This is one of many tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint.

This tip is specific to Germany. If anyone knows how to do this easily in other countries, please leave a message to me or a comment.

I thought I could write this tip very quickly, but it wasn’t that easy in the end. First, if you switch from coal-fired electricity to green energy, there is no risk that you will somehow be without electricity. Switching electricity is not like changing the phone provider, where you may end up without a connection for a few days if you’re unlucky. After a change of provider, you will receive the invoice from another provider next month, otherwise you will not notice any change.

So how do you find a good green energy provider? I found a portal when searching for providers: check24. Here it is important to click on “Green electricity only” (Ökostrom) and “Sustainable”. If you select “sustainable” (nachhaltig), you get local suppliers who actually invest in the production of green electricity (providers with the OK-Power or green electricity label). If you do not select this option, you may end up with electricity that’s just labeled as ecological. For example, you may buy Norwegian hydropower, which can lead to Norwegian electricity customers having our lignite electricity on the bill, because the certified green electricity is used here. More information can be found on the linked pages of the labels.

This information should actually be sufficient to change the electricity provider in five minutes.

You already have green electricity and nevertheless read up to here? Well, then ask your parents or children if they have green electricity and if not, help them to switch to a sustainable provider.