EKOenergy's Climate Fund supports carefully selected high-impact renewable energy projects in low- and middle-income countries. As EKOenergy grows, so does our Climate Fund, allowing us to fund more renewable energy projects each year.

We just finalised the selection of 21 more solar projects in 17 countries, including Cambodia, Cameroon, Lebanon, Peru, and Zimbabwe. The now-selected projects will receive a total of €956,529.

Check out the map on our website for an overview of all funded projects.

These new projects aren't the only ones for 2024. They come in addition to two ongoing, long-term projects and an earlier agreed-upon grant of €80,000 to support the Siemenpuu Foundation's partners in Mali. We are also working on evaluating several more multi-annual solar projects and plan to select some of these in December.  

All supported projects are community-prioritised initiatives coordinated by experienced NGOs. They contribute to the realisation of many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as SDG 1 — No poverty, SDG 2 —  Zero hunger, and SDG 3 — Good health and well-being.

Thanks a lot to all sellers and consumers of EKOenergy-labelled energy. If you aren't one of them yet, feel free to join the growing community and help us make a concrete, positive impact day after day.

"Form alliances with industry leaders, academic institutions, and NGOs to leverage collective expertise and resources. For example, our partnership with the non-profit EKOenergy ecolabel provided an additional layer on renewable energy to minimise the impact on the environment."
 

- Jeroen Meertens, 3Degrees Group, on LinkedIn

Energy plays a central role in Russia's war against Ukraine. Russia's export of fossil fuels keeps its war machine going. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia's revenues from fossil fuel exports have surpassed 675 billion euros. Russia also actively targets Ukraine's energy infrastructure in an attempt to weaken the country.

One can quickly feel overwhelmed and powerless, but focusing on what one can do is more productive. Here is how we at EKOenergy try to make a positive difference.

- We supported the Renewables4Ukraine campaign with €20,000 in 2022 and with €50,000 in 2023. Last week, we received a photo of a solar installation at a kindergarten in Borodyanka, one of the installations funded with last year's grant.

- We have just decided to allocate €100,000 from EKOenergy's 2024 campaign budget to additional actions supporting the deployment of renewable energy in Ukraine. Part of this sum will be used to install a 50 kWp solar system (including storage) at a hospital in Kharkiv.

- Last week, we co-signed a call to strengthen global energy sanctions against Russia, particularly by closing the current sanctions' loopholes and tightening the oil embargo in several ways.

- We continue doing all we can to promote renewable energy worldwide and encourage people to switch to renewable energy now. Every bit of renewable energy decreases the need for fossil fuels and helps people oppressed by petro-dictatorships stand stronger.

If you also want to support the deployment of renewables in Ukraine and don't know how, don't hesitate to get in touch.

It's always encouraging to see EKOenergy users use our name and logo in their communication.
 
YIT, the largest Finnish construction company, switched to EKOenergy last year. We were happy to see that our logo is now clearly visible on one of its construction sites in the city center of Helsinki. YIT also communicated about its choice of EKOenergy on social media on World Environment Day (June 5th).

Rehau, a leading developer of polymer-based solutions for the construction and automotive industries, also mentioned its choice of EKOenergy on social media on World Environment Day.

In 2021, several of EKOenergy's activities were endorsed as an Energy Compact under the UN-Energy programme. Energy Compacts are voluntary commitments from states and other stakeholders, such as companies and NGOs, outlining their actions to advance progress on Sustainable Development Goal 7 — Affordable and clean energy.

EKOenergy's Energy Compact focuses on the following activity clusters:
- We collect funds to bring solar to disadvantaged communities in low- and middle-income countries.
- We set up campaigns to promote renewable energy worldwide.
- We cooperate with a growing community of authorised EKOenergy sellers to make EKOenergy-labelled electricity readily available for all types of consumers worldwide.

We have now submitted our third annual progress report to the Energy Compacts Team at the Sustainable Energy For All Secretariat. For several of the commitments, we are progressing faster than described in our original plan. This is good news. We will therefore update some of our 2030 targets, particularly those related to the Climate Fund and the availability of EKOenergy worldwide. Together, we achieved a lot, but much more can and should be done to overcome the climate crisis and improve access to clean and affordable energy for all.

 

- Natuurpunt, the largest nature conservation organisation in Flanders, on their website

We are thankful to all those helping consumers switch to renewable energy and even more so if they mention our label as a good and impactful way to do so. Together, we can and will speed up the energy transition.

- Enerji Gazetesi, a Turkish news platform for the energy sector, published an article about EKOenergy and our main achievements, as well as an article about our ongoing EKOappetite campaign.

- Johannes Pättiniemi from EKOenergy's Secretariat got to present EKOenergy's work at a well-attended webinar organised by FIBS, the largest corporate responsibility network in the Nordic countries. FIBS members can find the recording in the FIBS newsroom.

- Nvalue, Gesternova Energía, and Global Factor, three authorised EKOenergy sellers, posted about EKOenergy on social media.

- Ecohz, a globally active sustainability solutions provider and authorised EKOenergy seller, is organising a webinar about EKOenergy. It will take place on July 4th and be freely accessible to everyone. The invitation will be on their website later this week.

If you want to help us make an additional positive impact, don't hesitate to contact us and ask for text suggestions and photos or invite us to your (digital) events.

 

- Article about a new agro-energy community in Cuneo, Italy. Thanks ForGreen!

Are you new to the sector and would like a quick introduction to why a growing number of energy consumers choose EKOenergy? That's great; contact us, and let's meet!

Do you need help with how EKOenergy works precisely? No worries. Ask, and we will answer immediately.

Are you working on the sales team of an energy company, and are your clients asking for EKOenergy? Don't hesitate to contact us and schedule a meeting, alone or with your client.

Or have your clients never asked for EKOenergy? We're sure they've asked for additional positive impacts, international endorsements, or help with communication. In all these cases, EKOenergy could be the solution they seek. Let's meet, and we can tell you all about it.

Our team members are readily available for meetings and chats in many languages. Whether you have 10 minutes or an hour, grab your phone or email to schedule a meeting. We are flexible and will help you to the best of our abilities.

 

- KO-KO-A, on Instagram

In 2023, our label was used in more than 80 countries. This wouldn't have been possible without the rapid development of renewable energy markets, which is itself made possible by the increased availability of energy attribute certificate registries worldwide.

In 38 countries where EKOenergy is used, consumers use I-REC certificates as a reliable tracking instrument. We are in daily contact with I-REC registrants and suppliers and regularly coordinate with the I-TRACK Secretariat and the I-REC issuers. Meeting and working with all these dedicated and knowledgeable people is always a pleasure.

No wonder we are proud and thankful to support the upcoming I-REC Standard Conference, which takes place on July 2nd and 3rd in São Paulo, Brazil. For more information and registration, check out the conference website.

We wish all the attendees a fruitful and inspiring event. Let's seize the conference as another opportunity to continue driving the demand for reliably tracked renewable energy worldwide.

Stay connected with EKOenergy on social media to receive relevant updates on the global climate crisis, renewable energy, and climate action. By occasionally reacting to our posts, you help us spread our message and ensure that our future posts will also appear in your feed.

Here are some of our recent posts:

- EKOenergy is growing steadily and so is the number of installations in our EKOdirect module. Today, we added the 6000th installation, a solar system from Singapore. (From our LinkedIn)

- 📢 Greetings from the climate march in Helsinki. (From our Instagram)

- 🎁 Today, we received a tasty surprise at our office. Food company Inés Rosales sent us a huge box of delicious tortas, all #madewithEKOenergy. Wow! ¡Gracias! (From our LinkedIn)

- This week, we welcomed a new European Solidarity Corps volunteer, and, as always, we are excited to see all the new dynamics newcomers bring to the team. (From our Instagram)

- Happy Environment Day! On this Environment Day, let's commit to supporting renewable energy initiatives and advocating for sustainable policies. (From our Facebook)

- EKOenergy's Climate Fund - Some results of the projects we funded in 2023 (From our YouTube)

Renewable energy deployment and nature protection can and should go hand in hand. This is the central message of "POWER PLANT 2.0 - A Guidebook to Electrify in Harmony with Nature" published last week by Eurelectric, the European electricity industry's sector federation, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy.

"Beyond the many other benefits of renewable energy, deployment of wind farms, solar installations, and grid infrastructure can contribute to supporting biodiversity through good design and responsible operations e.g. by:
• Retaining natural habitats and protecting the species that depend on them as far as possible by minimising habitat destruction and land conversion; and
• Supporting wildlife by providing new habitats and feeding grounds whether on or offsite (particularly in previously disturbed/degraded sites), as well as incorporating wildlife-friendly design features. Over their multi-decade lifespan, renewable power installations entail minimal human interference and can serve as sanctuaries for various species and native flora."

We agree and will do all we can to share the Guidebook's findings and recommendations. We also look forward to seeing many more concrete and inspiring examples from the field!

Photo: Verbund, page 43 of the Guidebook