New research carried out by energy price comparison website Love Energy Savings reveals that more than 40 per cent of people believe businesses should source clean energy from renewable sources.
In the survey of 1,001 consumers, 33 per cent says they would personally pay more for energy from renewable sources. But while many homes in the UK are switching to greener energy suppliers, businesses don’t always enjoy the same variety of tariffs.
With the government providing businesses with incentives to be more environmentally friendly, it seems likely there will be an increase in the amount of energy that suppliers get from renewable sources in future. But how do businesses balance demand for low prices with the push for more renewable clean energy?
To help inform the public about where the main suppliers get their energy from, Love Energy Savings has released a quick comparison guide, which you can read in its entirety here.
Phil Foster, managing director of Love Energy Savings, comments, ‘Green energy tariffs are already popular for homeowners, and while there are not as many renewable contract options available to businesses, due to usage requirements, many suppliers do offer a greener alternative.
‘We’ve found that businesses are increasingly aware of their carbon emissions as taxes and governmental requirements force compliance and measurement. Suppliers know this too and it will be interesting to see how their fuel mixes change as green targets become ever more challenging.’
Guy Harwood, TPI contract manager at Npower, says that ultimately it comes down to demand and that price remains the key consideration for most customers.
Hardwood adds, ‘Customers are certainly more aware of clean energy, but in reality we still feel that price is the number one driver for customer behaviour. If they can get a good price and green energy, customers would probably go for that, but we still aren’t in a position where a customer would prioritise a green tariff over price.’
Further reading on business energy
