Octopus Energy signs up to Armed Forces Covenant

• Vice Admiral Andy Kyte presents award to energy giant for supporting the armed forces community
• Octopus Energy vows to give more jobs to veterans from thousands of green roles it will offer this year

London, 18th October 2023 - Octopus Energy Group has signed the Armed Forces Covenant and received the Bronze Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.

The award recognises Octopus for being friendly to the armed forces and open to employing reservists and veterans who may be wounded, injured or sick.

Octopus founder Greg Jackson today showed Vice Admiral Andy Kyte, Chief of Defence Logistics and Support, around Octopus’s HQ in London to meet team members who served in the armed forces or had partners who served.

The energy supplier has jobs available for military veterans in engineering, tech development, customer service and recruitment.

It believes that employing people from different backgrounds with different attitudes and qualifications is vital to delivering a green, clean and cheap energy system.

Octopus is committed to widening access to the energy industry to underrepresented groups and supporting them in the business.

The company recently completed its third annual Equality Internship, taking in 30 recruits from Black, African or Caribbean backgrounds. They underwent a nine-week internship in operations, tech, data and energy generation.

Greg Jackson, Founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: “We are so happy to have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and honoured to receive the Bronze Award in employer recognition. Octopus champions a diverse team with a myriad of different skills, experiences and backgrounds that will help drive the green energy transition globally.”

Vice Admiral Andy Kyte, Chief of Defence Logistics and Support in the Royal Navy,

said: “It’s really important that companies provide a pathway for our Armed Forces

community to build engaging, rewarding careers. Ex-service personnel and their families

bring a wealth of experience and skills to contribute to the green energy sector, that has a

bright future ahead.”

TJ Root, Flexibility Projects Lead at Octopus Energy and ex-armed forces personnel, said: “It’s been an honour to help spearhead the signing of the Armed Forces Covenant. Soldiering is an affair of the heart, and stays with you for life—but when it comes time to step out of uniform, we want service leavers to know Octopus Energy is a place where they can find the same passion, commitment, and sense of purpose that made their time in the military so special.”

Kia Dring, Digital Energy Specialist at Octopus Energy and partner of armed-forces personnel, said: “It’s amazing that my employer has signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant and I couldn’t be more supportive. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Octopus allowing me to choose my own shift pattern and providing me with support when necessary, I couldn’t manage working while my husband is away with the army.”

Octopus currently has more than 370 roles open around the world, including in its London, Brighton, Warwick, Manchester and Leicester hubs. It has already filled around 2,000 green jobs across the world in 2023.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

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About Octopus Energy Group

Octopus Energy is a global energy and technology group, driving the affordable, green energy system of the future. Its operations span 17 countries and the entire energy value chain. The group invests in, builds and flexibly manages renewable energy, operating a £6 billion portfolio of projects – one of Europe’s largest.

Octopus serves 5.8 million customers through its retail arm, and has licensed its advanced data and machine learning platform, Kraken, to support 40 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing deals with energy companies, including EDF, E.ON and Origin Energy.

Kraken enables Octopus to drive the electrification of heat and transport through smart tariffs and innovative cleantech. Backed by pension funds, investors and energy giants, Octopus Energy Group businesses deliver cheaper, greener energy and cutting-edge tech to countries and customers worldwide. For more information, check out our website.