Our green electricity criteria
Certification to the highest environmental standards
Damit du sicher sein kannst, dass du einen hochwertigen Ökostromtarif beziehst, entwickeln wir unsere Kriterien stetig weiter
Independent institute
Tarife mit dem Grüner Strom-Label werden alle zwei Jahre überprüft und von einem unabhängigen Institut validiert.
catalog of criteria
The basis for this is a detailed catalog of criteria that can be viewed by the public and is regularly reviewed and adjusted as necessary.
Associations
Die Kriterien werden von Verbänden für Umwelt, Frieden und Verbraucher:innen und unabhängigen Energieexpert:innen stetig weiterentwickelt.
100 % Ökostrom
Jeder Energieanbieter, der dir Ökostrom verkaufen möchte, muss dafür Herkunftsnachweise des Umweltbundesamtes verwenden.
Diese Nachweise garantieren dir aber nicht, dass Energieanbieter nicht ihren Atom- und Kohlestrom mithilfe von Herkunftsnachweisen zu „Grünstrom“ umetikettieren. Grund ist, dass die Nachweise unabhängig von den tatsächlichen Strommengen gehandelt werden können.
Unser Label garantiert dir, dass Herkunftsnachweise und Strommengen aus derselben erneuerbaren Energiequelle stammen.
Expansion of renewables
Kernkriterium des Grüner Strom-Labels ist, dass Energieanbieter mit einem festen Betrag je verkaufter Kilowattstunde den Ausbau Erneuerbarer Energien fördern.
Über 1.800 Energiewende-Projekte wurden bereits realisiert, meistens Erneuerbare-Energien-Anlagen, wie Solaranlagen oder Windräder.
Mittlerweile werden aber auch mehr und mehr Projekte in den Bereichen Mobilität, Speicher/Steuerung and Energy efficiency umgesetzt.
Nachhaltig gedacht
Das Grüner Strom-Label wird für einen Ökostromtarif vergeben, nicht für den Anbieter an sich, doch gelten für diesen trotzdem Regeln:
Nuclear and coal power? No thanks!
Energieanbieter, die an Atomkraftwerken beteiligt sind oder zum Stichtag 1.1.2027 noch an Kohlekraftwerken beteiligt sind, können das Grüner Strom-Label nicht erhalten.
Downloads
The catalog of criteria
All relevant criteria are recorded in this catalog.
Alle zwei Jahre werden die zertifizierten Ökostromtarife anhand des Grüner Strom-Kriterienkatalogs überprüft und die Ergebnisse in Gutachten zusammengefasst. Die Gutachten werden von einem externen, independent institute reviewed.
Exclusion criteria
Ausschlusskriterien sind solche, die bei nicht-Erfüllung keine Zertifizierung zulassen:
Participation of the company in Nuclear power plants
Participation of the company in Coal-fired power plants as of the reporting date 1.1.2027
Lack of investment in Energiewende-Projekte
Become a label holder
Du möchtest für deinen Ökostromtarif unser Label erhalten? Erfahre mehr über die Pflichten und Anforderungen unserer Zertifizierung.
Together for the energy turnaround
Your contact person
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
Green electricity 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 Green electricity label. Selected energy transition projects can be found here.
The Green Electricity Label is awarded for a green electricity tariff, not for the provider itself. The label criteria therefore relate primarily to the tariff.Thus, the Green Electricity 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 Green Electricity 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 green electricity 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 Green Electricity 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 Green Electricity 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 Green Electricity 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 Green Electricity 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.
