Earth Day: Six ways to Invest in Our Planet

It’s our top way to invest in our planet this Earth Day. Not only has the cost of solar, wind energy and batteries plummeted since 2010, but more than three-quarters of Britain’s public support new windfarms in the UK. Yet the IPCC says there’s a gaping hole in the funding needed to limit warming to below 2°C by 2030, and a strong alignment of finance and government policy required to close this gap.

As a deep green energy supplier, what makes us different is that we invest our customer bill money into new sources of green energy. We’ve always used our profits to build new green energy generation – we call it “bills into mills”.

And we have projects underway, from two cutting-edge solar parks in Devon and Leicestershire, and our first 100% green gas mill near Reading, to our partnership for Britain’s first geothermal energy supply, and grid-scale battery storage.

Stay tuned for updates on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels.

It really does work. In July 2019, Ecotalk customer bills helped the RSPB buy Fairburn Tips, an old dumping ground for coal mining waste in West Yorkshire, and restore it into a wild space.

The Ecotalk + RSPB mobile service is now supporting fundraising efforts to help the RSPB buy Horse Common in the New Forest. By introducing more water and traditional grazing, it hopes to boost biodiversity, and see historic bird species such as woodlark and nightjar make a return.

Switch your SIM to Ecotalk + RSPB.

When it comes to fighting the climate crisis, it’s well-documented (including by the latest IPCC report) that diets high in plant protein and low in meat and dairy are associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

Shifting our diets in this way therefore represents clear action we can take to invest in our planet – and our health, too. Benefits span everything from lowering your risk of heart disease and diabetes, to even reversing type 2 diabetes and protecting against cancers.

At Ecotricity we’re the only energy company in the world certified vegan by both The Vegan Society and Viva! the vegan charity – both organisations offer great advice for going animal-free. You can also find more plant-based food news from our partner, The Vegan Kind.

The MoEE is a collaboration of teachers setting sustainability at the heart of education, pooling all the best sustainability teaching resources around into one complete, holistic curriculum, for Britain’s primary schools.

From its roots at Minchinhampton School near Ecotricity HQ, the MoEE now works with 15 pioneer schools UK-wide to pilot the new ‘green’ curriculum – with a mission to reach 10,000 schools by 2025.

Visit MoEE to find out more.

Our partner Triodos Bank is one such bank – we’ve known them since 1996, when they helped finance Ecotricity’s first windmill. Triodos refuses to finance polluting fossil fuels and regularly tops ethical banking rankings, using the power of finance to invest in projects good for people and planet.

Committing to going plastic-free therefore is one of the most impactful ways to #InvestInOurPlanet, shifting our time, energy and money into avoiding using these forever materials, and making plastic-free living the norm.

Several of our partners are tackling the scourge of plastic waste. Sea Shepherd’s UK Marine Debris campaign, for example, is part of global efforts to spread education and awareness of plastic pollution, through local beach cleans.

Meanwhile our friends at Lush, the handmade cosmetics company, offer plastic-free and refill options on the high street (as does the Ethical Superstore online), while Riverford Organic Farmers do zero-packing veg boxes – making it easy to avoid plastics and promote reuse.

Visit the Earth Day website for more tips and to join the movement.

Find out more about our green energy.