A green energy comparison site has rebranded its commercial switching service with effect from today, May 24.

Bournemouth-based Big Clean Switch says that with businesses accounting for more than half of the UK’s overall energy consumption, the rebrand of Clean Energy UK is an important move to convert both homes and businesses to renewable energy tariffs. 

It also capitalises on the growing awareness of the Big Clean Switch brand as a result of its partnerships with IKEA, Sky, Tesco and others as well as take advantage of the growing synergies between the domestic and commercial arms of the business.

Jon Fletcher, Founder of Big Clean Switch, said: “We began as two different brands because the process of switching a business is very different to switching a home.

“But as we’ve started to add more and more services for employers, we’ve found the two businesses increasingly overlapping, so it makes sense both operationally and from a customer perspective to have them both under one brand.” 

Launched in 2016, Big Clean Switch is a B Corp that partners with businesses and NGOs (non governmental organisations) to help their customers and staff switch to low cost, low carbon energy.

They vet the suppliers on their panel to ensure they meet clear standards in terms of environmental performance and customer service.

Big Clean Switch already works in partnership with everyone from local coffee shops to multinational brands.

Jon, pictured left, said: “Companies are increasingly looking beyond their own operations to address carbon emissions from their wider business.

“As a result, we’re being asked to help more and more of our partners to engage with businesses in their supply chains, making it easy and affordable for them to make the switch to green energy.

“In that context, it makes sense to bring our commercial energy brokerage under the same roof.”  

Big Clean Switch says that switching to a green or renewable energy tariff is one of the easiest ways for homes and businesses to lower their carbon footprint.

Jon said: “The appetite for green electricity from both homes and businesses is at an all-time high.

“Survey after survey shows growing alarm from the public about the threat of climate change, and a desire to be able to do something about it, and that is inevitably being channelled into pressure on businesses to change how they and their suppliers operate.” 

Jon started out as a journalist before a growing awareness of the scale of the challenges facing the environment led to a switch to focus on sustainability.

Previous roles include five years at consultancy PwC setting up a pioneering sustainable behaviours programme, and six years as director of a market research agency specialising in unpicking behavioural barriers to sustainability.  

Frustrated with how difficult it was to unpick suppliers’ claims around green electricity, Jon and his Co-founder Tom Old decided to do something about it and set up a business to help homes and businesses save money by switching to reputable, vetted suppliers.

Supported by Purpose, a business that helps build grassroots movements to make the world a better place, they launched the beta version of Big Clean Switch in 2016.