Renewable electricity: the change customers ask about first

Why do customers ask about renewable electricity first?

Because for most suppliers it is the single biggest reduction available in a year, it needs no new equipment, and it can be evidenced with a document. Your electricity is your Scope 2, and your Scope 2 sits inside your customer's Scope 3. When you switch, their number falls as soon as they have your figure. Customers with targets know this, which is why "what share of your electricity is renewable" appears in almost every supplier request.

What are my options?

Four routes, from cheapest and quickest to most involved. They can be combined.

The GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance sets the quality criteria a certificate or contract has to meet to count, and customers' auditors use it. Many countries run their own certificate scheme with a plain explanation: South Korea's K-RE100 sets out five routes to renewable power with a usage certificate, and Türkiye's YEK-G system explains how Turkish certificates work.

Your customer will accept: a renewable tariff or certificates with the certificate numbers, the year, the grid region and your consumption on one page. That is the evidence; the tariff name on its own is not.

How do I prove it?

Four things on one page, kept with your footprint.

1. Your electricity consumption for the year, in kWh, from the bills.
2. The instrument: tariff name and supplier, or certificate type and quantity, or the PPA counterparty, or your on-site generation in kWh.
3. The certificates themselves, or your supplier's fuel-mix disclosure showing they were retired for your account, for the same year and grid region.
4. Both figures: your Scope 2 on the location-based method (grid average) and on the market-based method (your contract). The GHG Protocol asks for both, and customers increasingly do.

If your supplier cannot give you the certificate details, ask for its fuel-mix disclosure document; if it cannot give you that either, the tariff is marketing and a customer's auditor will treat it that way.

What if I rent my premises?

Ask the landlord for the kWh and whether the building's supply is on a renewable contract; many are. If the landlord will not switch, buying certificates matched to your share of the building's consumption is the route that stays in your control, and on-site generation is usually a lease negotiation rather than a dead end.

Does it cost more?

A renewable tariff often costs about the same as a standard one, and certificates are a small addition to the bill. On-site solar has a capital cost and typically pays back through a lower bill over several years; many suppliers find it the best-returning investment on this list. A PPA fixes your price for years, which can be a saving or a cost depending on the market. The Reduce stage guide on paying for it covers grants and finance for the capital options.

Do this week: find out what your current electricity contract is and when it ends. If it is standard, ask your supplier for a renewable tariff with certificates and the price difference. If it is already renewable, ask for the certificates and the fuel-mix disclosure.

What should I do next?

Heat, efficiency, fleet and logistics covers the reductions that come after electricity. For a ranked plan for your business, ClimateMate builds one free from real-world case studies. If your customer uses DitchCarbon, claim your profile and record your renewable share and the evidence.