Royal Award for UK 'green' electricity company

18th April 2000
Europe's first and largest 'green' electricity company, Ecotricity, formerly known as The Renewable Energy Company, has won The Queen's Award for Enterprise. All the winners are being announced on 21st April, the Queen's official birthday, when they are published in the London Gazette.

This is the first year of the new Queen's Awards with the categories of Innovation, International Trade, and Environmental Achievement which has been awarded to Ecotricity.

Ecotricity founded the UK's 'green' electricity market place in 1996, when Managing Director, Dale Vince, decided to set up an electricity company dedicated to supplying electricity from environmentally friendlier sources, at market prices. The aim is to help sustain the environment for current and future generations by stimulating a mass market for Ecotricity. In just 4 years, Dale and his team have taken the company's turnover from £13k to over £50m. The company's efforts have raised the profile of renewable energy sources, particularly their role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change.

Ecotricity 'powers the panda' for WWF-UK and other customers include The Millennium Dome, The Co-operative Bank, Thames Water, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, The Ecology Building Society and Local Authorities. Ecotricity will be available to domestic customers later this year.

The Award is given to the organisation as a whole, management and employees working together as a team,

"We are all honoured and excited by winning this prestigious award. We have challenged the belief that products which are good for the environment have to cost more by supplying Ecotricity for the same price as 'brown' electricity." Dale Vince, Managing Director.

Later this year the Lord-Lieutenant of the County, the Queen's local representative will present the Grant of Appointment and Award Emblem to Ecotricity at a special Awards ceremony.