Cars, diamonds and the darker side of the energy industry

There are several ‘green’ energy companies out there touting for our business, but like many things in life, the choices being offered are not always what they seem. Following on from last month, I continue my conversation with Dale Vince and look deeper into the workings of Ecotricity, a self-confessed unconventional company that exist to change the way that energy is made in Britain, and who are in the process of becoming the world’s only vegan certified energy company.

“Ecotricity are the only people that build,” says Dale. “Everyone else is trading bits of paper and they are all engaged in a degree of greenwashing. Ecotricity follow a ‘bills into mills’ model, they take customers’ energy bill money and use it to build stuff. As a mission led, hybrid-of-an-organisation, like an NGO, the company are using the tools of business to bring about change.”

With so many companies forced into liquidation, I wonder, what was Ecotricity doing before this crisis hit to give