Receive Grüner Strom-Label
Get quality seal for your green electricity tariff Certification requirements
You would like to have your tariff certified: The obligations associated with certification are regulated in detail in the label agreement and the criteria catalog.
In essence, you are committing to...
... to 100 % green electricity.
You supply your customers with electricity 100% of which comes from renewable energies. Guarantees of origin that are traded independently of an electricity supply are not recognized as sole proof.
... on energy transition projects.
They promote the expansion of renewable energies with a fixed minimum amount per kWh. The subsidy amounts are staggered in four classes and are based on consumption:
| Consumption / year | Invest Commitment |
|---|---|
| up to 10.000 kWh | 0.5 cents per kWh |
| 10,000 kWh to 100,000 kWh | 0.4 cents per kWh |
| 100,000 kWh to 3,000,000 kWh | 0.2 cents per kWh |
| from 3.000.000 kWh | 0.1 cent per kWh |
... to quality.
Evidence of compliance with the criteria, key data such as the volume of gas sold, and the amount of the investment commitment and its use are regularly reviewed.
... to transparency.
You report transparently to your customers about the certified tariff and the use of the subsidies.
Your path to certification
Step by step to the seal of approval for your green electricity tariff
Step 1
You fill the Initial certification form and inform us about your company and the green electricity tariff you would like to have certified.
Step 2
We will check your information, discuss all open questions together with you and advise you on the Tariff design. Provided there is nothing to the contrary, we subsequently give the "green light".
Step 3
We sign with you the label agreement with the annexes Green electricity criteria catalog and Certification procedure. These documents lay down the basis for certification.
Step 4
You will receive the label for the rest of the current Certification period in advance and can now start selling the tariff directly.
How to check your tariff Certification procedure
Testing
After signing the label agreement, we will issue you the label for the rest of the certification period in advance. You can start directly with the distribution of the product.
The regular audit always takes place retrospectively. At the end of the first period and subsequently every two years, you submit documents on the basis of which it is checked whether the criteria have been met.
Expert opinion
The results are summarized in an expert report and validated by an independent institute. Grüner Strom Label e.V. then decides whether the label will be extended.
In the years when there is no audit, continue to keep us informed about product development and how the grant money is being used.
Certification costs
This is what you pay for the label
The costs for the Grüner Strom-Label are divided into
1. The label fee
2. The certification fee
Sales-dependent components of the offer always refer to the sales of the entire green electricity tariff.
Label fee
The label fee is annual raised and depends on the Sales volume of your tariff.
It is used for services for the label holders, e.g. the supervision of the certification, public relations and the operation of the office.
Certification fee
The certification fee is Every two years raised and is basically effort-dependent staggered.
The assessment parameter for both fees is generally the sales volume of the previous year of certification or, in the case of a new product launch, the estimated sales volume of the product.
Together for the energy turnaround
Your contact
This is what we have achieved together
By choosing a certified green electricity or biogas tariff, you are directly supporting the energy transition. For every kilowatt hour consumed, a fixed amount flows into the expansion of renewable energies - that's sustainable thinking.
Switch to a certified electricity or biogas tariff now
There are already several online comparison portals for electricity and gas rates. So what's the point of another one?
At the comparison portal of the environmental associations, consumers can compare high-quality and exclusively certified green electricity and biogas tariffs.
"vergleich-dich-gruen.de" offers you the opportunity to actively participate in an energy transition that is nature-friendly, decentralized, citizen-oriented, public welfare-oriented, fair and pollutant-free through your purchase decision.
What you should know about green electricity
Grüner Strom-Label
Frequently asked questions
With Green Electricity-certified green electricity tariffs, guaranteed investments flow into the expansion of renewable energies. The level of investment is determined by a fixed amount per kilowatt hour consumed. Thus, your green power purchase indirectly influences investments in the energy transition.The funding areas include the mobility transition, energy infrastructure, energy efficiency, and other projects that serve the energy transition, such as nature conservation, development cooperation, and education.
The full range of funding opportunities can be found in the criteria catalog for the Grüner Strom-Label. Selected energy transition projects can be found here.
The Grüner Strom-Label is awarded for a green electricity tariff, not for the provider itself. The label criteria therefore relate primarily to the tariff.Thus, the Grüner Strom-Label can be found on tariffs of independent green electricity providers as well as on tariffs of municipal utilities that sell conventional electricity in addition to the certified green electricity.
Nevertheless, the Green Electricity certification also looks at aspects concerning the supplier. For example, the Grüner Strom-Label will not be granted to any company that is still directly involved in a coal-fired power plant on the cut-off date of 1.1.2027, i.e. operates a coal-fired power plant itself or is involved in an operating company with share capital/share capital. Participation in nuclear power plants is also an exclusion criterion.
You can find all the energy suppliers that offer certified green electricity here.
Among them are several nationwide providers as well as local and regional energy suppliers. In our tariff portal of the environmental associations for switching energy providers. You will find all tariffs and can easily switch to a real green electricity tariff with a Grüner Strom-Label.
Green Electricity
Green electricity is electrical energy that comes from renewable sources. It can be generated from solar radiation, wind and water power, biomass, geothermal energy or sewage gas.
Electricity from renewable sources is ecologically and socially sound because it protects the climate and reduces the consumption of fossil, finite resources. In addition, it does not produce hazardous waste, such as radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
When you buy green electricity, it doesn't mean that green electricity is actually coming out of the pipe. Every kilowatt hour generated flows into an electricity lake, from which it is then redistributed to end customers. In other words, everyone gets the same physical electricity. But every single green electricity customer helps to make the electricity lake ever greener.
However, green electricity does not automatically promote the energy transition. For this, additional investments must be made in the expansion of renewable energies. This is guaranteed by tariffs that carry the Grüner Strom-Label.
The numerous green power products available on the energy market differ significantly from one another.
The energy markets cannot prevent energy providers from relabeling their nuclear and coal-fired power as "green power" with the help of additionally purchased certificates of origin. The reason is that the certificates can be traded independently of the actual quantities of electricity. Under this model, an energy supplier can supply its green electricity customers with electricity from conventional power plants. For this electricity, the utility buys an equivalent amount of (very cheap) guarantees of origin and can then re-declare its electricity as green electricity. The electricity purchased for customers and the guarantees of origin therefore do not come from one and the same power plant.
In addition, the decisive point in a green electricity tariff is whether or not the consumers provide an additional environmental benefit with their purchase decision. An additional environmental benefit arises when the purchase of green electricity promotes the nature-friendly expansion of renewable energies. However, this is not the case with many green electricity offers.
If, for example, an energy supplier only purchases electricity from old hydroelectric power plants for its green electricity customers, then an already existing amount of green electricity is only diverted to a certain group of consumers. The consumers who previously received the hydroelectric power may now (unknowingly) be supplied with nuclear power because they do not specifically ask for green power. The bottom line is that everything remains the same, new plants are not built, and the share of green electricity in the European electricity mix is no higher than before. Such supposedly "green" tariffs promise an additional environmental benefit that cannot be proven. In terms of this promise, they are deceptive packages.
The Grüner Strom-Label identifies for consumers the purchase of 100% genuine green electricity as well as guaranteed investments in renewable energies and innovative energy transition projects.
The guaranteed investments in the nature-compatible expansion of renewable energies are an essential distinguishing feature compared to many other green electricity labels and green electricity tariffs, where customers only receive electricity from already existing green power plants. This is because merely shifting "green" electricity quantities back and forth does not result in any additional environmental benefit.
Green electricity tariffs for private customers require an investment of at least 0.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Many energy providers also invest more than 0.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
If you want to compare an electricity tariff via the tariff portal of the environmental associations, the subsidy component and thus your energy transition contribution will be displayed for the respective energy provider.
For commercial customers, the subsidy is lower due to the higher consumption values: it ranges from 0.1 cents to 0.4 cents per kilowatt hour.
Yes. Green electricity tariffs do not necessarily have to bear a label. Certification by the Grüner Strom-Label or other seals of approval is voluntary. There are electricity providers who do not have their tariffs independently verified at all. Here, consumers must decide for themselves how credible the offer is.
On the one hand, it is not the energy providers that are certified, but only the individual tariffs. Secondly, the certification of green electricity tariffs with the Grüner Strom-Label is voluntary. Suppliers can decide for themselves whether they wish to have their products certified according to our criteria. Therefore, we cannot make any statement about the quality of your non-certified green electricity tariff. You can find more information about our certification here.
We recommend the tariff portal of the environmental associations for switching energy providers.Here you'll find only green electricity-certified green electricity rates. When changing tariffs, you don't have to be afraid that the lights will go out at some point. The power supply is guaranteed by law - even when you switch providers. By switching, you can save energy costs, protect the environment and promote the energy transition. Here you will find helpful information on switching.
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Grüner Strom Label e.V. | Kaiserstrasse 113 | 53113 Bonn | Germany
Tel: +49 (0)228 / 522 611-90 | E-Mail: info@gruenerstromlabel.de
