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Renewable energy is natural energy that comes from a source that won’t run out.

Renewable energy – which usually has a low- or zero-carbon footprint – is great for the environment and vital in the race to tackle climate change.

In the UK, there are 4 main sources of renewable energy: solar energy, wind power, bioenergy (organic matter burned as a fuel) and hydroelectric, including tidal energy.

The UK is on a mission to reach net zero by 2050, and so using electricity that comes from renewable sources is essential to help reduce our carbon emissions.

Renewable sources are in much more plentiful supply, compared to fossil fuels, and produce little or no harmful emissions when used, so the clean energy they provide will play a crucial role in preventing further global warming.

There are many benefits of renewable energy:

• Lower energy costs
• Reduced carbon emissions
• Energy independence from the National Grid
• Enhanced reliability and security
• Job creation and opportunities within Renewable sector

Solar is a renewable and infinite energy source that creates no harmful greenhouse gas emissions. It works by converting energy from the sun into power, and offers many benefits:

✓ Reduced electricity bills
✓ Lower carbon emissions
✓ No running costs
✓ Low maintenance
✓ 25 years+ life expectancy
✓ Energy independence from the Grid

Solar panels – which generate heat and electricity from the sun – are usually made from silicon, or another semiconductor material. When this material is exposed to photons of sunlight, it releases electrons and produces an electric charge.

This PV charge creates an electric current (direct current / DC), which is converted to alternating current (AC) by an inverter. AC is the
type of electrical current used when you plug appliances into normal wall sockets.

The carbon footprint of solar panels is already quite small, as they last for over 25 years. Plus, the materials used in the panels are increasingly recycled, so the carbon footprint will continue to shrink.

‘Carbon Neutral’ refers to the ambition to limit any increase in future carbon emissions, while using offsets to neutralise existing emissions. It’s also less prescriptive regarding the reporting boundary, with the inclusion of wider value chain (Scope 3) emissions being encouraged but not mandatory.

‘Net Zero’ refers to the amount of greenhouse gases – such as carbon dioxide, methane or sulphur dioxide – that are removed from the atmosphere being equal to those emitted by human activity. There is more focus on reducing carbon emissions as much as possible first, and only offsetting unavoidable, residual CO2 as a last resort.

Organisations are working hard to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce emissions, we need to understand and measure where they’re coming from in the first place.

‘Scope 1, 2, and 3‘ are a way of categorising the different kinds of emissions a company creates in its own operations and in its wider operations.

Scope 1 emissions

Scope 1 emissions refer to direct emissions that are owned or controlled by an organisation (e.g., burning fuel in a company’s fleet of vehicles)

Scope 2 emissions

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy (e.g., emissions caused by the generation of electricity used in an office building)

Scope 3 emissions

Scope 3 emissions are not produced by the company itself and are not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by them, but are all other indirect emissions from an organisations’ operations (e.g., when a company uses, buys and disposes of products from suppliers)