Ethical UK Broadband ISP Your Coop Offers Climate Positive Plans
UK ISP Your Co-op (formerly known as the Phone Co-op), which describes itself as being an “ethical” co-operative provider of internet access, phone and mobile services (i.e. the provider is owned by its members), has this week announced that their broadband packages are now all “climate positive.”
In order to deliver this, the provider has partnered with climate action organisation Ecologi, which will enable them to offset 50kg of CO2e every month for each customer. This is based on the assumption that an average customer’s broadband package is expected to emit around 4kg of CO2e, which means that all Your Co-op Broadband customers may offset more than twelve times the CO2e that is produced by their connection.
The provider will also fund the planting of a new tree every month for each customer, and customers will be able to track the impact that their purchase is having through the website. The Society also operates Your Co-op Mobile, which partners with Fairphone to offer one of the world’s most sustainable smartphones alongside various mobile plans.
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Lizzie Hieron, COO of Utility Solutions at The Midcounties Co-operative, said (here):
“We know that the climate emergency is a real and growing concern for many people, but it can often seem like an impossible task to make a difference as an individual. That’s why we’re committed to providing an ethical alternative for consumers and we’re so proud to have become a climate positive broadband provider.
Being a co-operative means we are fully owned by our members and run for the benefit of our customers, who know that by choosing us to connect or power their homes they’re picking a supplier that is driven by its values and committed to creating a better, fairer world for all.”
Prices tend to start from £30 inc. VAT per month for their unlimited “superfast” (38Mbps) package with an included router, free setup and line rental on a 24-month contract term, which rises to £70 per month for their top 900Mbps plan (i.e. FTTC/P via Openreach’s UK network). The latter includes a £60 one-off setup fee for new lines.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Does this also offset the additional CO2 emissions caused by virtue signalling itself?
I expect it does, luvvie. Why don’t you toddle off and play while the grown-ups are talking? There’s a good boy.
no u
Eh? Is this more of your ignorance signalling, dear? How much has that cost the earth? Quite a bit I’ll wager.
Great point Mike, I bet the virtue signalling creates so much CO2 just from their marketing department talking! Wonder if they contribute to the “woke agenda” also, that’s a great bandwagon to jump on too after all? Hell, they might not even identify as an ISP, maybe a toaster instead.
Another great reason not to join them.
Buggerface, you need to be a bit more subtle. You stink of the stench of troll.
I think it’s quite reasonable to be sceptical about carbon offsetting in general, due to multiple counting and to tree planting in general.
Ecologi’s published aims are laudable but they are a limited company not a charity or a nonprofit organisation.
They apparently run reforestation projects in Madagascar, Mozambique and Nicuraga which are currently undergoing large scale deforestation.
Here there is a risk of providing a perverse incentive to locals to clear forest for selling as land for tree planting projects.
Also Ecologi seem fixated on the number of trees planted but forests consist of far more than trees. Arguably the best method of reforestation is to leave the land untouched for the process to occur naturally.
They also knock £1 a month off if you (re)use your own router, good way of avoiding kit going into landfill.