2020 was in many ways an unforgettable year: from the corona crisis and lockdowns to the worsening forest fires, melting permafrost and extreme weather resulting from the accelerating climate crisis.

For us at EKOenergy, the events of 2020 created additional opportunities to focus on our strengths and increase our efforts in the direction we have been following since our launch in 2013. We want immediate climate action, a rapid shift to 100% renewable energy and efficient nature protection.

In our Annual Report 2020 we list our main activities and results. We want to thank everybody who contributed to our work.

- EKOenergy's Annual Report 2020, page 4

For the new year, we wish you all the best and above all, good health!

With renewable energy companies increasingly outperforming fossil fuel dinosaurs and a growing number of countries committing to drastic carbon reduction, change is definitely in the air. These don't mean, however, that the transition will happen automatically or is happening fast enough.

In 2021, we at EKOenergy will continue our work of promoting renewable energy worldwide: By contacting large international companies as well as their supply chains, setting up new renewable energy campaigns, supporting more solar projects in developing countries, helping partner organisations to campaign against fossil fuels and peat,... All of this is possible thanks to the consumers of EKOenergy-labelled energy.

If you want to be part of our growing initiative, don't hesitate to get in touch. The challenges are huge, but together we are unstoppable! Everyone is welcome, everyone is needed.

- From the launch report of a recent project by Renewable World in Nepal, financed by our Climate Fund, thanks to EKOenergy users

In order to bring additionality to renewable energy purchases and help realise Sustainable Development Goal 7 (affordable, clean energy for all), the EKOenergy ecolabel raises funds for new renewable energy projects in developing countries. These projects are managed by experienced organisations and are implemented in cooperation with local NGOs. The selection happens every year through a transparent process.

We just launched a new call for solar energy projects in developing countries. We are looking for 6 to 8 projects of 15,000 to 35,000 € each. We invite experienced non-profit organisations to submit project proposals by 7 March 2021.

As always, we encourage EKOenergy's partners, licensees and consumers to participate in the selection process. Contact us for more information.

As a growing number of consumers switch to renewable energy and communicate about this in various ways, it is also getting increasingly important that the rules about how they  prove the origin of their energy be as clear as possible.

Markets around the world use different methods and systems to reliably track the origin of energy. In some countries there are two, or even more systems. In other countries there are hardly any that fulfil the basic requirements of reliable tracking. This situation is giving rise to many discussions with regard to the exclusiveness of claims and the avoidance of double counting.

In a recent post on our website, we list some of the difficult issues and explain EKOenergy’s standpoint in dealing with these challenges. In a nutshell, EKOenergy’s approach relies on pragmatism and focuses on best available practices. If you're curious about the questions we often get regarding this topic, read further on our website.

- Christophe Kremer from Coopérations Entreprises Socio-Culturelles, from the interview on our website.

Check out the news section of our website for recent articles and updates.
 

In 2018, EKOenergy started a cooperation with the Siemenpuu Foundation for the selection and long-term monitoring of renewable energy projects in Mali, Myanmar and Nepal. Siemenpuu has been cooperating with grassroots organisations for almost 20 years. Through our cooperation, we want to combine the financial capacity of EKOenergy’s Climate Fund and Siemenpuu’s experience in development cooperation.

Most of the renewable energy projects take place in rural, remote and off-grid areas. It would be impossible to deliver long lasting results without the support of the local communities.

To learn more, have a look at our interview with Hanna Matinpuro from Siemenpuu Foundation. See also a new Climate Story leaflet about the two recently finalised projects in Mali.

An increasing number of large institutional investors are shifting their assets from the oil patch to what is called “ESG” (Environmental, Social and Governance) investments - a category that includes renewable energy and e-mobility.

Blackrock is the world’s largest asset manager, with almost $8 trillion in funds under management. It has been bulking up on ESG-oriented investments over the past year, and perhaps more importantly, it recently signalled that it will be lending a more sympathetic ear to activist shareholder groups that are challenging boards of directors at companies in polluting industries.

A large number of such groups have been pressuring oil firms and others to do more to prepare for the coming transition to clean energy - not because it’s the right thing to do (although, to be fair, that is certainly a part of their arguments), but because the boards’ business-as-usual attitudes threaten the companies’ bottom lines.

Text copied from an article by Charles Morris on Evannex's website. Check out the article for further explanation.