Uswitch Green Accreditation
Ready to go green? We’re here to help you switch to a green energy tariff with confidence.
What is Uswitch Green Accreditation?
Uswitch Green Accreditation aims to make green energy tariffs easier to understand so you can pick the one that’s right for you.
Levels assigned by experts
Our expert panel assigns each green tariff a Bronze, Silver or Gold level, depending on a range of factors (covered below).
Look for the level badge
Each tariff is given a badge when it’s been assigned Bronze, Silver or Gold status, so look out for those badges on the results table when you compare energy deals.
Make a confident choice
You switch to the right green energy tariff for you, as you would with any new energy tariff.
How are tariffs accredited?
Our panel of industry experts assess the green tariffs that our suppliers make available on the UK market according to these criteria:
How do the tariffs compare?
| Bronze | Silver | Gold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable electricity | 0% (generated renewable energy matching your energy use is sent to the grid) | 39.7% (minimum), or 33% (if green gas included) | 100% |
| Renewable gas | 0% | Maybe some - check tariff for details | 10% (minimum) |
| Renewable energy projects funded by providers | No | Not necessarily | Yes |
A Bronze tariff is often the most affordable level of green tariff. However, this is because you won't receive energy that comes from renewable sources. Instead, that renewable energy is generated and sent back to the grid for others to use.
Often the most affordable green option
Drives overall increase in renewable energy use
You’ll still receive a large portion of non-renewable energy
Silver
A Silver tariff goes a step further than a Bronze tariff. Customers' fuel mixes on a Silver tariff will feature at least 39.7% electricity sourced from renewable sources or at least 33% electricity sourced from renewables if there is some green gas in the mix as well.
You get at least some renewable energy
You’re helping to fund further investment in renewable energy
You’ll still receive a large portion of non-renewable energy
Gold
A Gold tariff is the greenest possible tariff that Uswitch offers. Customers will receive 100% renewable electricity and at least 10% green gas. Gold tariff suppliers will also be contributing towards long-term renewable energy projects.
100% renewable electricity
At least 10% green gas with all gas fully carbon-offset
Minimal impact on the environment
Renewable energy projects funded
Usually more expensive than Bronze or Silver level tariffs
Special commendations
Choosing a green energy tariff is only part of becoming more sustainable - how we use energy at home matters too. There are many ways we can improve that and energy suppliers have started helping their customers on that journey.
This is why Uswitch Green Accreditation is expanding to include special commendation in categories that the Green Accreditation Panel sees as most valuable at the moment for the energy transition. Commendation is awarded to suppliers by the Panel judging their individual submissions based on their individual merit.
1. Mobility
Electric vehicles are the future and will change how we fuel our personal transport - making our energy use at home a lot more important. There is still a lot of work to do to make sure EVs are affordable and accessible to all customers but many energy suppliers are starting to do their part. This commendation recognises suppliers who go above and beyond in promoting electric vehicles and making them more accessible to customers.
2. Future Homes
This category combines supplier efforts in energy efficiency and heating. It recognises that our homes will need to be upgraded to make the most of future technology. This includes how we use energy at home; moving most of our usage to off-peak times; and changing how our homes are powered and heated, such as swapping gas boilers for heat pumps.
3. Local Energy
To reduce the costs of delivering energy, it should be able to be produced locally. Energy suppliers can help facilitate communities coming together and ensuring their homes are powered.
The highly commended suppliers in 2022 are:
Mobility
OVO Energy
OVO is going well beyond just offering its customers a simple time of use tariff to promote an uptake of Electric Vehicles.
With innovative Kaluza technology, the tariff allows EV customers to separate their spend on their vehicle charging from overall home energy consumption, with a cheaper rate. The technology optimises the usage to make use of energy when it's cheapest and greenest. Along with its partnership with Vanarama on EV leasing, OVO brings something truly innovative in the market.
Octopus Energy
1 in 6 customers with electric vehicles are also Octopus Energy customers, with many also on a time of use tariff. This means customers can benefit from smarter, more flexible charging of their EV cars, significantly contributing to the reduction in carbon emissions.
Through its end-to-end proposition, including Octopus Electric Vehicles leasing, customers are given an easy and accessible route to adoption of electric vehicles.
Future Homes
OVO Energy
A future home not only has to be carbon neutral, but also energy efficient to make sure it only uses the minimum amount of energy needed. OVO is delivering a holistic approach by installing heat pumps and retrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient in projects mainly in Scotland and South West England.
Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy is highly commended in the future homes category for its efforts in promoting demand shifting. In the future, all customers will benefit from using energy in off-peak times, when energy is cheaper and greener. Octopus has already taken some of its customers on this journey, through Winter Workout and Big Dirty Turndown trials, that showed real results in when customers use energy.
Who sets the tariff levels?
Our independent panel of experts has reviewed the green energy market so you don’t have to.
The panel set the criteria that all tariffs are being assessed against, and will review the criteria annually, to ensure it reflects current market conditions, making sure you can always trust you are choosing a tariff that reflects best practice at the time.