Give yourself choice

By Good Magazine

August 16, 2018

Flick Electric’s new app feature is taking conscious consumerism to the next level, offering a real-time, personalised carbon footprint breakdown for Kiwis looking to change their energy habits for the better 

More and more New Zealanders are joining the movement to become conscious consumers, in fact, according to the 2017 Colmar Brunton Better Futures Report, a encouraging 90 per cent of us say we are committed to living more sustainable lifestyles.

However, when it comes to our electricity consumption, it seems there is still some information out there about ‘green’ electricity that can confuse customers when they’re making choices about their provider and their habits.

Says Flick CEO Steve O’Connor, “for too long, Kiwis have been confused that because they are with a company that generates electricity from renewables, that they’re using cleaner electricity at their house. 

“The truth is that our national power supply is like a pot of vegetable soup. You get a mix of whatever is in the pot when you take your serving. The only way to actually reduce your carbon impact is to know how much carbon is being created and make a decision to use electricity, or not, on that basis,” he adds. 

“Being the customer of a ‘green retailer’ does not mean your power consumption is any more sustainable than the next person’s.” 

Flick Electric Co. say a better transparency in the electricity sector about the carbon impact of individuals’ power use is imperative. With that in mind, Flick created their world-first Flick Electric Co. app that gives Kiwis live updates about the carbon impact of New Zealand’s electricity use, and sends alerts so consumers know when to switch things on and off. 

Further to this, the app has just introduced its brand new CHOICE tab, allowing Kiwi households to get personalised, real-time carbon footprint data, enabling them to see the impact of their personal power use on a daily basis and make informed choices on when and how they use their power. 

“As a country we can be using as much as 800 tonnes of carbon equivalent in a half hour period, or as little as 350 tonnes. Being aware of what’s happening in real time, making a conscious consumption choice, and being able to track the overall impact their choices are having, is the only way consumers can exercise true control over their carbon footprint,” O’Connor says. 

Flick has also partnered with charity Trees That Count to give customers an opportunity to offset their electricity emissions by funding the planting of a native tree.


For more, visit flickelectric.co.nz/c/choice

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