Jackgreen Energy and Planet Ark

Why buy Green Energy?

If you are ready to do something about Global Warming, switching to green energy is one of the most effective ways you can personally help stop Climate Change.

The largest component of most people’s personal greenhouse gas emissions is the coal burnt to produce their electricity, commonly called ‘black energy’, being well over half of their household emissions.

The major way you can reduce your climate change impact is by purchasing ‘green energy’ which is electricity generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar and water. Clean, renewable sources don’t produce greenhouse pollution and don’t create the other environmental impacts that mining coal does.

What’s the difference between green energy & GreenPower?

There is a lot of confusion over the terms ‘green energy’ and ‘green power’.

Green energy, also referred to as renewable energy, is derived from sources that cannot be depleted or can be replaced, such as solar, wind, biomass (waste), wave energy or hydro. These clean, renewable sources don’t produce greenhouse pollution.

By contrast the fossil fuel energy we call coal, which we burn to generate ‘black energy’, is non-renewable. Once our reserves are used up, they cannot be replaced.

GreenPower is a government-accredited scheme that independently audits energy retailers to ensure their products are sourced from ’new’ renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro or bio-waste. ‘New’ renewable energy is sourced from generators (eg: wind farms) that have been built after the 1st of January 1997.

When a consumer buys a GreenPower product, the energy supplier commits to buying an equivalent amount of energy from renewable resources, avoiding coal-fired or ‘black’ power.

A GreenPower product may contain anywhere between 10% to 100% ’new’ renewable energy accredited under the scheme.

So when an energy retailer says that they sell ‘GreenPower’, they are talking about the government-accredited scheme that guarantees that you are making a difference. The higher the percentage of GreenPower, the more difference you are making. Simple!

Why does Planet Ark endorse Jackgreen Energy?

Planet Ark was formed to work with business to create positive environmental change. Planet Ark has a solutions-based approach to all its partnerships – we are motivated by achieving environmental change on a mass scale for the benefit of all.

Jackgreen is a recent addition to the energy scene and is a fully licensed energy retailer currently operating in NSW, VIC, SA and QLD (from April 2007)

When you switch to Jackgreen you will personally begin to alleviate your impact on the serious problem of Climate Change.

Why do Planet Ark support Jackgreen Energy over other power companies?

1. Because they only sell GreenPower accredited products

   Jackgreen Energy is committed to only offering products with a GreenPower component. This means Jackgreen’s future is dependent on them convincing as many Australian households as possible to do something about Global Warming.

   All other retailers primarily sell ‘black’ (coal fired) energy products with GreenPower products as a niche part of their business. We feel that this means that they don’t have the same degree of urgency to market GreenPower products.

   Jackgreen Energy is a strong competitor to the existing energy retailers, which has resulted in strong growth in the uptake of GreenPower electricity. This is borne out in the following figures:

   • When Jackgreen commenced their relationship with Planet Ark in March 2005 there were 139,00 GreenPower customers which had joined since the launch of the GreenPower program in 1997.
   • In the 18-month period since until the Ist Oct 2006 (last available statistic) the number of customers has increased by almost 150% to 344,000!

2. Jackgreen Energy offers a better option for consumers
   • Cost competitive

     Research has indicated that price is the major barrier to green purchases. Jackgreen Energy is very competitively priced against ‘black’ energy products, making it more likely that people will switch.

     For example, to have a 10% GreenPower product from Jackgreen it costs no more than a ‘standard ‘black’ energy product. To have an 100% GreenPower product from Jackgreen it costs $4.40 per week - less than a the cost of a couple of cappuccinos.

     Compared to other GreenPower products in a recent Planet Ark survey Jackgreen Energy came out on top. For more information, go to: www.jackgreen.com.au/jackgreennews/jackgreen_tops_the_polls.php

   • No lock in contracts

     Unlike many retailers, Jackgreen do not force their customers to commit to long-term contracts*. Forcing people to enter a contract before they do business with you creates a barrier to purchase. A better product means more people will want to switch to green energy – that’s our goal!

     * in QLD only Jackgreen require a 2 year contract

   • JackGreen Energy help us all by funding our campaigns

     Every customer of Jackgreen also contributes to funding Planet Ark’s environmental campaigns via our licensing arrangement, which allows us to do more in the fight against Global Warming.

   To sign up to Jackgreen Energy or find out more about their products, either visit their website at www.jackgreen.com.au or call 1300 663 449.

   For more information regarding Planet Ark’s endorsement of Jackgreen Energy call 1300 731 781