We’re thankful to all our authorised sellers for offering EKOenergy-labelled energy all around the world. Through our annual EKOenergy awards, we highlight extraordinary achievements and celebrate these.
After the finalisation of this year’s audits, we are happy to present EKOenergy’s Oak Award 2022 to South Pole, for selling the largest volumes of EKOenergy in 2021. Congratulations South Pole!
Why Oak?
Oak trees can be found almost all over the world. In many cultures they are a symbol of strength and resistance. Oak trees can grow to a considerable size and have a long life span, stretching to over 1000 years.
South Pole, a leading sustainability solutions provider
South Pole is an international sustainability consultancy. They work with businesses and governments across the globe, helping them realise deep decarbonisation pathways across industries. South Pole started 15 years ago as a company focusing on carbon offsets. In 2015, they became active in renewable energy sales and they have been an authorised seller of EKOenergy since 2016.
Recipe for success
The race to be the largest EKOenergy seller was tight once again among our top 4. The award goes to South Pole for the second time in a row, a huge achievement! We talked to Matheus Monteiro from South Pole about their success, with a particular focus on their EKOenergy-related work.
Dear Matheus, congratulations on being the largest seller of EKOenergy-labelled Energy Attribute Certificates in 2021. South Pole wins the award for a second year in a row. How did you come to this great achievement?
As a leading sustainability solutions provider, with one of the largest portfolios on the market, additionality is at the top of our agenda. By focusing on delivering premium renewable energy certificates, we enable our customers to do more with their energy transition and decarbonization efforts. EKOenergy’s ecolabel allows us to align our global coverage with high-quality renewable energy projects and enables us to bring a strong value proposition to our clients.
Can you tell a bit more about South Pole’s ambitions for the coming years?
At South Pole, we work with businesses and governments across the globe to promote climate action. We help realise deep decarbonisation strategies across sectors and industries that are in line with the highest emission reduction standards and are developed based on a thorough understanding of climate risks and opportunities. We also work with public entities, trusts, foundations, and NGOs to implement their climate strategies and identify opportunities to scale up climate impact. Up until now, we have been involved in 700+ climate action projects and have over 1000 experts in 36 different locations across 6 continents that continue to deliver ambitious climate action. In the coming years, we will undoubtedly double the number of projects.
As far as renewable energy is concerned, for the coming years, we plan to considerably expand our project development capacity and existing solutions beyond energy attribute certification (i.e.: PPAs, on-site, supply chain, marketplace, reporting). At the same time, we will continue to support our clients in the next steps of their climate action journey. Our goal is to act as a reliable and trusted partner, able to leverage our proven experience and provide cutting-edge solutions at the global level.
“One of EKOenergy’s strengths is the reinvestment of revenue on small-scale but high-impact renewable energy projects around the globe”
What are the aspects you like most about the EKOenergy ecolabel?
The strict environmental criteria EKOenergy-eligible plants must go through, help to steer climate action in the right direction and provide a global platform for additionality. I enjoy the fact that EKOenergy ensures periodic project reviews and we can easily find instructions on various technologies when developing a new project. Furthermore, I also appreciate the continuous swift support of EKOenergy’s team. This includes being able to meet EKOenergy’s criteria against a new project or processing retirement statements and the superb response time – we always hear back within a few hours.
Still, the aspect that I like the most about EKOenergy is the fee-to-funding business model that allows for the reinvestment of revenue on small-scale but high-impact renewable energy projects around the globe. Their Climate Fund has already delivered almost 2 million euros for energy projects. It is always a joy to read about the latest projects funded by EKOenergy; whether that is a solar project in a Bolivian school or maternity clinics in Madagascar.
Why do you think your clients choose EKOenergy?
The possibility of adding EKOenergy’s logo to their products and/or EKOenergy’s proof of their sustainability claims certainly helps. Yet, I believe clients’ choices are mostly motivated by the understanding that EKOenergy allows for more impact being delivered on each MWh procured. Most of our clients that are interested in buying EKOenergy also develop broader decarbonization projects and consultancy mandates; whether that is supply chain engagement, carbon action credits, or plastic credits. Rather than a transactional relationship, these clients are interested in how South Pole can help them become global leaders in climate action.
What has helped you sell the largest volumes of EKOenergy-labelled electricity in the past 2 years? Do you have a special way of presenting EKOenergy to your clients?
EKOenergy’s proposition is incorporated into our offering. Even for clients with budget restrictions or those who have not actually asked for an ecolabel option; we make sure to include EKOenergy as an option. In some cases, when procurement has been initiated, clients are not yet aware of such possibilities and/or have low flexibility within their budgets. However, once we align on the additional benefits that come with the ecolabel, we often see a request in the subsequent procurement cycle for procurement options that include EKOenergy where possible. In addition to that, we have incorporated EKOenergy’s supporting documentation into our workshops, which also helps present the opportunity to our clients.
Published: 20 October 2022
