Beond enters Zero Carbon Project for EDIE Sustainability Leaders Awards

Beond enters the Zero Carbon Project for EDIE’s Sustainability Leaders Awards for Best Consultancy category. We entered the following submission.

Beond is a zero carbon energy consultancy which has reduced carbon emissions by 300,000 tonnes per year for over 1,000 clients with energy spend between £50k and £30m. Our latest initiative is Zero Carbon Project which rewards consumers for switching to zero carbon energy at a lower cost than fossil fuel sources. Our zero carbon energy market includes renewables using REGO and green gas offsets and a premium ‘green moments’ product which matches consumption with renewable generation every moment of the day. We also provide a range of carbon offsets and allow nuclear for consumers choice of carbon reducing technologies.

Beond’s headline initiative is Zero Carbon Project which rewards consumers for tackling climate change. This is contrary to current approaches of charging a premium for renewable energy, imposing taxes or imposing extra fees on electricity bills to support subsidies.

Our creative solution consists of two parts: a Zero Carbon Market which currently delivers cheaper prices for zero carbon energy compared to fossil fuels. The Market includes renewables; our ‘green moments’ product; and our distributed energy tendering service including solar panels and batteries. We also support a range of carbon offsets and nuclear energy.

The second part is a reward scheme consisting of a stake in the success of the Project. This is backed by a utility token economy which has been deployed to the Ethereum blockchain as a set of smart contracts. The reward mechanism involves a Zero Carbon Coin which holds utility value based on the future demand for our service. The demand for Zero Carbon Coins is underpinned by energy suppliers who need them to pay their transaction fees for winning zero carbon energy consumers. Therefore, as we attract more consumers the demand for Coins increases, pushing up their price on our crypto-exchange and attracting more consumers; a virtuous circle culminating in solving climate change.

Q2:
We ask our clients about their latest sustainability requirements and they ask us for advice on the complex issues involved. Our clients’ sustainability requirements are in flux as energy consumers educate themselves about new emerging sustainability standards and new approaches for reducing their carbon impact.

We appoint a consultancy team to our larger clients consisting of an Account Director, a Consultant, an Advisor for specialised advice and a service delivery team. An annual account plans focuses on the client’s requirements, issues, risks and opportunities.

We also provide a broader range of zero carbon energy services such as price risk management services, budget management, carbon reporting (ESOS an SECR), bill validation, new connections, public sector purchasing, consumption reporting and bureau query resolution services.

Q3:
The following case study provides an example of a public sector client
Beond switched Salford City Council to zero carbon energy and saved them £760k or 13% over two years, compared to the alternative public sector run framework for fossil fuel electricity. 14,000 tonnes of CO2 was avoided per year. Orsted won the supply contract with electricity sourced from offshore wind.

“With ever increasing budget pressures, Salford City Council has continued to remain active in exploring new routes to procurement. Adopting Beond’s innovative pricing software in conjunction with the fully compliant OJEU tendering process has provided a substantial financial benefit that would otherwise not have been achieved. This process also demonstrated a significant increase in market participants that ultimately lead to the competitive edge and I would not hesitate to recommend this technology for energy tenders.”
-Majid Maqbool, Energy Manager, Urban Vision

See the full case study www.beondgroup.com/case-studies/salford-city-council-case-study/

Q4:
Beond has delivered material cost savings while switching our clients to zero carbon energy. Our online reverse auction delivers the lowest price through competition including 25 energy suppliers, transparency comparing complex offers on a like-for-like basis and a broker to facilitate the transaction.

For example, we delivered £400,000 cost savings to Capita and avoided 59,000 tonnes/year of carbon dioxide emissions. We delivered £2.5m cost savings to Berendsen while avoiding 33,000 tonnes/year of carbon emissions. Our Arts Basket including Royal Albert, Royal Opera House and Southbank Entertainment Centre saved £175,000 and 23,000 tonnes/year.

Q5:
Our online auction service has delivered cost savings of up 7% for large energy consumers and 20% for smaller energy consumers, while switching to zero carbon energy. Our zero carbon energy markets have switched consumers to save 300,000 tonnes per year of carbon dioxide emissions.

Beond switched Kensington & Chelsea College to Bryt Energy, supplying zero carbon energy to avoid 200 tonnes of CO2 per year, while delivering 10% cost savings.

“Beond have provided K&C with a very good service over the years, supported by excellent market insight and guidance. We are always able to reach our Account Director and they are always willing to help us with any issue we may have. The auction process gives the College a fully transparent and auditable process.”
-Estates Director — Kensington & Chelsea College

See the case study www.beondgroup.com/case-studies/kensington-chelsea-college-energy-costs/

Q6:
Beond takes our values seriously when making decisions on business development and servicing clients. Values include integrity as we need to develop trust from our clients and stakeholders in a highly complex and changing market. This is underpinned by transparency particularly in our commercial arrangements.

Innovation is a second value as we take a pro-active approach on servicing our clients with a focus on their problems and risks. We also take a similar approach on market developments and societal problems. The biggest problem is climate change which we have developed a creative and unique solution using the blockchain.

Quality is our third value as there are many landmines in the energy market which can be avoided by experience and a keen attention to detail. We train our staff to focus on quality in the detail.

Q7:
Beond switched Knight Frank to zero carbon energy, avoiding 56,000 tonnes of CO2/year while delivering £1m cost savings.

“Knight Frank have worked with Beond since 2014 and working closely with our internal Energy team they have secured very competitive electricity and gas prices for our properties under management. They also provide useful support to the site addition process ensuring timely additions and favourable terms.”
-David Goatman, Partner, Department Head of Energy and Sustainability, Knight Frank LLP.

See the full case study www.beondgroup.com/case-studies/ knight-frank-case-study/

Q8:
Beond’s CEO and founder, Derek Myers, is Chairman of the West London Commission for Climate Change since March 2016. This involved producing a Sustainability Plan for West London including reducing carbon emissions, supporting the circular economy, smart clean city initiatives and developing a cleantech hub working with Imperial College.

The Commission has also implemented a West London Zero Carbon Energy Campaign for West London businesses.

Q9:
Our management team worked with our staff to agree the following mission statement and vision:
“Helping our clients achieve their ambitions while contributing to a carbon free world”

This involves working with our clients aiming to reduce both energy costs and carbon emissions.