September 2020 Pure Planet Community highlights and points leaderboard

Welcome to another edition of the Pure Planet Community highlights and points bonanza!

Yes it is October already! Here we are in Q4, autumn then winter, the ‘C word’ of course, then bring on 2021…. Eek! 

September was the time when we passed the ominous milestone of six months of Covid-19 related lockdowns, working from home. Everyone at PP hopes that you’re all staying safe, and keeping as well as can be.

The pandemic isn’t keeping us down, though. Staying active is really important, and both @Bev and @25 quid  have been comparing exercise ‘streaks’. Autumn is the season of tech gadgetry announcements, and a few Members have been tempted by the Apple Watch, with @G4RHL  the first to get a new model. It can even tell you to wash your hands! 

Our September photo challenge will have helped community Members rack up the steps and close those exercise rings. The winner of last month’s challenge, Animals and Wildlife, was @LUCKY JO  with this lovely photo of a Red Admiral butterfly. 

As winner she gets to choose the theme for the October challenge. The theme is ‘Water’ - check it out!

If you’d like to know more about @LUCKY JO  then check out her Pure Planet Community spotlight, where she tells us about why she joined PP, and her tips for cutting carbon and saving money. We know that, like @Bev , she's a big fan of emojis, and for a bit of fun we’ve been sharing our last five emojis. So far, nothing too embarrassing! 

Meanwhile, @Gwyndy  has been treating himself to a new washing machine, but of course newer/smaller doesn’t always mean more renewable. Fear not, as @SteveH2707  has a cunning plan involving skis and gravity. 

Amid all the Covid-19 news it’s good to see that the Government has renewed its pledge to tackle carbon emissions. Last month saw some really interesting discussions here in the community about how we can, or could, make small changes to help get us to carbon zero.

Would you pay more to fly (assuming we ever will again!) so there’s fewer trips, and how much would you be prepared to pay for a plastic bag at the shops? 

With the ban on new sales of diesel and petrol cars expected to be brought forward again, how are you likely to travel where you live?

In related news, we’re looking for tips on the best EV networks for charging on the go in England, Scotland and Wales. Some great tips already from @Ohit 

Here at Pure Planet we added some new pages about EVs to our website in September. These include a new tool for those thinking about getting their first EV to compare models and how much each will cost to run. Last month we also announced a new partnership with a home charger company called EO.

We’ve also created a new section of the community called Pure Planet Futures which is all about testing new tools, features and services with Members before we make them live for all. 

Other PP updates from September 2020 include:

• We fixed a bug on statements which meant Members were being shown cheaper alternative fixed tariffs with the same name as the tariff they’re on. A big thanks to @stephenrand and @25 quid  for alerting us to this.
• Over in our Pure Planet Community ideas board we implemented our 100th idea! We love the ideas you guys are suggesting. We just wish we could do more of them faster, but steadily we’ll get there!
• We made some improvements to the communications to people switching to us from price comparison websites - thanks @woz and @Gwyndy  for raising this
• And our digital assistant WattBot has been updated with extra information about the Winter payments which start from 1 October. Watt says he/she would like to thank @Gwyndy for the extra lesson. 

What’s coming up next?

We’ve got thousands of Members who are interested in participating in the Warm Home Discount scheme. Later this month we’ll be in touch with the next steps. 

Look out for an exciting new announcement about some Pure Planet smart home offers and a chance to help be part of a new pilot, too.

But the really BIG news this month is we’re about to hit 40,000 community Members.

Pure Planet Community points for Sep 2020

Each month we say thanks to those who contribute to our community by asking and answering questions and participating in discussions on all things related to Pure Planet and renewable energy, and just generally keeping the community safe and fun.

Here's a link to how the Pure Planet community points work which includes how much points are worth, guidance on how to earn points (without giving away our top secret formula!) and when you’ll be able to redeem your points.

Band One - 1,500 points: @woz @25 quid @Bev @Angelabikerbabe @stephenrand @Mavis1 @LUCKY JO @Gwyndy 

Band Two - 1,000 points: @Scubaseahorse @David j @Mightymidget @G4RHL @Duppy @TonyHoyle @Rds261189 @Ohit 

Band Three - 500 points: @StuartB @pigiron @mistryaran96 @SteveH2707 @craigamacdonald @padfield72 @paulhipwood @nmannix @Strutt G @Judge Judy @Climber21 @Rhipro @Frankr @DJGShef @Mrmulla @Annaleighr @janoojiten @Oxfordmark 

Band Four - 200 points: @Hezekiah @brianflaherty @glimp @Matty1985 @Jowl @BC123 @Katemm @Sunsea @HaskinsMasey @Daspy @ReallySwift1 @Saibharat @Deeno2 @NannyOgg @saagar408 @samlysak @Billyt25 @LukeM @paulclaudia @sugscott @Debora 

Band Five - 100 points: @Charlie78 @Sweepinghand  @DB2 @kkoala @Momo @Edmund81 @cobra2343 @James272000 @The Thinker @Mattc1978 @ChuckG @MikeFollis @CarolineW @mbhd21 @Major @Bill2020 @NigelRoss @Blanche @RayHogg @CDBow @chrisdifer @Nodds @Valerian @Riyaaz @GrahamAllwood @StratfordEVnewbie @frankmthompson 

Well done and a big thank you to all of you wonderful members who have contributed, but we’re not finished yet!

We also have a mystery band winner, worth 2,500 points is @Mightymidget  for getting stuck into the PP community and being super nice to other newbies.

And a shout out to @woz  who’s penned this ditty about moving meters. 

Finally, we say a fond farewell to @Mavis1  who has been a Pure Planet Community stalwart for several years, and has just headed off on a new adventure but, thankfully, with a promise to drop by from time to time to say hello. 

That’s it for the September 2020 community highlights round-up. Thanks for checking it out!