Green Network Energy: the first Italian energy supplier to see the light in the United Kingdom
Nearly 600,000 Italians call London and the United Kingdom their home.
So, Italian companies have followed suit. In late 2016, Green Network Energy became the first Italian energy and gas company to launch as a supplier in the UK.
Green Network was founded in 2003, following the deregulation of the Italian electricity market. The Group is active in the gas and power industry, where it operates as a wholesaler, trader and supplier of electricity, as well as the generator of electricity from renewable sources.
Over a decade later, in Italy, Green Network is today acknowledged as; an important domestic player, the energy partner of industrial companies operating nationwide, a benchmark for the SMEs, and is ranked among the first ten operators in the country. The company can pride itself on a popular network of agents and agencies throughout Italy. Starting from such a stepping stone, an expansion overseas was natural.
The UK, with a growing number of Italians calling it home, is a key part of the expansion. Bringing a touch of Italy to the market, Italians can now choose a supplier that speaks their language, with a bilingual website and call centre offering customer support.
In what can be a confusing market, Green Network Energy is trying to keep things simple with energy prices fixed for a year. Customers will pay by a fixed Direct Debit each month, based on the information they provide when registering.
For example, The Italian Touch GNE Fix is, on average, £ 75/month*, whilst The Italian Touch Green Fix is, on average, £80/month* and features electricity backed by 100% renewable sources. To get a customized quote, customers can visit Green Network Energy’s website or contact the call centre.
One of the driving forces behind the success of Green Network Energy and at the forefront of expansion plans is Sabrina Corbo.
Executive Vice President of the Green Network Group, Corbo founded the enterprise from scratch in 2003. She started with a share capital of €10,000 along with her husband Piero Saulli, President and CEO of the company. Sabrina had previously worked in international law firms in Rome and London; Piero was a manager in Enel.
Nearly 15 years later, the Green Network Group, boasts annual revenues of circa €1.5 billion. The company employs over 200 people directly, 400 indirectly and with a median age of just 30, the company blends experience with youth to create a vibrant working environment.
After launching a trading operation in London in 2012, Corbo returned to the capital, with her family, in September 2014. Aiming to recreate the success of the business in Italy, Corbo’s decision to return was driven by her belief that it is important to lead when you expect others to follow.
Her accomplishments and entrepreneurship become even more stunning. It’s safe to say that Corbo’s attention towards the families of Green Network’s staff is nothing offhand, it stems from previous, personal experiences.
At the onset of Green Network, finding it impossible to get a baby‐sitter, Corbo decided to set up her own child care service, ‘Le Fate Turchine’. Later on, she realised what it meant to reconcile work and family, particularly for women. So, the service broadened into a nursery and a kindergarten, free for all the company’s employees.
‘Le Fate Turchine’ nursery and kindergarten today has over 120 children. It is open to the public and offers a three-language syllabus: Italian, English, and French.
Family values, efficiency, determination, gender equal society, affordable and sustainable green energy and a leader able to instill commitment in the team. These are the principles underlying Green Network, the energy solution based on firm ethics.
Sabrina Corbo sums it up simply how a husband-wife idea going back over a decade has become a full-scale business today: “After all, we supply energy, intangible and essential, just like dreams”.
A good thing for Italian residents in the UK, it is now possible to have this dream right at home.
*Representative of monthly costs based on a standard meter, dual-‐fuel, medium user (3100 kWhs elec. and 12500 kWhs gas) paying in advance by direct debit, inclusive of any discounts.
