For this edition of Customer Corner, we caught up with amber energy® for our first ever Consultancy Profile.
amber energy® are a consultancy that span across Major Business – which is where their main focus lies - and SME. Their customers include Loungers Limited, Empiric and PBSA.
The company was founded in 2009 when Nick Proctor, then working in the banking sector, discovered that the customer service and expertise in the energy industry had let a number of his clients down. Quite simply, he wanted to help businesses navigate through the complexities in the energy industry and to provide long-term partnerships.
Nick was determined that businesses understand energy, so they could start maximising their own set-ups; buying smart, using smart, and generating their own power to offset against the grid’s demands. The company remains true to the founder’s reason for starting the business today; transparency, honesty and a partnership approach to clients is at the core of what they do. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Their vision is to be a world class energy organisation driving industry standards and their mission is to provide solutions to the complex world of energy.
So, why the name “amber”? Thales of Miletus, a Greek philosopher, discovered that rubbing amber with silk created an electric charge in the amber which caused objects to be attracted to it. Also the root of the word electricity is the ancient Greek word, elektron, meaning amber.
I bet you didn’t know that!
Employees are well looked after and cite the linear structure, the open door policy, the fact that everyone is appreciated, valued and rewarded as their main reasons for working at amber.
Employees are rewarded for staying true to amber’s 5 core values: Team Approach, Passion, Innovation, Empowerment and Respect, as well as hitting target.
We asked Rebecca Proctor @ amber a few questions about herself too:
Q: What is one thing you wouldn’t change about your relationship with TGP?
A: “The people we work with. We’ve formed a real partnership with TGP and this helps us to meet the requirements of our clients and deliver on our service promises.”
Q: In the past 12 months, what has been amber’s proudest achievement?
A: “From supporting projects in Africa to being named the Fastest Growing Company in Cardiff (Fast Growth 50 2017) it’s hard to pick just one!”
Q: What would you like to achieve within the next 12 months?
A: “We’d like to hit our company target - this ensures we get another company ski trip next year! Also as we grow, ensuring all staff always understand amber’s core reason for being; we are not brokers and ‘challenge the norm’ in the solutions we offer our clients. The next 12 months will see us improving our processes, constantly striving to be the ‘good different’ in an overwhelming market place and improving and innovating our offering.”
Q: What is the most common challenge you experience when working with energy suppliers?
A: “Probably the most common challenge we experience is different departments not talking to each other. For example the SME to the corporate division and this can often cause unnecessary issues.”
Q: Can you tell us a bit about one of your projects, Power 2 Africa?
A: “There are nearly 1 billion people still living without power. That’s the total population of the UK, USA, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia AND Russia… combined! All of these are countries who have complete access to electricity and use it, on a daily basis, often without thinking about it. P2A is a not-for-profit organisation which supports the delivery of clean energy and supports projects to give power to African communities to live better lives. This began as an amber project as such, a project to donate to via our not for profit domestic switching site, Energy Relief. However, we soon realised there was more that could be done to help provide clean energy in Africa and that P2A could stand alone and become its own entity.
The idea is simple. Your business signs up and the membership fee covers Power2Africa's running costs. This means that 100% of the credits you buy can be spent on clean energy projects in Africa. You can pick the projects that you want to support and we make sure that the money from your credits goes to making that project come to life. So far, we’ve supported a shower block for a school in Kenya and a Cyber Café, helping a local community improve education and business opportunities. Our website launched on May 10TH and you can check it out here: www.power2africa.org”
Our thanks to Rebecca Proctor at amber energy® for sharing her time, knowledge and enthusiasm with us.
If there are any customers or brokers/consultancies that you would like to hear from, please let us know!
