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Grüner Strom-Label key messages

(117 words)

The Grüner Strom-Label is the only green electricity label in Germany supported by leading environmental organizations like BUND, NABU or EUROSOLAR. It aims to help consumers find their way in the complex electricity market.

Genuine green electricity 100 % sourced from renewable energy
Guaranteed investments in new facilities and innovative energy projects
Recommended by leading environmental organizations including consumer protection groups
Independent third-party certification pursuant to highest environmental standards
The first seal of approval for green electricity in Germany since 1998

A central aspect of the Grüner Strom certification is that electricity providers invest a fixed amount per kilowatt-hour in new renewable electricity generation plants. More than 1600 projects were realized and co-funded in this way.

Grüner Strom-Label

Grünes Gas-Label key messages

(105 words)

The Grünes Gas-Label is the only biogas label in Germany supported by environmental organizations like BUND, NABU or EUROSOLAR. It aims to help consumers find their way in the complex market for gas products.

With genuine biogas sourced by environmentally-friendly means
Advancement of regional and decentralized economic activity
Recommendation and endorsement by leading environmental organizations and consumer information groups
Independent third-party certification pursuant to highest environmental standards
First seal of approval for biogas product options in Germany

A central aspect of the Green Gas certification is that the ecologically acceptable production of biogas is checked on all processing steps up to the raw material.

Grünes Gas-Label

Grüner Strom Label e.V.

(76 words)

The Gruener Strom Label association (Grüner Strom Label e.V.) issues two seals of approval - Grüner Strom is granted for green electricity and Grünes Gas is granted for biogas. The Bonn based association was founded in 1998 by several non-profit environmental organizations including consumer information groups and peace-furthering organizations, inter alia, NABU, BUND, EUROSOLAR and Verbraucher Initative. Grüner Strom and Grünes Gas are the only seals of approval in Germany, indicating endorsement by leading environmental organizations.

About us

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Green Electricity - The Green Electricity Label of Environmental Associations

The animated clip shows what the Grüner Strom-Label stands for and what benefits it brings. Anyone interested can embed the video on their homepage. The following options are available for embedding the video:

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Color table

The following table lists the values of the colors used in corporate marketing:

Color	R	G	B	Color code
Gray	102	102	102	#666666
Light gray	246	246	246	#f6f6f6
Dark blue	67	73	105	#434969
Orange	238	142	34	#ee8e22
Green	141	198	63	#8dc63f

Together for the energy turnaround

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What you should know about green electricity

Grüner Strom-Label

Frequently asked questions

How do tariffs with a Grüner Strom-Label support the energy transition?

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.

What exactly is certified?

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.. The Grüner Strom-Label can be found on tariffs from independent green electricity providers as well as on tariffs from municipal utilities that also sell conventional electricity in addition to certified green electricity. Nevertheless, the green electricity certification also considers aspects that affect the supplier. For example, the Grüner Strom-Label is not awarded to any company that still has a direct stake 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 has a stake in an operating company with share capital/share capital. Participation in nuclear power plants is also an exclusion criterion.

How do I find a green electricity-certified tariff?

In our Tariff portal of the environmental associations "vergleich-dich-gruen" You will find all tariffs and can easily switch to a real green electricity tariff with a Grüner Strom-Label.

Green Electricity

What is 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 Green Electricity label. - -

Electricity from renewable energies is ecologically and socially acceptable because it protects the climate and the environment. Consumption of fossil, finite resources reduced is produced. In addition, no hazardous waste is produced, such as radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.

When you buy green electricity, this does not mean that green electricity actually comes out of the line. Every kilowatt hour generated flows into a Stromseefrom which it is then redistributed to the end customers. In other words, everyone receives the same physical electricity. But every single green electricity customer helps to make the electricity lake ever greener.

- - -

What distinguishes green electricity that carries the Grüner Strom-Label?

The numerous green electricity tariffsavailable on the energy market differ significantly from one another.

The crucial point with a green electricity tariff is whether consumers are choosing a green electricity tariff with their purchase decision. . . environmentally compatible expansion of renewable energies is subsidized. This is not the case with many green electricity offers.

It is important to make the electricity mix greener, Incentives for the expansion of renewable energies This is where the Grüner Strom-Label comes in: if you choose a tariff that has been awarded our seal of approval, you can be sure that every kilowatt hour you consume will go towards the expansion of renewable energies. The guaranteed investments in the environmentally compatible expansion of renewable energies are an essential Distinguishing feature compared to many other green electricity labels and green electricity tariffs.

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.

. tariff portal of the environmental associations for switching energy providers. .

For trade customers, the Subsidy contribution are lower due to the higher consumption values: they range from 0.1 cents to 0.4 cents per kilowatt hour.

Are there also green electricity tariffs that are not Green Electricity certified?

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.

In addition, it is not the energy providers that are certified, but only the individual tariffs. You can find more information about our certification here.

What you should know about biogas

Grünes Gas-Label

Frequently asked questions

How do tariffs with the Grünes Gas-Label support the energy transition?

With Green Gas-certified 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 gas purchase indirectly influences the investments in the energy transition. The areas of support include the mobility transition, energy infrastructure, energy efficiency, and other projects that serve the energy transition, such as nature conservation, development cooperation, and education.

You can find the whole range in the criteria catalog for the Grünes Gas-Label.

How can I obtain biogas with the Grünes Gas-Label?

Find out which suppliers offer gas tariffs with the Grünes Gas-Labelor contact your supplier and ask about a biogas tariff with the Grünes Gas-Label. Select a labeled tariff and sign the supply contract of the new supplier. The rest is similar to the electricity switch: The new gas supplier cancels the old contract for you at the next possible date and initiates everything else. Until the transfer, the local or previous supplier is obliged to maintain the gas supply. This means that there will be no interruption in supply.

You can find gas tariffs with the Grünes Gas-Label here.

Note: Individual, named biogas tariffs are always certified, not the supplier itself.

Who is behind the Grünes Gas-Label?

The Grünes Gas-Label is the only biogas seal of approval that is supported by leading civil society organizations. The supporting organizations are here to find. Through the work of the sponsoring associations in the board and general meeting, they continue to play a key role in shaping certification to this day. Changes to the label criteria, for example, must be approved by all sponsoring associations. The Grünes Gas-Label is awarded by Grüner Strom Label e.V., which has been awarding the Grüner Strom-Label for green electricity tariffs since 1998.

Biogas in general

What is biogas?

Biogas is produced by the bacterial decomposition of animal or plant substances in a biogas plant. These substances can be, for example, biogenic residues, such as the waste from the organic waste garbage can or liquid manure from agriculture. The fermentation of these substances produces, among other things, biomethane. The resulting biomethane can be used as an energy source in the same way as natural gas and can be fed into the natural gas grid, for example. There are various ways to produce biogas and not all variants are ecologically sustainable.

What are substrates?

Substrates, also called feedstocks, are the biogenic raw materials that are introduced into a biogas plant to produce gas. Here, a rough distinction can be made between three classes:

Biogenic residues (e.g. biowaste from the organic waste garbage can, plant residues, residues from agriculture such as harvest and slaughter waste, liquid manure, slurry and dung).
Sewage sludge and sewage gases from wastewater treatment plants, industrial processes, or commercial production (e.g., from biogenic residues in paper recycling).
Renewable raw materials or energy crops (e.g., corn or through-grown silphia).

What does NawaRo mean?

The abbreviation NawaRo stands for the term renewable raw materials.

This refers to plants or plant components that originate from agricultural production and are not used as food or feed, but are used materially or energetically, e.g. for the production of biogas.

What is sewage gas?

Sewage gas is a methane-containing gas produced during wastewater treatment by the digestion of sewage sludge. Sewage gas contains between 45 and 70 percent methane by volume.

What are synthetically produced green gases?

As the name suggests, this is gas that is produced artificially. Gas is produced from water in an electricity-intensive process called electrolysis. This concept is called power-to-gas. In this context, people often talk about green hydrogen. Green' here means that hydrogen is produced with the help of green electricity.

How does a biogas plant work?

A biogas plant usually consists of a fermentation tank with gas storage, the so-called fermenter, as well as a pre-pit, a post-digester and fermentation residue storage. The fermenter, the core of a biogas plant, is filled with the substrates (e.g. NawaRo and liquid manure from the pre-pit). The actual biogas formation takes place in the fermenter in the absence of sunlight and oxygen. Depending on the initial substrate, biogas can be produced by wet or dry fermentation. In wet fermentation, a high water content in the fermentation substrate makes the mass stirrable and flowable. Dry fermentation or solid matter fermentation is carried out with stackable organic biomass without mixing. However, it is rather rare in Germany. The substrate is heated to around 35 to 55 degrees Celsius to accelerate the methane formation process. On average, the substrate remains in a fermenter for 30 days before it degasses in the secondary fermenter for another month. The resulting biogas consists of 50 to 70 percent methane, as well as carbon dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide. Depending on the end use (on-site electricity generation, feeding into the natural gas grid, etc.), the biogas is further processed. The remaining substrate mixture from the fermenter (digestate) is then used by farmers as a high-quality fertilizer for their fields.

Is biogas environmentally friendly?

The production of biogas is renewable, largely CO₂-neutral, can be decentralized and is independent of limited fossil fuels. This makes it more environmentally friendly than conventional energy from large power plants. However, biogas production can take place in very different ways from an ecological perspective. In order to guarantee a sustainable energy supply, biogas must be produced in an environmentally friendly way. This includes both the raw materials used and their processing, as well as the logistics of the substrates and fermentation residues. The energetic and material use of organic residues and waste materials (which occur anyway) is part of a sustainable use of resources. Only certain input materials may be used for biogas with Grünes Gas-Label:

Biogenic residues (e.g. biowaste from the organic waste garbage can, plant residues, residues from agriculture such as harvest and slaughter waste, liquid manure, slurry and dung).
Sewage sludge and sewage gases from municipal wastewater treatment plants, industrial processes, or commercial production (e.g., from biogenic residues in paper recycling).
Renewable raw materials (e.g. maize or through-grown silphia), but only if there is an ecologically sustainable operator concept that is conducive to the energy transition.

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