Swisscom meets its entire electricity consumption requirements from renewable energy sources. It also purchases more naturemade star electricity generated by wind and solar power than any other company in Switzerland.
Swisscom didn't just start purchasing green electricity yesterday: its first purchase of solar energy dates back to 1999. The 50 megawatt hours (MWh) purchased then was equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 14 typical Swiss households.
This was massively expanded in 2003. Since then Swisscom has purchased more naturemade star electricity from wind and solar power than any other company in Switzerland.
The last milestone in this development came in 2010, when the Group Executive Board decided to go completely green by purchasing electricity generated solely from renewable energy sources. This is checked annually by the WWF and certified.
Electricity consumption in 2012 and green electricity 2013
Swisscom consumed in 2012 430 gigawatt hours (GWh) (previous year 411 GWh) from 100% renewable energy sources, including 1.7 GWh of green electricity "naturemade star" from solar (0.7 GWh) and wind (1 GWh) energy.
In 2013, Swisscom improves its mix and purchases about five times more (7.5 GWh) naturemade star green electricity from Switzerland: 3.5 GWh solar energy and 4 GWh wind energy.
Apprentices construct a new solar installation every year
At Swisscom apprentices are sensitized early on in their training to the subject of sustainability: since 2005, they construct every year a new solar installation on a Swisscom building, with more to follow in the coming years.
End of 2012, the total cumulative peak power of all the solar facilities installed by Swisscom amounted to 340 kWp.
Naturemade star eco-energy
Naturemade star is considered to be the best eco-energy label in Switzerland and is managed by the Association for Environmentally Friendly Electricity VUE).
2010 Solar Prize for the Melchnau solar installation
In 2010 Swisscom apprentices helped construct the largest building-integrated solar installation in Switzerland. It is located in Melchnau in the Emmental and generates solar power from the roof of an enormous cowshed. The installation produces some 250 MWh of solar power per year, which equates to the annual consumption of 70 Swiss households. Swisscom purchases half of the solar power generated, making it the largest consumer. The Melchnau solar installation was awarded the 2010 Swiss Solar Prize.