Writing in a guest commentary on the site MoneySavingExpert.com this week, Prime Minister David Cameron and Energy and Climate Secretary Chris Huhne noted that energy bills for most people in Britain had gone up by more than £100 in recent months.

“These price rises couldn’t come at a worse time for consumers who are already feeling the pinch from rising petrol prices and the cost of the weekly shop,” they added.

With colder weather and even higher bills on the way, leaders convened a Consumer Energy Summit this week to discuss ways to keep that pinch from becoming even more painful. The meeting — which brought together government officials, consumer groups, energy suppliers, and representatives from the energy industry regulator Ofgem — ended with recommendations for a variety of strategies to go into effect either immediately or in the short term.

They include:

• A new website — Check, Switch, Insulate to Save — offering advice to help people take steps like changing energy providers to take advantage of cheaper rates;
• New funding for Energy Best Deal, an energy-company-supported savings program launched in 2008 by Ofgem and the charity Citizens Advice;
• Plans for a “Big Energy Week” campaign by Citizens Advice;
• Letters from energy suppliers to go out “urgently” to eight million quarterly credit customers who could save money by changing their payment method;
• Better energy billing to provide customers with information on how to save money;
• A December mailing to four million of the nation’s “most vulnerable” energy customers telling them they are eligible for free or heavily discounted insulation to their loft or cavity walls.

Getting just 1 percent of the most vulnerable customers to insulate and switch to a cheaper supplier could save around £12 million in energy bills, according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). In fact, changing suppliers can cut some dual electricity-gas bills by up to £200 a year, though fewer customers have taken advantage of that recently.

According to Ofgem, only 15 percent of households switched gas supplier in 2010 and just 17 percent switched electricity suppliers. Both those figures are down from levels seen in 2007: 20 percent for gas and 19 percent for electricity.

“Vulnerable customers need all the help they can get to get the best deal,” said Sarah Harrison, Ofgem’s senior partner for sustainable development. “Ofgem is pushing forward with reforms to the retail market which will make choosing a better deal easier for all consumers by removing complex tariffs. Easy-to-understand prices will help make Energy Best Deal even more effective at helping vulnerable consumers.”

For both those actions — committing to the installation of one million smart meters by the end of March 2014 and opening a Smart Metering Centre of Excellence to provide customers with a dedicated contact point for smart meter questions — we award E.ON UK a User Friendly award, an occasional title of recognition we bestow upon the smartest of smart-technology efforts.

“Meeting the needs and addressing any potential concerns of our customers is crucial if the smart meter revolution is to be a success, and our dedicated Smart Metering Centre of Excellence will help us get the learning to make sure that we get the smart meter rollout right for our customers,” said Graham Bartlett, Managing Director of E.ON’s Energy Solutions business.

The Nottingham-based centre will be home to a specialist smart meter customer service team of around 100 offering tailored advice and support for customers with smart meters. And to ensure front-line service reps know what they’re talking about in real-life terms, each one will have a smart meter installed in his or her own home as part of the early rollout.

User friendly, indeed … great thinking on E.ON’s part.

The Miami-based firm unveiled the platform at the 2011 AGA/EEI Customer Service Conference & Exposition in Kansas City.

Acceller’s solution allows utilities to offer their customers the ability to quickly and easily order digital services like high-speed Internet, HDTV and satellite video on a flexible, easy-to-integrate platform. In return, the utility can capture incremental revenue and improve the customer’s moving experience.

As power companies are usually called first between 60 and 70 per cent of the time by moving consumers, they can walk customers easily through the next step (cable, phone, Internet, etc.). Acceller’s offering is designed to simplify the customer’s move by eliminating the need to make additional calls to the phone, cable and satellite companies, with the power companies increasing revenue as the initial point of contact.

Several of the biggest power companies in the US were in attendance at the conference, including Duke Energy, Florida Power and Light Co.,New York State Electric & Gas Corp., Pacific Gas & Electric Co., TXU Energy and Xcel Energy.

Read more here …

Rolled out with great fanfare after four years in development, the compostable crisps bag was yanked by Frito-Lay North America last month after customer complaints about the packaging’s loud crinkliness reached a fever pitch … though, oddly, the eco-package is still being touted on the company’s website. (Kudos, however, to Frito-Lay Canada, which is instead choosing to enthusiastically market the bag, crinkles and all, as an environmentally responsible choice.)

The whole affair demonstrates the myriad challenges of switching from a petroleum-based material to a greener alternative. In this case, the cornstarch polymer developed for the bags proved to go from soft and silent to stiff and crunchy at room temperature … something that’s not an issue with, say, wood-pulp-based polymers. It also shows just how resistant people can be to the most mild of inconveniences in the quest to improve sustainability. (Really, your snack bag is too noisy? Really?)

So we’re hoping UK shoppers can adapt to a tiny, but at least quiet, inconvenience in the shape of GreenBottle’s new compostable/recyclable milk container. Because the company’s innovation really illustrates some clever green thinking: use existing, proven materials in a new combination to produce a carton that’s far more eco-friendly without requiring higher-cost bioplastics.

Finance and technology director Martin Myerscough tells the story. After discovering just how many plastic milk bottles go unrecycled and into landfill in the UK, he began thinking about what kind of greener alternatives might be possible.

Martin Meyerscough, GreenBottle inventor

“When I did some research I found that the pulping technology used in milk bottles was well developed and designed for making high volumes. The problem was how to make the bottle waterproof — here the solution was fairly straightforward — a bag.

“If the bag were made loose inside the bottle then the consumer could remove the bag, once the milk had been used, and dispose of the bag and the cardboard in separate recycling streams. If the consumer does not recycle then the whole bottle will crush flat at the landfill and over time the cardboard will decompose leaving the small residue of the bag.”

Sounds simple, right? And it should be, as the GreenBottle is designed to be easily split apart after use so the outer cardboard can be separated from the inner plastic liner bag. The trick, as the SunChips story shows, will be getting buyers to adapt to a small change in habit. What’s promising about the GreenBottle concept so far is that it’s essentially the same in appearance and performance as a standard milk container.

“Our breakthrough bottle can be produced, filled and distributed in exactly the same way and at equivalent scale to plastic, but with a significantly reduced impact on the environment,” says Andy Brent, GreenBottle’s managing director and former brand marketing director for BSkyB Group. “It runs down existing production lines exactly as plastic bottles do, and consumers tell us they overwhelmingly prefer it — we’re very excited about the prospects for this amazing piece of design.”

“Consumers want to change – but they won’t pay more to do so, or take on extra daily hassle,” Myerscough adds. “GreenBottle makes it really easy for consumers to choose an environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic every day.”

Officially launched today, the GreenBottle will first appear in selected stores across East Anglia that carry milk from the Marybelle dairy in Suffolk. Milk in the new containers will also be delivered door-to-door by local milkmen. The product will be promoted by advertising agency Mother, which has also taken an undisclosed stake in the GreenBottle business.

That was one of the conclusions from TerraChoice’s latest study on greenwashing in the marketplace (pdf).

The third such study by the environmental marketing consultancy since 2007, “The Sins of Greenwashing 2010″ offers considerable good news for eco-minded shoppers. Greenwashing overall — that is, making dubious or outright false claims about a product’s environmental friendliness — continues to decline, though it remains a significant problem. More encouraging still, the number of “sin-free,” greener products is rising, from 1 per cent in 2007 to nearly 4.5 per cent this year.

Once a company starts putting out greener products, it also tends to improve with time, the TerraChoice study finds.

“With experience in green marketing greenwashing declines, certification grows, and real green growth continues,” the report states.

One market segment in which that hasn’t happened yet is, unfortunately, toys and baby products. That’s been particularly true in the past year. As parents’ awareness of the risks of the plastic additive Bisphenol A, or BPA, has grown, so too have the number of products making claims to be BPA-free. And, while parents can find many more green toys and baby products this year than last year, those choices are rarely as virtuous as advertised.

“As compared to the study-wide finding of 4.4%, less than 1% of the ‘greener’ toys and baby products are free of the Sins of Greenwashing,” the study states. “We did not find a single ‘green’ toy (0.00%) that was free of greenwashing, and only 0.8% (only 6 of 706 products) of baby products were ‘sin-free.’ “

The only other category to feature zero “sin-free” products was consumer electronics.

Despite having a long way to go, the encouraging takeaway from all this is that companies do pay attention to what customers say they want. As long as customers keep sending that message — and staying informed enough to be able to sort the real green from faux green products — it seems likely the marketplace will continue improving its eco credentials year over year.

Otarian, which recently opened its first “fast-casual” restaurant in London (and another in New York City), takes a variety of steps to keep the carbon footprints of its menu items as low as possible. First of all, there’s no meat, as livestock production is a large source of greenhouse gases. Second, it aims to get seasonal ingredients from local sources when possible. And, third, it has a “no air freight” policy for supplies that must come from more distant locales like Israel or California.

The result, hopes Otarian founder Radhika Oswal, are dishes that by default are associated with fewer carbon dioxide emissions when they arrive at your table. By then comparing each dish to a similar, meat-based or less sustainable alternative — a vegetable biryani compared to a lamb biryani, for example — Otarian calculates how much carbon you’ve avoided. Customers keep track of those savings via their “Carbon Karma” cards.

Earn 100 Carbon Karma credits, and you get a free item off the menu.

While it’s no Chez Panisse in terms of sustainable food sourcing, Otarian is no McDonald’s either. It composts or recycles 98 per cent of its restaurant waste — even though it’s paying a 100 per cent premium to do so — features furnishings made from sustainable or recycled materials, and gets its electricity from renewable sources. All combined, such efforts lend weight to Otarian’s claim to be the “first-ever low-carbon restaurant chain.”

TS Eliot’s words are sharply relevant in this age of endless ecolabels and “product advisories.” And they might just strike a chord with shoppers. These days, everything from a packet of tea to a toilet roll carries a whole litany of assurances about provenance, impact, recyclability and so on. And there could soon be more, if carbon and water labelling follow.

But, says Jack Cunningham, Head of Climate Change and Environment at Sainsbury’s, there is evidence that customers are becoming weary of it all.

“It’s almost impossible to communicate the ‘embedded carbon impact’ of products to a customer. They might be aware of what carbon is, in the global sense, but understanding the impact of a particular product is another matter. The same goes for water. They do worry about animal welfare; they like to know where our meat comes from, how the animals have been treated, and so on. But regardless of the issue, they feel that they’re getting too much information. What they really want is to come into the store and buy some stuff in a hassle-free way, knowing that the brand is taking care of all these issues for them.”

When it comes to building that sort of confidence, food labelling can be counterproductive, Cunningham argues. Besides the logistics and cost involved in collating the data, labels put the ball firmly back in the customer’s court. And what’s worse — they get in the way of good, straightforward dialogue between the shopper and their store:

“It’s all very well printing figures on packaging, but in fact, it’s our colleagues in store who can help consumers find what they came for. The great thing would be if every store colleague could articulate with confidence what we know about fish, say, or the impact of a product on communities.”

But point of sale is just one piece of the jigsaw, says Cunningham.

“If we want to make informed decisions for our customers, we need to work with suppliers, so that we can influence the
product before it lands on our shelves.”

And the same rules regarding open conversation apply.

“The most important thing for us is making sure that the supplier doesn’t go bust, environmentally or economically. So we don’t go to our suppliers saying, ‘We want our beef low carbon and for a low price: what can you do?’ We find we can have a much more mature conversation on costs if we develop a close working relationship with them — helping
them save money by becoming more efficient, for example.”

It’s a lighter touch, but a more intelligent and human one than forcing suppliers to rise to regulations or targets.

“Regulations stymie innovation,” says Cunningham. Which is why he’s looking for the same sort of openness and display
of trust from government.

“The trend is for government to look to people like Sainsbury’s to help deliver on carbon reduction targets. But what I don’t want to see at this stage is government forcing suppliers to do x and y without first giving retailers the opportunity to find solutions ourselves. What will work for one farmer in Devon might not work for another in Scotland. There are all sorts of variables: you can’t take a cookie cutter approach.”

Of course, Cunningham recognises, there are business opportunities for retailers who go beyond passing information back and forth from supplier to consumer, and get actively involved in creating change. Take energy. Sainsbury’s is working with the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and a large utility company to set up a one-stop shop, where people can go for advice on efficiency in the home, or help installing solar panels on their roof.

“At the moment, customers come to us because they trust the brand; they know what it stands for. They don’t necessarily think of it as somewhere they can solve a problem like their energy bill. But I think that, in the future,
they will.”

Editor’s note: This was a guest article by Anna Simpson that originally appeared in Green Futures. Green Futures is published by Forum for the Future and is the leading magazine on environmental solutions and sustainable futures. Its aim is to demonstrate that a sustainable future is both practical and desirable — and can be profitable, too.

There’s massive growth in insulation and LEDs. If your only business was in selling incandescent lightbulbs, then you’ve got a problem. But if you’re a retailer who can see what your customers are going to want two or three years down the line, how to encourage that process, and be ahead of them, so that when they get there they know to come to you — then you have an opportunity.

We were stuck in a tick box mentality

I was never arrested as a roads protestor or anything, but I had been interested in the environment as a teenager. So when I came to B&Q, I saw an opportunity for the business to have a voice on sustainability. We were doing all the right things — a founder member of the Forest Stewardship Council, reducing volatile organic compounds in paint … blah, blah … But it had got lost in the corporate mindset, becoming a “Yeah, of course we do that — tick! So what?” sort of thing. I wanted to make it part of the brand, so I pushed for it to be part of One Planet Living, and got involved in the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership.

People love talking about their tomatoes

There’s a really interesting behaviour change dimension to all of this. It’s the difference between someone coming over to tell you about CO2 and the need to shrink your footprint — and someone asking you about how you grow your own. You get this very real excitement from people talking about the shoots coming up, their first tomatoes, and so on. A lot of people feel very responsible for the future of the planet — if you have children it’s staring you in the face — but people need to know what really makes a difference, what they can do that’s useful.

The magic formula is 20:40:20

It’s easy to make the operational base of a business sustainable. You look at the buildings you use, the way people get to them, their efficiency and waste — you can put your arms around all of that. But customers are more interesting. As I see it, they’re 20:40:20. I mean, 20% get it, and are making an effort. Another 40% are predisposed. They’re not convinced about climate change — particularly with recent media scandals — but if you say to them, “Look. We’re using three planets’ worth of resources, and we only have one planet!” — then they look worried. We already serve the first 20%, we need to focus on the next 40%. I doubt we’ll spend much time with the remaining 20%.

The inconceivable is happening in France

France is traditionally sceptical about sustainability but interestingly, our environmental products are selling slightly faster over there. And I’m struck by how many French brands are using the environmental agenda in their TV advertising — inconceivable five years ago. They have a very different take: nuclear is seen as very green, they have a much stronger focus on location — “le terroir” — and they have a more intelligent work/life/society balance. What they haven’t had is a media push anything like that in the UK or Germany. They’re interested in “grands projets” — techno-fixes, engineering — and so the environment has only recently emerged as a consumer issue.

Editor’s note: This article was written by Green Futures deputy editor Anna Simpson based on her conversation with Ian Cheshire, CEO of Kingfisher, Europe’s leading home improvement retail group. Its main retail brands are B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix. This piece originally appeared in Green Futures, which is published by Forum for the Future and is the leading magazine on environmental solutions and sustainable futures. Its aim is to demonstrate that a sustainable future is both practical and desirable — and can be profitable, too.

I’m working on a fascinating research project for CleanAnalysis, comparing the environmental footprint of coffee shops to the public’s perception of environmental brand. It’s great to see the results coming in – and even more interesting to see why one particular coffee shop is miles ahead of the others.

However – while the opinions of the public are important, we also have to look at the operations of the company. All the major brands of coffee shop have a CSR report with (most of) the required information on footprints.

But Caffe Nero hasn’t. Why? There’s nothing on the website. Nor is there any way to get in touch for press or analysts and ask questions.

It’s baffling – especially when the others seem to have made a special effort to promote themselves as ‘sustainable’ – with all the packaging they have.

Can’t get an answer by phone, email or twitter, so let’s see what happens. I’m baffled.

Dan

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Green Energy UK, which supplies green and renewable electricity to homes and businesses in Britain, was just named “Customer King 2010″ at Cisco’s and Real Business magazine’s annual customer service awards. the utility company was chosen over more than 100 other businesses to land the top prize for creating the best customer experience.

The award stands in stark contrast to the findings of Cisco’s survey of 1m000 British SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) last month, which ranked utility providers second to bottom for customer service, only just ahead of trains. However, Green Energy UK has shown that it operates differently from other utility provider.

For one, it is the only private company in the UK to offer customers the opportunity to part-own the company by giving them free shares. This unique scheme rewards customers for making the decision to go green with their electricity. It also encourages Green Energy UK customers to make suggestions at any time to improve the business, and enables them to attend the annual meeting and put questions to the board.

“We are a small company that has come a long way in less than a decade of trading in what is a highly competitive market dominated by heavyweights,” said Doug Stewart, Green Energy UK’s founder and chief executive. “The success of Green Energy UK is built on bringing new, clean energy sources to market, coupled with treating customers with respect and intelligence and involving them in the business. To be recognised like this by Cisco and Real Business is a fantastic accolade, one I’m naturally proud of, particularly as customer service in our industry is not highly regarded. I am especially pleased for the team here, as it recognises the excellent work they do in making Green Energy UK a success.”

Judges praised Green Energy UK for its online customer area, which enables customers to upload meter readings, compare their electricity use with previous months and years, and sets targets and provides guidance on how to reduce their electricity use further. The judging panel also noted on the ease with which customers can get through to the company’s staff.

“Customer Kings celebrates those businesses that show innovation and excellence when it comes to creating a lasting customer relationship,” said David Critchley, Cisco UK’s head of SME and commercial. “Green Energy UK has both of those qualities in abundance, blending a unique idea with a well honed understanding of its customer base and building a truly memorable brand and experience as a result. We are thrilled to recognise them as worthy winners of this year’s contest.”