It’s taken a few weeks of going back and forth but tonight we finally decided to switch our energy supplier from EDF to Good Energy. You can read all about them in my previous blog post but the main thing to know is that they use 100% green energy source and invest heavily in renewable energy in the UK. Being completely green definitely makes them stand out in the British market. This Uswitch diagram illustrates the point pretty well (though it’s a couple of years out of date so most of the companies have slightly improved their renewable sourcing since then).
Deciding whether to go with Green Energy or Ebico (who help low-income households) was a really difficult choice. Both the issues of fair pricing and renewable sourcing are hugely important. If Ebico had been more green we would have definitely gone with them (they source energy via SSE and buy about 24% green). It was pretty frustrating that we couldn’t find an ethical company that combined the best of both Good Energy and Ebico.
A legacy
In the end myself and my husband came down on the side of green because we both feel that it’s an issue that we don’t want to be naive or ignorant about. Since the birth of our daughter we’ve had a growing awareness that our decisions now will effect the kind of world she brings her own children up in. I set out saying I wanted to stop making choices that oppressed others. I think knowingly choosing non-renewable sources clearly has a cost for future generations, not mentioning the very real cost of climate change to people across the world today.
Decisions, decisions
What this month has taught me is that often being ethical means making choices. Even in these first few months I’ve had to review what it means for me to be ethical. In January I discovered that I care more about fairly traded ingredients than animal testing, this is my choice, it’s no more right or wrong, it’s just mine. Often nothing ticks all the boxes in terms of being ethical, we each have to decide which boxes we care the most about.
No more switching
Over the years I’ve switched energy several times and I have an inbox full of ‘switch related’ emails. Making a choice based on personal values rather than monetary value is liberating and the head space is certainly worth a few extra pounds a month. Not constantly needing to check that I’m on on the cheapest deal is quite a relief! We’ll assess our tariff after a year to make sure we are not paying more than we can afford but I’m hopeful that this is one switch we’ll stick to!