At Octopus Vitality, we need to help companies of all sizes in making greener decisions, supplying them with 100% inexperienced vitality at truthful and aggressive costs. We have now even created native enterprise vitality tariffs in two of the cities we name house: Leicester Enterprise Energy and Brighton Enterprise Energy.
On common, companies spend simply ten minutes a yr interested by their vitality provide.
That’s the identical time it takes to unload the dishwasher, or take heed to the Beatles’ “Octopus’ Backyard” 4 instances.
And, to be sincere, no surprise it’s now not. Vitality for companies has traditionally been an absolute headache. The market might be stuffed with difficult contracts and brokers who’re extra all in favour of fee than prospects, usually ripping companies off by pinning them into extortionately priced ‘offers’.
I might a lot want an empty dishwasher.
We need to assist companies make greener decisions, this is the reason we’ve developed our native enterprise energy tariffs. We’re embracing these communities with all our tentacles by supporting native initiatives, partnering with native renewable websites and working academic lessons for faculties within the space. Our final purpose is to provide 100% renewable vitality to a community of native companies, pushing for cleaner, greener and extra linked cities.
In mild of the latest pandemic we consider that supporting smaller companies is essential now greater than ever. We recognise that vitality is an important service and so our mission is to supply sincere, easy, fairly-priced offers to prospects. You’ll be able to learn extra about our response to coronavirus right here.
I caught up with a few the companies on our Leicester provide – Blackened Solar Microbrewery and The Items Depot – to speak in regards to the nice work they’re doing and why they’re proud to be up and working on domestically sourced, renewable vitality.
Blackened Solar Microbrewery
Blackened Solar Microbrewery makes native beer for native people. It’s a family-run enterprise arrange by Gary and Sharon, husband and spouse captivated with brewing the highest quality craft beers they’ll with out utilizing any components or preservatives – cheers to that!
I ended to seize a chilly one with Gary, chief brewer at Blackened Solar, and discover out a bit extra about their work.
Eloise: Are you able to inform me just a little bit about Blackened Solar Microbrewery and the way you began?
Gary: I began house brewing again in 2013 when my spouse purchased me a equipment for Christmas and I actually took to the method. On the finish of 2016 I got down to flip my interest into my occupation. The previous couple of years have been a labour of affection and we lastly opened in 2017. Our ethos is utilizing superb high quality substances and never doing an excessive amount of to the beer itself: no chemical compounds, no filtering, no pasteurising.
Eloise: How is sustainability on the coronary heart of what you do?
Gary: As a enterprise we give the byproducts of brewing to different native folks and help their initiatives.
An area farmer takes our malted barley to feed his cows – apparently it’s their favorite meals! We additionally recycle hops, which is among the substances used within the brewing course of. Hops flowers are a very good fertiliser, so a neighborhood organisation referred to as “Department-Out MK” collects our refuse. They’ve allotments the place they work with adults and kids with studying variations and autism, partaking them via social and therapeutic horticulture. The organisation is even beginning to plant the hop flowers on their land, so we are able to purchase the hops from them, then return the waste as fertiliser – a really round partnership.
And, in fact, 100% native renewable vitality powers our operations every single day. We all know we’re a small enterprise in a distinct segment sector, so we aren’t going to have a big impression on world emissions. However for our personal integrity, we need to work sustainably and do good inside our neighborhood.
Eloise: Why did you select Octopus Vitality as your provider?
Gary: The very first thing that sparked my consideration in regards to the Octopus native tariffs is that I can truly be linked with photo voltaic vitality generated within the UK – and never simply within the UK, however in neighbouring Leicestershire! After I did some procuring round and in contrast costs, Octopus was additionally one of many cheaper vitality suppliers. I noticed it as an absolute win win- moderately priced vitality that was additionally each native and renewable.
The Items Depot
The Items Depot is delivering beneficial change in Leicestershire by delivering worth items to these in want. They’re a small, but highly effective crew of passionate volunteers and workers, engaged on repurposing white items (suppose: washing machines, fridges, electrical cookers) and offering them to susceptible folks in Leicestershire. I caught up with Alex Grealis, Undertaking Supervisor on the Items Depot, to talk about their implausible and necessary work.
Eloise: Are you able to inform me just a little bit extra about The Items Depot?
Alex: Our dad or mum firm is Charity Hyperlink. They function on the assumption that everybody deserves an honest lifestyle, the best to enough meals and shelter, and the means to maintain heat, clear and rested – it doesn’t matter what problem they might be dealing with. They work throughout Leicestershire and past to supply important objects to susceptible members of the neighborhood.
We buy reused white items and Charity Hyperlink then offers them to folks in want and in disaster. We have now been round for simply over 18 months and have delivered properly over 1,000 models this yr to individuals who in any other case wouldn’t have entry to on a regular basis kitchen utilities.
Eloise: Why is being on Octopus Vitality Provide necessary to what you are promoting?
Alex: Having an environmentally pleasant, cost-effective vitality provider is important to our targets. We run as a undertaking that’s each sustainable in its operations, but in addition helps present monetary sustainability for Charity Hyperlink.
Our environmental impression is a key a part of our work; as an illustration, we largely cope with reused and reconditioned white items to cease so many going to landfill. Being powered by renewable vitality is non-negotiable for us in an effort to be a sustainable undertaking.
But we additionally try to maintain our working prices as little as potential in order that any revenue we generate might be put again into Charity Hyperlink’s pot. This helps the charity with its essential work. We don’t need to be landed with an extortionate vitality invoice, we have to funnel as a lot of our funds as potential into supporting folks in want.
You could find out extra about Charity Hyperlink’s work and donate to them right here.
Are you a Enterprise that would profit from truthful priced 100% renewable vitality? You will get a quote from us in the present day.
