See the difference SSE Green could make to your business

SSE Green Electricity enables you to report zero emissions for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting using the market-based method for your Scope 2 purchased electricity.

As well as being able to report zero emissions, organisations with SSE Green Electricity can also enhance their environmental reputation and commitment with customers and other stakeholders, reduce the carbon footprint of their organisation, demonstrate best practise in the marketplace and demonstrate commitment to renewable and sustainable goals.

Launched in 1998, the GHG Protocol seeks to develop internationally accepted greenhouse gas accounting and reporting standards and tools to promote their adoption worldwide.

This outlines a standard set of accounting and reporting rules for developing corporate inventories. The Corporate Standard identifies and categorises the emissions from all of the operations that together comprise an organisation.

From October 2013, it has been mandatory for FTSE 100 companies to report GHG emissions in their annual reports.

SSE is provided by Ofgem with REGOs for each megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated and these are matched to the purchased electricity on your contract.

Using the 'market-based' reporting method under the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, Scope 2, the electricity you purchase can be matched to Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs), allowing you to report zero emissions. SSE Green Electricity benefits:

• Report zero emissions for 'Scope 2' purchased electricity
• Reduce your organisation's carbon footprint
• Demonstrate your commitment to renewable and sustainable goals
• Enhance your reputation with customers and other stakeholders
• Demonstrate best practice in your marketplace.

To switch your organisation to SSE Green Electricity, speak to your SSE Business Energy account manager today.

If you have any questions regarding green energy, please see our FAQs above or contact ssegreen@sse.com.

REGO stands for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin. It certifies that the electricity purchased comes from a renewable source. One REGO is issued for each megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated.

The REGO scheme is administered by Ofgem and has been designed to increase transparency for consumers who wish to buy renewable energy.

Although SSE Green Electricity customers get their electricity through the national grid as normal, it’s matched to REGOs allocated to SSE by Ofgem. So the electricity you buy is deemed to be 100% renewable energy.

The latest amendment to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, Scope 2 Guidance (January 2015) introduced changes to the way in which organisations should report their GHG emissions.

The key change is that organisations now have to report their emissions according to a location-based or market-based method. The reason for this change is that organisations have increasingly demanded information about the sources producing their energy, and attributes about that production.

The location-based method reflects the average emissions intensity of grids on which energy consumption occurs (using mostly grid-average emission factor data) whilst the market-based method reflects emissions from electricity that companies have purposefully chosen (or their lack of choice).

SSE has around 2,500MW of wind (onshore and offshore) and hydro assets in operation throughout the UK with a further 400MW of onshore wind currently in construction. SSE Green Electricity will also be supported by REGO’s from other wind and hydro generators.

If you have any questions regarding the SSE Green proposition, please contact ssegreen@sse.com.

When you upgrade to SSE Green Gas or SSE Green Gas Plus, you’ll be able to demonstrate your company’s renewable credentials, show your positive commitment to sustainable values and differentiate your business from competitors. You can use the SSE Green Gas or SSE Green Gas Plus logo and certificate in your marketing material and social media posts.

SSE Green Gas is our more affordable offering: 25% certified renewable gas backed by RGGOs or BMCs, with the remaining 75% backed by carbon offset projects to develop wind and hydro power generation abroad. To further reduce carbon at home, we also pledge to plant one tree in the UK for every SSE Green Gas customer.

SSE Green Gas Plus is our premium offering: simply 100% renewable gas backed by RGGOs or BMCs, with additional verification from EcoAct, an Atos company.

All the renewable gas we buy is backed by Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin (RGGOs) and Biomethane Certificates (BMCs), so you can be sure it’s genuinely renewable.

SSE Green Gas is 25% renewable gas backed by RGGOs or BMCs, plus 75% carbon offsets independently verified to international standards and approved by the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS).

SSE Green Gas Plus is 100% renewable gas backed by RGGOs or BMCs, with additional verification from EcoAct, an Atos company.

Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin (also known as RGGOs) or Biomethane Certificates (BMCs) are issued for every 1kWh of renewable gas that has been produced from accredited sources. This is a similar mechanism to the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) issued to renewable assets for the electricity they produce.

As an SSE Green Gas or SSE Green Gas Plus customer, you'll continue to get your gas through the national grid as normal. With SSE Green Gas, we'll match 25% of your gas consumption to RGGOs or BMCs and the remaining 75% to carbon offsets. With SSE Green Gas Plus, we'll match all your gas consumption to RGGOs or BMCs.

Carbon offsetting is a way to invest in environmental projects around the world to compensate for, or offset, your carbon footprint. By helping to pay to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) in other parts of the world, you balance out, or offset, the CO2 your business is calculated to produce from the natural gas you buy – that means your gas is carbon-neutral.

With SSE Green Gas, you’ll get 25% certified renewable gas. The remaining 75% is carbon-neutral gas that’s offset by projects to develop wind and hydro power generation abroad, which cut global CO2 emissions. Organised by Carbon Footprint Ltd, a leading carbon offsetting company, all the carbon offsets we buy are independently verified to international standards.

Learn more about carbon offsetting

To further cut carbon at home, we also pledge to plant one tree per SSE Green Gas customer in the UK – native species that help to preserve our environment and biodiversity.

Learn more about UK tree planting

Demand for 100% renewable gas is growing, which is great news. But right now demand is outstripping supply, which means the price has increased. So we've introduced carbon offsets to allow as many businesses as possible to go green.

All carbon offsets are traceable and recorded on a registry. But carbon offset projects here at home don't count towards offsetting because the UK has signed up to the Kyoto Protocol. All the UK's carbon emissions savings and projects are already accounted for within this agreement. That's why the projects we support are based abroad, typically in developing countries that haven't signed up to the Kyoto Protocol. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global issue after all.

But we also want to help to further reduce carbon at home. That's why we pledge to plant one tree in the UK for every SSE Green Gas customer.

Yes. Combining SSE Green Gas or SSE Green Gas Plus with SSE Green Electricity is a great way to show your commitment to sustainability.