Skip to main content
Facilitate Magazine: Informing Workplace and Facilities Management Professionals - return to the homepage Facilitate magazine logo
  • Search
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit Facilitate Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @Facilitate_Mag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Logo of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
    • Comment
    • People
    • Reports
    • Research
  • Features
    • Analysis
    • Features
    • Round Tables
    • Webinars
  • Outsourcing
    • Contract Finder
    • Contracts
    • FM Business Models
    • Interviews
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Opinion
    • Procurement
    • Trends
  • Know-How
    • Explainers
    • Legal Updates
    • White Papers
  • Jobs
  • Topics
    • Workplace Services
      • Hospitality
      • Catering
      • Cleaning
      • Front of House
      • Grounds Maintenance
      • Helpdesk
      • Mailroom
      • Manned Guarding / Security
      • Pest Control
      • Washroom Services
      • Disaster Recovery
      • Specialist Services
    • Professional Performance
      • Behavioural Change
      • Continual Professional Development
      • Education
      • Management
      • Recruitment
      • Training
    • Workplace Performance
      • Benchmarking
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Operational Readiness
      • Procurement
      • Security
      • Workplace User Experience
      • Workplace Culture
    • Compliance
      • Health & Safety
      • Risk & Business Continuity
      • Standards
      • Statutory Compliance
    • Building Services
      • Architecture & Construction
      • Asset Management
      • Building Controls
      • Building Fabric
      • Drinking Water
      • Fire Protection
      • HVAC
      • Landscaping
      • Mechanical & Electrical
      • Building Security
      • Water, Drainage & Plumbing
    • Technology
      • Building Information Modelling
      • CAFM
      • Data & Networks
      • Document Management
      • Information Management
      • Internet of Things (IoT)
      • Software & Systems
    • Energy management
      • Energy Management Systems
      • Electricity
      • Gas
      • Solar
      • Wind
    • Sustainability
      • Environmental Quality
      • Social Value
      • Waste Management
      • Recycling
    • Workspace Design
      • Agile Working
      • Fit-Out & Refurbishment
      • Inclusive Access
      • Lighting
      • Office Interiors
      • Signage
      • Space Planning
      • Storage
      • Vehicle Management / Parking
      • Washroom
    • Sectors
      • Corporate Office
      • Education
      • Healthcare
      • Manufacturing
      • International
      • Retail
      • Sports & Leisure
      • Regions
  • Buyers' Guide
Quick links:
  • Home
  • Topics
Know How
Explainers

Eco-friendly contracts

Open-access content Monday 4th March 2019 — updated 2.38pm, Tuesday 5th May 2020
handshake_CREDIT--GettyImages

REGO-backed 100 per cent renewable electricity contracts can save the planet and your costs, says Will Richardson.

04 March 2019 | Will Richardson 


Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) certificates guarantee that when a consumer buys a 100 per cent renewable electricity contract, there will be no double counting of the renewable energy.  


The REGO scheme provides transparency to consumers about the proportion of electricity that suppliers source from renewable generation. All EU member states are required to have such a scheme.


Ofgem administers the scheme for generation in Great Britain on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and in Northern Ireland on behalf of the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation.


Ofgem issues one REGO certificate per megawatt hour (MWh) of eligible renewable output to generators of renewable electricity.


As such, the primary use of REGOs is for fuel mix disclosure, which requires licensed electricity suppliers to disclose to customers the mix of fuels (coal, gas, nuclear, renewable and other) used to generate the electricity supplied. The REGO itself is a unique code that details which renewable generator produced the power. By choosing a REGO-backed supply for your business, your electricity supplier must match your estimated usage with 100 per cent renewable electricity. 


Carbon reporting

Emissions from electricity are reported under the GHG protocol's Scope 2 category.  Before 2014, Scope 2 emissions were reported using a 'location-based' method that meant the average fuel mix of the consumer's grid was used as the emissions factor.  


Now there is a recommendation from the WRI, which is responsible for the GHG Protocol, to report 'market-based' Scope 2 emissions - emissions are calculated using the fuel mix of the electricity provider.  


Your electricity supplier must provide you with the fuel mix you are using, which will dictate the carbon emissions you report. So if you have bought a 100 per cent renewable contract, under the market-based method of Scope 2 reporting, you can report zero greenhouse gas emissions.


Scope 2 Guidance explains that 'market instruments' must back a renewable electricity contract. So having a 100 per cent REGO-backed electricity supply guarantees that your power is backed by renewable generation, and can be reported as zero carbon. 


Scope 2 reports metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e). This is calculated as the megawatt hours of electricity that your business has consumed, multiplied by the reported carbon emissions of the electricity that it has received. 


Securing a REGO-backed contract 

The 'big six' energy suppliers offer genuine REGO-backed contracts at little or no extra cost compared with the 'brown' or residual fuel mix contracts. 


There are also 100 per cent renewable energy companies such as Ecotricity and Good Energy that only produce renewable electricity and are also sourcing increasing proportions of gas from renewable sources.  

p53_infographics

Will Richardson is founder of environmental management consultancy Green Element

Also filed in:
Topics
Know How
Content
Explainers

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Today's top reads

 

Latest Jobs

Project Leader (Maternity Cover One Year Contract)

Cambridge
Circa £50,000 Pro Rata + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56378

Maintenance Supervisor

Surrey
Up to £43,000 + Excellent Package & Opportunities
Reference
56376

Regional Facilities Manager

South West England
Circa £40,000 + Benefits & Opportunities
Reference
56375
See all jobs »

 

 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to print

Sign up to receive our bi-monthly magazine

Subscribe
Facilitate magazine cover, June 2020
​
FOLLOW US
@Facilitate_Mag
Facilitate Magazine
Facilitate Magazine
CONTACT US
Contact us
Tel: 020 7880 6200
​

IWFM

About IWFM
Become a member
Qualifications
Events

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to Facilitate Magazine
Write for Facilitate Magazine

General

IWFM Jobs
Help

© 2022 • www.facilitatemagazine.com and Facilitate Magazine are published by Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ