2019
