Often, people seem to expect a certain major event to quickly provide solutions to the climate crisis — be it a climate summit, an important election, or a technological breakthrough. Unfortunately, these high expectations for big changes usually lead to equally big disappointments, as many have experienced once again over the past months.

It’s important to remember, though, that most changes, positive or negative, come from a mix of smaller actions taken by different actors at various levels. Together, these smaller actions and changes build toward larger transformations.

At EKOenergy, we have carefully chosen the actions we focus on as our contribution to this global shift: targeted, efficient steps toward a 100% renewable world. This means we concentrate on what we can achieve with the resources available to us. We celebrate victories regularly and learn from every experience.

This approach continues to yield results. Over the past few weeks, we have welcomed several new EKOenergy sellers and users, further expanding our steadily growing community. As this community grows month by month, we are scaling up our efforts to promote renewable energy worldwide and increase support for solar power projects in low- and middle-income countries.

Thanks a lot to all of you who are already involved. If you want to learn more about our work, don't hesitate to contact us!

EKOenergy's materials, including our presentations, are available in many languages. Our team members are also eager to meet and answer any questions you or your colleagues have about our non-profit ecolabel and its concrete results.

Do you want a refresher about the labelling process? Or would you like to learn about the sales arguments? Do you need texts for your website or photos for your marketing materials? Would your team like to hear more about what we achieved in 2024 and our plans for 2025? Don't hesitate to schedule a virtual meeting.

For example, if you want to see our updated presentation "EKOenergy - How and why" in German, contact Sophie Zhuravel or Steven Vanholme! For a similar presentation in Spanish or Turkish, contact Celia Sevillano or Karya Öktem, and to learn more in Chinese, you can contact Joanne Lin.

"Impact might be driven by setting tighter ‘quality criteria’ to qualify what is acceptable to make a basic claim to be using renewable energy (...) or considering purchasing through incremental funding programs or ones offering an additional level of certification like the EKOenergy or Green-e programs."
 

- CDP, Corporate Renewable Electricity Sourcing Trends, 2024 Snapshot, p.34

EKOenergy's Climate Fund provides the necessary financial resources for disadvantaged communities in low- and middle-income countries to implement renewable energy projects.

Thanks to the growing community of EKOenergy users, we can support more projects each year. Check out our website for an overview of all funded projects so far.

It's always encouraging to get updates from projects we are funding in many parts of the world.

- In 2023, EKOenergy contributed €26,000 to a solar project of the Malian non-profit organisation FENABE (Fédération Nationale des Producteurs de l'Agriculture Biologique et Equitable - National Federation of Organic and Fair Trade Farmers). We received more photos of the activities and concrete impacts of this project.

- Last June, Initiatives for Sustainable Development (ISUDEV), a Cameroonian non-profit organisation focusing on renewable energy solutions and community development, received a €35,548 grant from our Climate Fund to implement a solar project in Fako, Cameroon. They are now installing solar-powered water pumps in four schools to give students, school staff, and the surrounding communities access to clean drinking water. Apart from drastically improving health, this project also improves the living conditions of the children and women, who will no longer have to make long journeys to fetch water.

- A couple of months ago, VAADD, a Togolese NGO, received a €23,758 grant from EKOenergy's Climate Fund to install a multifunctional solar powerhouse. We received news and photos of the start of the project.

- The Pakistani NGO Health and Rural Development (HARD) Balochistan sent us more photos of their ongoing solar project. In June, we granted them €48,971 for a solar energy project in hard-to-reach villages in the Khuzdar District, Pakistan.

- We recently received updates and photos from a project we are funding in Tanzania: Solar-powered water pumps for three villages, implemented by the NGO Oikos East Africa thanks to a €53,000 grant from our Climate Fund.

Thanks a lot to all those involved, for the regular updates and for your dedication and efforts! 

"There is an antidote to doom and despair. It’s action on the ground, and it’s happening in all corners of the Earth."
 

- Christiana Figueres, on LinkedIn

Did you know our non-profit ecolabel is also available for biogas, such as biomethane, and gases created through electrolysis using renewable electricity, such as green hydrogen?

EKOenergy's label for gas works exactly like the label for electricity. It can only be used for reliably tracked megawatt-hours that fulfill our additional criteria, and all users contribute to our Climate Fund and our work to promote renewable energy worldwide. Check out the Criteria chapter on our website to learn more.

We notice a growing interest in EKOenergy-labelled gas in various markets, and we recently welcomed Jeppo Biogas, a Finnish producer of biomethane, as a new authorised EKOenergy seller. Jeppo Biogas makes biogas from organic residues from agriculture and the food industry.

 

- Lynn Hsiao, Mt.Stonegate, on LinkedIn

In several markets, the price of renewable energy (including the cost of Energy Attribute Certificates) has dropped compared to the same period last year. As a result, many consumers now notice they are spending less than they had budgeted. If such consumers want to dedicate a part of their savings to the energy transition in a different way, EKOenergy's Climate Fund is an efficient and pragmatic way to do so.

Please remember that we always welcome additional contributions to our Climate Fund. Higher contributions to our Climate Fund enable us to fund more and larger renewable energy projects in communities that need them most.

Alternatively, we encourage people who want to donate to consider Ukraine. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, EKOenergy has donated €170,000 (from our marketing and campaign budget) to support the deployment of renewable energy in Ukrainian schools, daycares, and hospitals. If you want to support similar initiatives, check out the website of the NGO RePower Ukraine or the #Renewables4Ukraine campaign for more information.

Feel free to contact Steven Vanholme if you want to learn more about any of these options.

 

- EKOenergy user Hilti, on LinkedIn

As the number of Climate Fund projects grows yearly, so does our partner network of non-profit organisations involved in renewable energy projects. We regularly notice that these organisations have similar questions and face the same challenges in many parts of the world.

On October 14th, we organised our first Climate Fund learning and knowledge exchange session. This online session focused on solar-powered water projects and targeted employees of recently funded organisations with experience or interest in solar-powered water-related projects. More than 40 people from Africa, Asia, and Europe participated.

Three NGOs presented their experiences and lessons learned, and afterward, there was an opportunity to discuss various topics in small groups. It was interesting to exchange experiences related to preparatory works, contracting, payments, maintenance agreements, etc.

We were happy to hear from many attendees that they found the meeting helpful. For us, this was also an enriching event in many ways. The organisations we support are implementing renewable energy projects under challenging conditions and have a lot of knowledge and experience. Bringing them together and enabling them to share their knowledge helps us improve our granting processes and will hopefully help them successfully scale up the deployment of renewable energy in the regions where they are active. Stay tuned for more!

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. By the way, we are now also on Bluesky!

Here are some of our recent posts on various social media channels:

- According to a recent CDP report, "major global companies are falling short in their use of renewables, with nearly half using no renewable electricity at all." This is precisely why we at EKOenergy spend so much time contacting corporate energy consumers and encouraging them to switch to renewable energy! (From our LinkedIn)

- We have granted a total of 170,000 euros from our campaign budget to bring solar power to Ukrainian civil infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, and to support the advocacy work of local renewable energy organisations. (From our Instagram)

- 8888 followers on LinkedIn and counting! Thanks a lot to all of you for your support. (From our LinkedIn)

- Some of us were at the weekly climate demonstration in front of the parliament again. Our decision-makers can and should do much more to stop catastrophic climate change. (From our Bluesky)

- Our non-profit ecolabel is a tool to contribute to the realisation of many #sustainabledevelopmentgoals, in many ways! While promoting renewable energy, we simultaneously highlight the importance of nature conservation, sustainable consumption, climate action, fighting energy poverty, and more! (From our Bluesky)

- Deeds, not words. With our non-profit ecolabel, we promote renewable energy in many ways and many countries. With the financial contributions of all users of EKOenergy-labelled energy, we fund solar projects in communities that need it most. (From our Facebook)

- Our team just participated in a 2-week vegan challenge. Today, some of us gathered in the office kitchen and enjoyed a vegan lunch together! Eating less meat is good for the planet and saves a lot of animals from a miserable life and death. (From our Bluesky)

With EKOenergy, we do what we can to support other initiatives promoting renewable energy and calling for a phase-out of all fossil fuels.

- The recently created Loss and Damage Fund is designed to help the most vulnerable developing nations recover from climate disasters, but wealthy countries have only pledged a few hundred million dollars -, a fraction of the annual cost of climate damages in developing countries. With hundreds of others, EKOenergy signed a call demanding increased targets for the Loss and Damage Fund, including considerable mandatory contributions by fossil fuel companies – the ones fuelling climate chaos.
 
- Together with many other organisations and groups, we wrote to EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra asking him not to bring fossil fuel lobbyists to the UN climate talks as part of the EU delegation.

- We co-signed an open letter to President Biden, asking to close loopholes in the sanctions against Russian fossil fuels urgently: stop business ties, sanction shadow fleet vessels, expand secondary sanctions...

Over the past few weeks, several interesting articles and publications highlighted how the energy transition can go hand in hand with nature restoration (and can improve carbon sequestration in the soil).

The Good News Network published an article titled Experts demonstrate how solar farms can become hubs for ‘biodiversity enhancement’ at every level. It contains references to various publications, such as the planning guide, Better biodiversity on solar farms (Community Power Agency, Australia) illustrating how solar farms can be set up in a way that not only makes room for native biodiversity but contributes actively to its flourishing.

“Similar to artificial reefs in aquatic ecosystems, solar farms can improve biodiversity, if done well. They create structural complexity into the environment, offering shelter and habitat for wildlife."

- And in a new publication in PV Magazine, Patrick Jowett summarises how studies of three solar-pollinator sites in Minnesota have demonstrated evidence of native prairie growing under solar panels, providing both soil benefits and habitat for wildlife and pollinators.

"Once prairie vegetation was established, pollinators were observed using the site as much as dedicated conservation land, with evidence pointing towards increased abundance and diversity of both vegetation and pollinators under the solar panels." He also describes that "it can take a long time to restore soil after damage from intensive corn and soy production. The overall impact of soil restoration activities at these sites will not be clear for years to come."