O2 and SSE Business Energy launch new offer to help supply chain switch to renewable energy

• New offering lets O2 suppliers and partners buy renewable energy direct from SSE Business Energy at a reduced rate.
• The offer forms part of O2’s recent commitment to cut carbon emissions from its entire business and supply chain by 2025, and drive uptake of renewable energy amongst business partners and suppliers.

11 March 2020 : O2 has teamed up with SSE Business Energy to launch a new service that allows all O2 suppliers and business partners in Great Britain to buy SSE Green renewable electricity at an exclusive rate.

The scheme makes O2’s own large-scale, lower renewable energy rate from SSE Business Energy available to partner businesses of all sizes – from SMEs (small and medium enterprises) right through to large businesses of 500 people or more. It allows suppliers and partners to demonstrate their own sustainability credentials and comes as part of O2’s plans to reduce carbon emissions across its business by 2025, a major step towards giving UK consumers and businesses a mobile network where calls, texts and data are powered by cleaner, greener energy. This builds on the journey started in 2008, when O2 committed to SSE Green renewable energy across sites where it pays the bill.

Tracey Herald, Head of Partnerships & Social Impact at O2, said: “At O2, we’re proud to be a responsible business – and part of this means upholding the highest environmental standards in our own supply chain. This latest project with SSE Business Energy is the perfect example of working together for good: using O2’s purchasing power to give Britain’s suppliers and partners the option to access preferential renewable electricity rates, while reducing their own carbon footprint.”

Rachel McEwen, Chief Sustainability Officer at SSE, added: “As a large renewable developer SSE can provide the zero carbon energy that the rest of the economy needs, and we’re delighted to be working with O2 to offer SSE Green to their suppliers. From our perspective, O2 is one of the best examples of a customer demanding not only climate action but also improved sustainability credentials across their supply chain, and the promotion of SSE Green at a reduced rate will further strengthen the positive influence they can have on their suppliers.”

In its own operations, O2 already uses SSE Green 100% renewable electricity at all of the sites where it controls the energy bill. Last year, the mobile company announced that it had achieved recertification to the Carbon Trust Standard for Supply Chain at level 3, the highest possible level. The standard is the world’s first independent certification for recognising organisations that are measuring, managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions within their supply chains. O2 was the first business in the world to achieve certification at level 3, and today is still only one of three businesses to have achieved this, demonstrating leadership in the management of supply chain emissions in its industry by making real progress year-on-year.

SSE Green Electricity is 100% renewable, clean electricity, generated by wind and hydro assets. It’s certified by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) and independently verified by EcoAct, a Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) accredited provider. More information about SSE Green can be found here.