Empowering SMEs towards Net Zero
ONE OF the key talking points in the public forum over recent months is whether the cost of living issues, exacerbated by high energy prices, should temper or inject further urgency to the UK’s drive to Net Zero.
At SSE, we firmly believe that accelerating the deployment of renewable sources of electricity generation will be the cheapest and quickest way to bring down energy costs for customers. It isn’t an ‘either/or’ scenario. Reaching Net Zero quicker will ultimately bring energy bills down for customers too.
As Director of SSE Business Energy within our Energy Solutions business, one of my major concerns is ensuring the 500,000 business premises we supply are clear that embarking on the journey to Net Zero is the right thing to do. Not only right for environmental reasons, but also the right approach commercially.
Simplicity is key
One of our jobs as an energy supplier is to make this journey as seamless as possible for our customers. I don’t believe businesses are daunted by the need to decarbonise as much as they may have been a few years back. But I’m aware that many businesses, particularly SMEs still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, might have stalled progress on their decarbonisation journey.
Within SSE, we talk about ‘democratising green’ so that businesses of all sizes and means can access the green products and services that SSE
Energy Solutions provide.
One of the simplest means of taking a step forward to reduce a business’ carbon footprint is ensuring the origin of its energy supply is 100% renewable. At SSE, we make this as simple as possible for all new customers signing up to a fixed electricity tariff by ensuring they are provided with 100% renewable energy as standard. This is green energy originating from wind farms and hydropower stations operated by SSE.
Being savvy about energy use is another way to make strides on the journey to Net Zero. While managing energy consumption is an effective means of reducing costs, it’s also a critical aspect of reducing a business’ impact on the environment.
For example, has your business installed a smart meter? Installation comes at no additional cost and incurs minimal business disruption. Crucially, a smart meter is the portal to a suite of tools and services that will enable you to monitor your consumption in a smarter fashion. For example, SSE Clarity is a powerful energy management platform that uses data from your smart meter and brings it together in a suite of tools to help measure, manage and forecast your energy usage.
Finding the right solution for your business
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to decarbonising a business. Some of the products that SSE Energy Solutions offer are tailored to a specific business profile but we will always endeavour to find the right option for your business.
Two of our more recent products reflect the breadth of offering for businesses. Businesses heavily reliant on fleets of electric vehicles (EVs) or looking to convert to EVs can now source 100% renewable energy through an SSE Green EV tariff. This provides economic incentives to charge vehicles during periods of traditionally low electricity demand, such as overnight when vehicle fleets might more naturally be stationary.
Businesses with a certain annual volume requirement can also access what is known as a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) with SSE. The CPPA allows a business to buy an agreed amount of electricity from a specific SSE wind farm, providing full traceability and enabling a fixed price to be set for the duration of the contract up to five years.
Businesses will reach Net Zero along many different routes but the key for SSE Energy Solutions is we help SMEs achieve this as simply and efficiently as possible.