Midcounties Co-op has announced that all products through its Your Co-op Broadband business are now climate positive.
It is estimated that the carbon footprint of our gadgets, the internet, and the systems supporting them account for about 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions – similar to the amount produced by the airline industry globally – and these emissions are predicted to double by 2025.
But surveys suggest that 58% of people are not aware of the environmental impact of their internet use, which are likely to grow with the rise of home or hybrid working.
In response to this, Your Co-op Broadband says it has made all of its products “climate positive”, including its superfast and ultrafast fibre packages. The business has partnered with climate action organisation Ecologi, which supports environmental projects across the globe, to offset 50kg of CO2e every month for each customer. With the average customer’s broadband package expected to emit around 4kg of CO2e, all Your Co-op Broadband customers will offset more than 12 times the CO2e than is produced by their broadband connection.
Your Co-op Broadband – which has been best buy recommended by Ethical Consumer for five years – will also fund the planting of a new tree every month for each customer. And customers will be able to track the positive impact that their purchase is having through the Your Co-op Broadband website.
Midcounties also operates Your Co-op Mobile, which partners with Fairphone to offer the world’s most sustainable smartphones, and Your Co-op Energy, which offers the Community Power tariff, the UK’s only energy tariff powered solely by 100% renewable electricity from local, community-owned solar, wind and hydropower projects across the UK.
Because of this, it says customers can choose energy and connectivity packages that reduce the environmental impact of their household and make it easier for them to be green.
Lizzie Hieron, chief operating officer for utility solutions at Midcounties, said: “We know that the climate emergency is a real and growing concern for many people, but it can often seem like an impossible task to make a difference as an individual. That’s why we’re committed to providing an ethical alternative for consumers and we’re so proud to have become a climate-positive broadband provider.
“Being a co-operative means we are fully owned by our members and run for the benefit of our customers, who know that by choosing us to connect or power their homes they’re picking a supplier that is driven by its values and committed to creating a better, fairer world for all.”
