Protecting the environment: Utility Warehouse’s green initiatives

The multi-award-winning home service provider helps customers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and costs.

We need the earth. It’s our home and, if we don’t care for our environment, we’ll only have ourselves to blame. But minimising our carbon footprint isn’t always easy, especially as our homes all rely on essential services such as lighting and heating. That’s not to say all energy providers are the same, though – you can do your bit for the environment by opting for providers that offer the greenest solutions.

Having said that, researching the greenest energy providers is a time-consuming, laborious process that very few of us fancy. This is where Utility Warehouse (UW) comes in. The multiservice provider rolls home services and green energy into great value bundles that you can pay for in simple, monthly bills. Over the past year, UW has collected feedback from its customers and Partners (independent distributors) to work out how best to improve its green credentials. UW has used this feedback to create its future-facing green initiatives, which strengthen the company's commitment to reducing its impact on the environment.

Here, we’ll take a look at UW’s four key green initiatives and explore how they protect the environment – all while helping customers to save.

1) UW’s Fixed Green Tariff

Last year, UW launched its Fixed Green Tariff, which provides new customers with 100% renewable electricity from solar, wind, and tidal power. Any customer who signs up for all UW services receives this tariff automatically. What’s more, UW measures every unit of electricity that its customers use and puts the same amount of renewable electricity back into the grid.

2) Smart meters

Smart meters are the next-generation gas and electricity meters. Not only do they offer a huge step towards a greener, healthier world, but they also make for great savings. On top of this, customers who have smart meters don’t need to bother with meter readings and estimated bills. As these customers don’t need to submit manual readings, they can forget all about utilities and leave UW to do the work.

UW customers can take advantage of a free smart meter upgrade, which helps when it comes to taking control of energy use and getting accurate bills. UW provides customers with a free smart meter display that clearly shows energy usage in real-time. This way, you can see where you can save and budget accordingly. Last year, UW installed 10% of all smart meters in the UK. These smart meters help UW customers save around 24,960 tonnes of CO2 every year. Planting a forest around the size of Blackpool would save a similar amount of energy.

3) The UW Foundation

2020 also saw the launch of The UW Foundation. This foundation funds charities and charitable initiatives that help the environment – spreading the word about why lowering greenhouse gas emissions is important and how we can put this into practice.

The UW Foundation:

· Funds the planting of a tree for every customer who signs up to all UW services. The aim is to plant 100,000 trees in the UW woodland on Bryn Arw, absorbing 20,000 tonnes of CO2 by April 2021. UW is well on track to meet this target.

· Supports charities that improve environmental health. In 2020, UW raised £20,000 for Ocean Generation (formerly Plastic Oceans UK). Nominated by Partners as their charity for the year, Ocean Generation raises awareness about the dangers that plastic can cause in oceans, seas, and rivers. Not only do UW Partners work hard to raise funds for the charity, but UW matches all funds raised by its Partners to double the contribution. The funds support Ocean Generation’s education programmes, which help communities understand the impact of plastic on ocean health, give them a platform to voice their concerns, and set up schemes to reduce plastic pollution.

· Raises funds for disadvantaged communities close to UW offices in London, Bournemouth, and Bolton. UW matches every £1 raised by its employees and Partners to support these charities.

Last year, UW also raised extra funds to support NHS Charities Together in response to the growing coronavirus pandemic.

UW Partners go above and beyond to raise funds for The UW Foundation. While some have swum the Jersey coastline and bounced on trampolines, others have shaved their hair off, recorded music, completed 12-hour workouts, delivered hampers to local hospitals, and hosted virtual quizzes to continue fundraising efforts during lockdown.

Find out more about UW’s charitable works on The UW Foundation Facebook page.

4) LED light bulbs and installation

Customers who have taken out all UW home services have also enjoyed UW’s Light Bulb Replacement Service. These customers have received free LED light bulbs and free installation from UW’s professional bulb fitters, saving around £300 to £500 in bulbs and fittings.

UW has installed over 5 million LED bulbs in more than 150,000 UK homes over the past 5 years. Supplying customers with these lightbulbs has saved approximately 20,000 tonnes of carbon per year. Plus, LED light bulbs use around 15% less electricity than incandescent and halogen bulbs. This means UW has been able to save customers a combined £35million in electricity to date.

CFI.co Best Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Award

As a result of these efforts, last year, CFI.co awarded UW’s parent company (Telecom Plus PLC) the Best Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Multi-Utility Provider Award. The award recognises the tremendous benefits that UW achieves for customers – enabling them to save up to 15% on their energy bills while cutting their emissions.

This award is a well-deserved addition to UW’s collection of accolades, which feature awards and top ratings from Which?, Uswitch, Moneywise, Defaqto, Moneyfacts, and the European Business Awards. Most recently, Which? announced UW as the 2020 winner of its Utilities Brand of the Year Award. Which? has consistently recommended UW’s home services for over 10 years running.

About Utility Warehouse

UW is the UK’s only genuine multiservice provider – a FTSE 250 company that goes above and beyond to protect both the environment and its customers. Whether you need energy, broadband, landline and mobile services, home insurance, or boiler care, UW can bring all of the utility services you require into one simple bundle to help you save time and money.

Learn more about UW.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes