| 1. EKOappetite: EKOenergy for the food sector |
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Users of EKOenergy-labelled energy enable us to set up renewable energy campaigns through which we reach out to energy consumers across the world. Our previous campaigns have targeted breweries, the fashion industry, and the video gaming sector, among others.
With this year’s EKOappetite campaign, we are asking businesses in the food and beverages sector to follow the example of companies such as Olvi, Jalofoods, Saimaa Brewing Company, and Brunberg by switching to EKOenergy-labelled electricity and using our logo in their communication.
If you want to learn more, or if you know a company that could be interested, don't hesitate to get in touch.
See our campaign leaflet in English, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. More language versions to follow. |
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| 2. We continue to support the #Renewables4Ukraine campaign |
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We decided to use 50,000 € from our renewable energy campaign budget for the #renewables4ukraine campaign. The campaign aims to bring reliable, renewable energy to Ukrainian civil infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, while highlighting the importance of a clean and sustainable reconstruction of Ukraine after the war.
Last year, we made a contribution of 20,000 € to the same campaign. A part of that grant was used to finance two autonomous mobile solar stations with electricity storage: One for Kozyntsi Outpatient Clinic of Family Medicine (Bucha district) and the other for Irpin Lyceum of Innovative Technologies. The rest of the grant was used to support the advocacy work of local renewable energy organisations, in particular the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association.
Our 50,000 € grant for this year will be used for similar activities. We hope that our contribution will inspire others to contribute too. Contact us for more information. |
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| "The world needs a doubling of energy efficiency progress & a tripling of renewable power capacity by 2030." - Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, on LinkedIn |
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| 3. Elegant launches EKOenergy-labelled electricity tariff in Belgium: BE Nature |
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We are glad that the Belgian energy supplier Elegant, one of our authorised sellers, has launched an EKOenergy-labelled electricity tariff. The new tariff, called BE Nature, makes EKOenergy easily available for consumers of all sizes in Belgium.
The tariff has been developed in cooperation with Natuurpunt, the largest Belgian nature conservation organisation, and is currently the only EKOenergy-labelled tariff in the country.
Consumers who choose the BE Nature tariff support Natuurpunt's "Forest for everyone" campaign while contributing to EKOenergy's work to promote renewable energy worldwide.
Thanks a lot to everyone involved in the development of the product. Happy to join forces with a local reforestation initiative and at the same time promote the use of renewable energy accross the world. |
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| 4. New fact sheets in our "10 years of EKOenergy" series |
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2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the EKOenergy ecolabel. Over the past 10 years, we have evolved from an ambitious European initiative to an internationally recognised ecolabel for renewable energy, available in 70 countries across all continents.
To highlight various aspects of our work and commemorate some of the remarkable achievements of the past decade, we decided to publish a series of fact sheets
The latest fact sheets focus on 10 years of involving volunteers and trainees, 10 years of pioneering and leadership, 10 years of consistency and persistence and 10 years of working with the EKOenergy logo.
See an overview of all our publications in the "10 years of EKOenergy" series on our website. |
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| "Additional wind and solar capacity will lower power prices in Central and Eastern Europe by 29%." - Ember, in their new report: In it together - The road to a cleaner, cheaper CEE power system |
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| 5. Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 2 Guidance review process |
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The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is an international standard for carbon accounting. The Scope 2 Guidance is the part of the standard that sets rules for reporting emissions from purchased electricity and heat. The first version of the Scope 2 Guidance was drafted between 2012 and 2014 with the involvement of hundreds of stakeholders and was published in 2015.
Last year, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Secretariat announced a review of the text and over the course of a five-month survey period, they received over 1,400 responses and 230 proposals.
While the responses bring up a lot of different points, many are asking for more precise guidance and want to see more impact.
We think this gives additional backing to EKOenergy's suggestions regarding this review process: Let's avoid a drastic overhaul of the existing framework and focus on simplification of the rules and the promotion of concrete actions instead. The worst-case scenario is that energy consumers would stick to fossil fuels because the rules for switching to renewables aren't clear or are too complex for implementation.
The market-based approach has allowed companies, non-profit organisations and citizens to develop methods and tools to increase positive impact. These include ecolabels, granular tracking, energy communities, PPAs, and many more. We think that making renewable energy use easily accessible by supporting what already exists is more conducive to seeing more climate action. |
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| "By collaborating and empowering community members to operate and maintain the solar power systems themselves, Green Empowerment is able to boost community ownership and system resilience for the long haul." - Green Empowerment, in an article about solar power for clinics in Myanmar and Uganda, a project co-financed by users of EKOenergy. |
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| 6. Every day is Biodiversity Day for the EKOenergy ecolabel |
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The 22nd of May is the International Day of Biodiversity: A day to remind us about the planet's biodiversity and how important it is for human well-being.
One of the distinctive characteristics of the EKOenergy ecolabel is that it takes biodiversity into account while promoting the use of renewable energy.
EKOenergy-labelled energy comes from carefully selected sources with the lowest possible impact on biodiversity. We raise funds for river restoration projects and regularly share information about how the development of renewable energy generation can go hand in hand with nature protection on our social media.
To learn more, check out our fact sheet 10 years of protecting nature. |
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| 7. EKOenergy on social media |
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Follow EKOenergy on social media to get relevant updates about the climate crisis, renewable energy and climate action worldwide.
Here are some of our recent posts:
Some of our team were once again in front of the building where the Finnish government negotiations are taking place. (from our Twitter)
International Day of Light: Many renewable energy projects that EKOenergy finances through its Climate Fund focus on light. Our grants have brought light to off-grid villages, hospitals, and schools. (from our Instagram)
In 2022, EKOenergy granted 35,000 € to the Nepalese NGO Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD). Check out the project leaflet. (From our LinkedIn)
Thanks, Ecohz, for offering clients the possibility to add our label to their PPA. (from our Twitter)
We know how to stop climate change! Why don't we just do it? End all fossil fuels! Protect our forests! (from our Facebook)
EKOenergy is a proud partner of the European Solidarity Corps, the EU-funded programme to encourage and enable young people to volunteer in other countries. Thanks to the financial support of this programme, we have been able to host 79 long-term volunteers so far, from 17 countries. (from our Instagram) |
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| 8. Big Oil Reality Check 2023 - Equinor and Eni are hindering the energy transition |
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The urgent need to transition to clean and renewable energy is becoming more apparent every day. Despite this, companies like Equinor and Eni, partially state-owned, partially privatised Norwegian and Italian oil and gas companies respectively, continue to prioritise oil and gas investments that fuel the climate crisis.
Two new briefings from Oil Change International, titled Big Oil Reality Check: Eni and Big Oil Reality Check: Equinor reveal that both companies are on the cusp of approving a surge of new oil and gas developments. If Eni and Equinor proceed with all the projects in their anticipated pipeline for 2023, Eni could rank as the world’s third-worst oil and gas expander this year and Equinor as the world’s eighth by the total volume of new reserves approved for extraction.
Check out the website of Oil Change International for the full story. |
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We at EKOenergy are always enthusiastic to collaborate with new partners.
For further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch. |
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