We are proud to have received the ok-power seal for this. Being an energy-intensive plastics processing company, ENNEATECH’s electricity consumption is naturally high. This trend is even increasing due to our new compounding line. To manufacture sustainable products that fully deserve our name, we’ve been using 100% green electricity since the beginning of 2021 – and since the beginning of 2023, green electricity with the ok-power seal.
This is because ENNEATECH wants its green electricity to come from suppliers who are actually driving the energy transition in Germany. This means that electricity from older plants which have long since been written off (such as 20-year-old Norwegian hydroelectric power plants), is out of the running.
Finding sustainable electricity tariffs isn’t trivial. It requires a provider who invests in new green power plants and who doesn’t incidentally market electricity from fossil fuels or nuclear power. Electricity from these sources may be awarded a quality seal. One of the most demanding seals is the ok-power seal, issued by the non-profit association Energie Vision e.V., supported by the Freiburg-based Öko-Institut and research institute HIR Hamburg Institut Research.
Finanztip describes the ok-power seal in August 2020 as: “The prerequisite for certification under the ok-power seal is that the electricity provider doesn’t own any shares in nuclear and coal-fired power plants, and actively promotes expanding renewable energies. Any green electricity must come entirely from solar, hydro or wind power, biomass or geothermal power. This makes the ok-power seal one of the best green electricity labels that consumers can use as a guide.”
For Enneatech, this quality standard was a decisive factor in selecting an electricity supplier. Although the surcharge on green electricity has multiplied in 2023, we believe it’s worth the money. Compared to the German electricity mix, this reduces CO2 emissions when producing PA granulates and compounds by almost 2,000 tonnes per year.
But what exactly is behind the ok-power quality seal? The seal is based on the so-called new plant quota. This means that at least one third of the electricity may only come from plants that are no older than six years. The maximum age for another third is 12 years. Furthermore, the “initiation model” applies to certification. Here, the electricity supplier must prove that it’s continuously building new renewable energy plants and thus continuously greening the electricity supply.
Furthermore, Enneatech’s electricity supplier promotes innovations beyond actual electricity generation, which are, however, also indispensable for the energy transition. These include, for example, energy efficiency measures or developing new storage technologies. The investment sum is 0.3 cents per kWh consumed.
In addition to raw materials, ENNEATECH’s energy supply also ensures high-quality and properly sustainable technical polyamides.
