OVO Energy vows to create less impactful marketing, as the brand announces series of commitments to reduce carbon footprint

OVO Energy  has announced the roll out of a series of new marketing commitments, which aim to reduce the environmental impact of the brand’s marketing activities.

As one of the pioneers in energy sustainability, the company is dedicated to helping its customers lead more sustainable lives. Now, the OVO Energy brand wants to take this dedication to the next level, by committing to creating marketing materials that are less impactful – sacrificing visibility and memorability in favour of sustainability and a greener future for us all.

The roll out comes as OVO Energy announces the appointment of Sarah Booth as Director of Brand & Communications.Leading the charge on the brand’s new sustainable marketing commitments, Booth’s aim is to fully acknowledge the weight of responsibility that lies with marketers to care for the planet, as well as their respective brands.

She comments: “As marketers, our whole careers we have been encouraged to create work that is memorable. Our climate crisis and a new wave of consumer consciousness should force us to question this. What if actually the right thing to do is to be less memorable? Less impactful? That’s why I am committing to do everything I can to reduce and eventually eliminate the carbon footprint created in the course of marketing at OVO Energy. I hope our legacy will be to leave no legacy at all, and I hope other UK brands will adopt the same mission and assess how they too could reduce the environmental impact of their work.”

The new marketing commitments introduced by Booth will see an overhaul of the way OVO Energy creates and distributes its communications; all focused on reducing the brand marketing team’s collective carbon footprint. They also aim to inspire other marketing leaders to join OVO Energy in making similar changes to collectively deliver large-scale benefits to the planet.

Coming into play for all new marketing activities from September, the commitments include:

• Digital formats to be prioritised in media schedules, with Out-of-Home advertising now digital-only and powered by renewable energy (or offset where renewable formats are unavailable)
  
• When print media is used, the corresponding carbon footprint will be offset
  
• This includes PR and earned media, so any print coverage resulting from OVO Energy communications will also be offset
  
• No unnecessary flights permitted in the course of marketing work – where unavoidable, the carbon cost will be offset
  
• All shoots for marketing purposes to take place at locations that use renewable energy – where this isn’t possible, a set amount will be offset for each day’s shooting
  
• Door drops to be removed from OVO Energy marketing communications
  

Adrian Letts, CEO of OVO Retail adds: “We’re happy to be welcoming Sarah to the OVO Energy team and are pleased to see the efforts of her work falling into place already. As the UK’s leading independent energy provider, we are committed to leading the charge towards a sustainable future. We are accountable for our actions and are firm believers in practicing what we preach. With our 10th birthday coming up, it’s an important time for OVO Energy – we’re dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint of our marketing and want others to join us in being a part of this change.”

Whilst marketing divisions all over the world aspire to leave a legacy – to pursue brand fame and memorability, to fly around the world and create something bigger and better – Booth is urging the industry to think differently, and consider their impact on the planet as part of their marketing activity.

Booth adds: ‘My ambition is to create marketing that will be invisible to the fossil records of the future and bid farewell to scamps overflowing with palm trees! These marketing commitments start with OVO Energy, but my goal is to roll them out across the whole brand group. I encourage other companies to do the same’.