OVO Energy Unites The Home Front Against Climate Change

As part of the UK’s journey to net zero carbon living, leading independent energy provider, OVO Energy, has launched an advertising campaign that optimistically highlights what we can all do to reduce our collective carbon footprint, tackle climate change and preserve our world for future generations. 

Revealing that an individual's home energy accounts for a significant 26% of their carbon footprint, the campaign is designed to show that our homes give us a powerful opportunity to act against climate change. By choosing a carbon neutral energy plan and working to reduce energy waste, we can all take our homes on a journey towards zero carbon. 

If all UK households took the steps to make their homes zero carbon, this would equate to saving 101,193,391 tonnes per year, which is equivalent to 22% of the UK's total carbon emissions.

Created in partnership with creative company, 20something, the aspiration for the campaign is to provide much-needed optimism and a sense of agency to a population with rising eco-anxiety, reinforcing the belief that although individual actions may not feel significant, they really can make a difference when we act together. 

Focusing on fighting the climate emergency from the homefront, the advert for OVO Energy  includes a rousing narration from poet and spoken word artist, Hollie McNish encouraging viewers not to underestimate the importance of their own contribution: “We don’t need hope, we are hope. Just look around. You. Them. Us... We can help change climate change. And it all starts at home”. 

OVO Beyond is OVO Energy’s latest innovative service. An upgrade to a standard home energy plan, it is a program designed to guide and support members as they take their homes on a journey to zero carbon. It includes 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutral gas3 as well as digital tools which show members how they are using their energy, where they are wasting it, and how to live more efficiently. OVO Beyond forms a part of Plan Zero, OVO Energy’s long term business strategy to drive progress to net zero carbon living and help its members halve their total carbon footprint by 2030. 

Sarah Booth, OVO Energy’s director of brand and marketing comments: “Optimism is powerful; it gives us a sense of agency and it inspires action. With this campaign, we want to highlight that although the climate crisis can be incredibly overwhelming, there is every reason to be optimistic. Our home energy accounts for 26% of our carbon footprint; by making changes to the energy we choose and how efficiently we use that energy,  we can start to reduce that to zero. If everyone in the UK does this together, we could eventually reduce our national carbon footprint by over 101m tonnes per year. We have immense power and together we can take meaningful steps to change climate change.” 

Will Thacker, co-founder of 20something adds: "The narrative has to change. It’s time to  stop ringing the fire bell and start putting out the fire. We are all aware of the crisis, but instead of creating more ecophobia, and contributing to climate anxiety, we need to give people hope and help them find realistic ways to act. This quote from a 20-year-old climate activist sums it up perfectly - ‘The greatest threat we face is not climate change, but the helplessness we feel in the face of it’." 

The Specialist Works are leading the media planning and buying across Radio, VOD and TV, with flagship slots secured in ITV Central’s Liar and C4’s Celeb Bake Off. Cinema will go live from 27th March.