I have always had personal concerns about resources and how the world can continue to function as it does. Towards the end of 2020, OVO approached me to join their retail business, and I thought back to when I attended LBS’s MBA program in 2009 and listened to a guest speaker who had reluctantly started working with Walmart. He spoke about sustainability and explained that for years before being appointed to Walmart’s board of directors, he had fought against what he saw as their environmentally damaging practices. After joining, he instantly helped Walmart reduce the consumption of water used in the production of their laundry detergent. It really marked me; it showed that you can make a much bigger impact from the inside. I knew that being part of OVO would allow me to find solutions, so I joined in November 2020.

Rather than making sustainability an aspect of our business, it is rooted in our operations, our people and our culture. Today, OVO has made it its mission, through its sustainable development strategy, Plan Zero, to tackle the most important problem of our time – the climate crisis – by accompanying our customers on their journey towards a zero carbon life. OVO Energy is committed to being a net zero carbon company and meeting bold science-based goals of reducing carbon emissions by 2030, while helping its members halve their carbon footprint.

Operationally, we are committed to transforming our entire fleet of vans into electric vehicles by 2025. Logistically, getting nearly 100 vans off the road each month is a huge challenge, as is the challenge. ‘access to appropriate levels of charging ports. But an important reminder for all organizations is to think about the long term gains that outweigh the short term losses. Leading the way with an operation of this scale will encourage other companies to convert to electric vehicles and, as a result, the charging infrastructure will improve, accelerating the replacement of other fleets.

The knowledge I gained from LBS about behavioral science and decision making has been key to everything I do at OVO. We try to encourage people to make positive lifestyle changes. This has been the key to our strategy as a company; We have invested in creating innovative tariffs that make car charging greener and reduce charging costs by up to 70%. In early 2021, OVO Energy tested another new innovation and the only tariff of its kind in the world. The innovative new smart tariff launched nationwide in August 2021 makes car charging greener and cuts charging costs by up to 70%. OVO Drive + Anytime is the world’s only energy tariff by “type of use” – dividing home energy costs by electric vehicle charging costs. OVO Drive + Anytime protects EV users from price spikes and higher charges by ensuring a low price for smart EV charging throughout the day, allowing members to drive for a year for £ 100.

From a stakeholder and investor perspective, this makes us more interesting, as the focus on creating technology that will stand the test of time demonstrates growth. For consumers, they like to see businesses doing something to make their lives easier and greener as we go down to net zero, so by association they’re playing their part.

Organizations need to understand that governments, investors and consumers hold much of the power. It is essential to anticipate what they want and when government policies and consumer choices will change; this is where the real sustainable business opportunity lies. Reaching net zero is a bit like surfing, timing is everything. If you go early you will be ahead of the wave. If you leave too late, you will miss all of it.