The world famous Abbey Road Studios in London, United Kingdom, is to run on wind and solar power as its owner Universal Music UK switches to green energy supplier Ecotricity.
Abbey Road – where the Beatles recorded most of their music around half a century ago – is the oldest, purpose-built recording studio in the world.
Ecotricity say switching to green energy is the biggest single step a business can take to fight climate change. Image: Abbey Road studios.
As well as the studio, Ecotricity will be powering the Universal Music UK head office in Kensington High Street and two other buildings the music giant occupies in London.
‘Biggest step a business can take to fight climate change’
Ecotricity founder Dale Vince says:
“Simply by switching to green energy, Universal Music UK will reduce the environmental impact of their own operations – while also supporting Britain’s energy independence and the green economy.”
He says switching over to green energy is the “biggest single step that any business can take to cut the emissions that cause air pollution and climate change.”
Industry Green award
In September 2016, Universal Music UK was awarded three-star certification under the Industry Green scheme – an environmental sustainability scoring system specifically designed for the creative sector.
The scheme – run by Creative Green is compatible with other environmental certification schemes including the Carbon Trust Standard, and British and ISO standards.
David Sharpe, Chief Operations Officer at Universal Music UK, says like many of their artists, the company is committed to sustainability and hopes “other organizations will follow our lead and take similar steps to power their operations with green energy.”
One of Britain’s ‘most disruptive companies’
Ecotricity was recently named one of Britain’s “top 10 most disruptive companies.”
The Virgin Media Business Disruptor 10 recognizes 10 companies that are “rewriting the business rule book.” and have a “business model, product or service that is creating a new market, or transforming existing markets and rapidly taking market share from competitors.”
Ecotricity made the top 10 in December 2016 because it can claim to be the world’s first green energy company and because its “electric highway” of 300 charging points in service stations around the UK is Europe’s largest. The green energy supplier is now pioneering production of carbon-neutral gas.
The supplier offers a number of ways for businesses to switch to green energy, from a simple 100 percent green energy tariff for small businesses to bespoke pricing for larger firms. Bespoke means custom-made or tailor-made. They also install on-site wind energy schemes.