We are finalising the auditing and verification of the 2022 volumes, and are happy to confirm that EKOenergy’s growth exceeded 50% again last year. Thanks a lot to all our authorised sellers and all consumers of EKOenergy.

Other recent good news includes:

- We’ve selected 15 new, impactful solar projects in 13 countries to be financed via our Climate Fund.

- Microsoft has purchased EKOenergy in numerous countries. Their choice of EKOenergy helps support off-grid communities in Kenya.

- We are gradually launching our EKOdirect module, an online tool that will streamline EKOenergy's processes and will help our authorised sellers offer EKOenergy-labelled solutions to their clients even more efficiently.

If you would like to learn more, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.

For large EKOenergy consumers, we issue a proof of EKOenergy use after the auditing. The EKOenergy seller then conveys this proof to the buyer.

If your company buys EKOenergy-labelled renewables and you haven't received the proof from your supplier, get in touch with them or us directly.

The EKOenergy proof also reminds EKOenergy users that:

- They have the right to use our EKOenergy logo in their communications and on their products, provided that they follow the rules and guidelines of our brand book,

- They contribute to financing new renewable energy projects to fight energy poverty in developing countries,

- Their purchase helps us raise awareness of sustainability issues and promote renewable energy worldwide through campaigning and advocacy work.

 

- Erik Hansen, Head of Global Environmental Sustainability at Workday, on LinkedIn

Last year, EKOenergy was used in more than 70 countries and our coverage is expanding every year.

Thanks to the outstanding work of the I-REC Standard team, reliable energy tracking is becoming available in more countries. At the same time, the Association of Issuing Bodies is expanding the Guarantee of Origin system to the countries of the Energy Community in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, enabling market development. First movers in these markets are often interested in amplifying the positive impact of choosing renewable energy and the EKOenergy ecolabel is an effective tool for doing so. The recent requests we’ve got regarding EKOenergy's availability in Georgia and Uzbekistan are another sign of this.

We are steadily increasing the number of our authorised sellers. In the past few weeks, companies such as Enel X (worldwide), Diamond Energy (Australia), and CnerG (worldwide) signed the EKOenergy Agreement.

Our label can be combined with all types of renewable energy sourcing, including renewable energy that is produced and consumed on-site, if our criteria are fulfilled. Last year, Saint Mary's Hospital Lacor in Uganda started using  EKOenergy from their on-site solar installation and earlier this year De Prati Machala from Ecuador did the same.

 

- Oleksandr Markushyn, Mayor of Irpin, Ukraine

For every MWh of EKOenergy, 0.10 € goes to EKOenergy's Climate Fund to finance new renewable energy projects in developing countries. These projects improve the living standards of local communities and contribute to the realisation of multiple Sustainable Development Goals.

- Some of the projects we have selected this year have already commenced. We got a series of photos from CREACC’s project in the village of Bulbuli, Nigeria. They are constructing a solar-powered rural health care centre for women and children, a solar power charging station and a solar-powered water pump. The water pump will be able to supply 30,000 litres per day, some of which will be used for a tree nursery.

- We also received photos from the Ayiri health clinic in Uganda, which now has a 9.6 kW solar system and battery storage. EKOenergy granted 30,000 € for this project to Green Empowerment in 2022. The staff of the Ayiri clinic can now provide better services to their patients, many of whom are refugees.

- The African Centre for Renewable Energies and Sustainable Technologies in Cameroon sent us additional photos too. EKOenergy granted 27,000 € for their project to bring clean energy and water to 6 health centres in the Bamboutos department of the western region of Cameroon.

 

- Zema Benedict, senior clinical officer, Ayiri Clinic

Thanks to the growing number of EKOenergy users, we continue our advocacy work in support of climate-friendly choices and legislation.

- The Renewable Energy Institute published Simplifying additional impact via choice of renewable energy, an article by our Liaison Coordinator Merve Güngör, explaining how energy users make an extra positive impact through their choice of EKOenergy.

- Our Funds Coordinator Laura Blomberg wrote a blog post for Climate Action Network Europe, giving an overview of some of the concrete results of our Climate Fund. So far, we have financed 94 renewable energy projects through our Climate Fund, with a total sum of almost 3 million euros.

- We co-signed a letter to 20 of Equinor’s financiers, pointing out that funding the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea would be in breach of these banks’ commitment to limit warming to 1.5°C.

- Our Ukrainian volunteer Tamara Soltys wrote the article Renewables in Ukraine about the impact of war on Ukrainian energy transition. It’s based on an interview with Hanna Rutkovska, Energy Policy Expert at the Ukrainian NGO Ecoaction.

- We submitted feedback on the European rules regarding the Sustainability Reporting Standards. Our comments focus on energy consumption and stress the importance of the market-based approach. The Guarantee of Origin system is a robust foundation of the market-based reporting in the EU. It has proven to be an efficient and reliable way to avoid double claims for renewable electricity use and has also expanded to gas and heat markets.

For each megawatt-hour of EKOenergy-labelled hydropower consumption, 0.10 € goes to EKOenergy’s Environmental Fund. We use these contributions to finance river restoration projects.

We are now looking for 2-3 small-scale river restoration projects in Germany or Sweden, the countries where most of the EKOenergy-labelled hydropower has been consumed in previous years. The maximum grant per project will be 40,000 €.

Are you interested in sending an application or do you know any organisations that could be interested? Check out the call for proposals on our website. Note that the deadline for proposals is 15 September 2023.

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:

- Together with the dedicated CerQlar team, we are developing the EKOdirect module, an online tool that will facilitate the work of EKOenergy's authorised sellers in many ways. (from our LinkedIn)

- Thanks Silmusalaatti 🥗 for using EKOenergy-labelled renewable electricity and making a difference. We're happy to see our logo on the packages (and eat more sprouts)!🌱  (from our X)

- Summer ale #MadewithEKOenergy! Cheers! Thanks a lot to Olvi and all other users of EKOenergy-labelled electricity.  (from our Instagram)

- Seems a good time to repeat: There are at least 739 papers reviewing 100% renewables systems. Main conclusion: 100% renewables CAN power all energy in the world at low cost - fast.  (from our X)

- The food industry plays a vital role in our day-to-day life, but it also significantly contributes to climate change. With our #EKOappetite campaign, we remind food and beverage companies of all sizes that they can take another step in their sustainability journey by switching to renewable energy. (from our LinkedIn)

We can recommend Al Gore's latest TED Talk What the Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn't Want You To Know, if you would like to learn how the unrelenting opposition from the fossil fuel industry stands in the way of deploying solutions.

In his speech, Al Gore highlights that fossil fuel companies have used fraud on a massive scale to undermine climate action.

“And they’ve used their legacy political and economic networks, lavishly funded, to capture the policy-making process in too many countries around the world. [...] And now they have brazenly seized control of the COP process, especially this year's COP in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. And concern has been building about this for quite some time. I remember when there were so many fossil fuel delegates in Madrid, but by the time we got to Glasgow a year and a half ago, the delegates from the fossil fuel companies made up a larger group than the largest national delegation. [...] And now this year's host, which is a petro state, has appointed the president of COP28, in spite of the fact that he has a blatant conflict of interest, he's the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company owned by Abu Dhabi. Their emissions are larger than those of ExxonMobil, and they have no credible plan whatsoever to reduce them. So this is the person in charge of the COP. He's a nice guy. He's a smart guy. But a conflict of interest is a conflict of interest.”