Taking customers with us on the journey to net zero

New research commissioned by Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has shown that just one in five Brits believe that we can meet the UK’s net carbon zero target by 2050, but that there is also a strong public appetite for a greener future. As part of our Countdown to COP campaign, chief executive Mark Horsley shares his views on how the gas sector must win hearts and minds as 2050 draws nearer.

Like many public-facing, service-driven organisations, NGN sets great store by listening to what our customers tell us. Over the years, we’ve created and fine-tuned various opportunities for customers to have their say. And now we have the results from one of the first pieces of original research with our customers into public attitudes to net zero, and how these attitudes have been impacted by the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.

We commissioned the new research from YouGov because we wanted to see net zero through the prism of the pandemic; the roadmap towards the target is becoming more defined, and while COP26 will certainly focus minds, the way forward is still fraught with challenge.

The research revealed some surprising findings, and ones that I will certainly take on board as NGN and our partner organisations continue to influence the decarbonisation agenda. So, despite the pandemic, and possibly because of it, climate change is still very much at the forefront of people’s minds: in our nationwide poll, 73 per cent of people said that they were as concerned, or even more concerned, about the environment as they were before the pandemic.

More 18 to 24-year-olds polled wanted the government to prioritise unlocking investment in green energy rather than on job creation: significant when you consider the negative impact that Covid-19 is having on the labour market that many in this age group will now be entering.

And where respondents were asked to think about a time beyond the pandemic, 48 per cent said that they saw a lack of commitment from business and industry as a barrier to an effective response to climate change; a higher number than those who said that a lack of government commitment to making policy decisions was the greatest cause for concern.

For us in the energy sector, the gauntlet has been thrown down.

We can’t expect government alone to educate members of the public about cleaner energy alternatives and make a compelling case for the fuels of the future, such as hydrogen. The onus also rests on us in the gas industry.

The YouGov research also suggests that the public are receptive to hydrogen as a future fuel: 44 per cent of those polled said that they believe the strongest benefit of hydrogen is that it has the potential to be a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels.

The recent launch of our crowdfunded green transition bonds, giving businesses and individuals the opportunity to invest in a hydrogen-ready energy network for the first time, saw a take-up of 25 per cent by the end of day one: again suggesting that our customers have a passion for achieving net zero.

However, for a significant number of YouGov survey respondents, they simply don’t know enough about hydrogen to have an informed opinion.

So, I’m calling on industry to do more to get our customers to that informed position, and to bring them with us on the journey.

Gas suppliers already have a high level of recognition with their customers and a ready-made platform to begin the conversation. But the gas distribution networks, including NGN, also have a part to play: building public confidence around the safety and reliability of hydrogen; providing reassurance around appliances and any future costs for customers, and lobbying government for transformative investment in affordable and hydrogen-ready appliances.

As a sector, we must be proactive, giving our customers clear messaging and opportunities to feed back and challenge, and using the channels, forums and language that best suit them, not us as industry insiders.

At NGN, we’re starting to communicate with our customers about green energy and hydrogen, and to listen to what they’re saying. But it’s just the beginning of a conversation that’s timely and necessary as we move towards COP26, and ultimately 2050.