Ovo Energy Digs Trees With Tour Of Britain
Energy firm OVO Energy, title partner of the Tour of Britain, has revealed plans to bring its “I Dig Trees” campaign to this year’s race.
The brand will award a tree to the wearer of the OVO Energy Green Jersey after each stage in next month’s Tour – the UK’s leading road-cycling stage race.
The tree will later be planted in honour of its recipient rider at a location in the host city of each stage.
The initiative forms part of OVO Energy’s efforts to “grow a greener Britain for future generations.”
The brand says it has already planted more than half a million trees in the UK’s cities, towns and countryside, with each one removing one tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere in its lifetime.
The trees used in the Tour of Britain will be heritage varieties matched with the host regions of the race.
They will include a Bardsey Apple in Newport, an Avalon Plum in Bristol, a Blue Violet Plum in both Cockermouth and Barrow, a Bramley Apple in Nottingham and a Core Blimey Apple in London.
Local volunteers involved in OVO Energy’s year-round planting campaign will be invited to the race and chosen to present the trees.
In total, 7,259 people from 397 community groups have helped to plant 160,000 trees with OVO Energy in 2018.
Commenting on the initiative, Chris Houghton, CEO of OVO Energy Retail, said: “We’re proud to be working with I Dig Trees, a sustainable charity who’ll be awarding a tree to the wearer of the OVO Energy Green Jersey each stage and planting it in their name. We’ve been planting trees across the UK since 2015, with thousands of volunteers getting their hands dirty and breathing fresh new life in their local communities.
“So it’s amazing that the race leader’s efforts in the saddle will make a lasting difference in reducing CO2 emissions and improving green spaces.”
OVO Energy is supporting the Tour of Britain for the second successive year.
The eight-day race, which kicks off in Wales at the weekend, is the UK’s largest free-to-watch sporting event, organised annually by SweetSpot Group, with daily live coverage on ITV4 and Eurosport.
