Interview Dale Vince, Ecotricity 2/4
Having dealt with the exchange, it's
straight on to more pressing matters,
such as the recent surge in Ecotricity's
customer numbers. In February, the company reached the 70,000 customer mark,
doubling in just three years. Vince puts
this down to greater awareness of the
risks posed by climate change amongst
the general public.
"If you look over the last five or 10
years we can see a gradual uptake in consciousness and concern in people. There
are more people concerned about the
environment and who are more willing
to do something about it," he says.
This clearly pleases Vince who started
the company in 1995 with the ambition to change the way electricity was
made in Britain. Ecotricity began supplying energy to big businesses, moving onto smaller businesses and eventually supplying at a domestic level. The
company has built wind installations for
major firms such as Ford, Sainsburys
and Prudential, and most recently two
turbines commissioned in February for
Michelin in Northern Ireland.
"There is a growing interest from big
business and SMEs as well. We have
about 5,000 small businesses that take
SB's Leigh Stringer
presents the
Sustainability
Leader award
to Dale Vince
energy from us," Vince says.
Eighteen years and 55 turbines built
since its inauguration, the company continues to expand its portfolio of renewable energy projects. Famed for its 'harnessing energy bills to make windmills'
slogan, it is clear that Ecotricity is helping
drive behavioural change amongst those
in the UK through the development of
renewable energy. But Vince explains
that the mission, ultimately, is about sustainability "it just began in energy".
"We have expanded our mission beyond
energy into the realms of transport and
