Overview

The Ice Organisation, also known as MyIce.com is a UK Loyalty program

Loyalty program

Loyalty programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior — behavior which is potentially beneficial to the firm....

, which launched in 2010. Ice promotes brands, goods and services that are more sustainable, with the aim of mitigating climate change through mass consumer purchase power. Like other loyalty schemes, customers are rewarded with Ice points which they earn when shopping with a retailer who is part of the program. Customers can spend their points at any Ice retailer for money off their purchase or get it for free. Depending on the retailer, customers can collect and spend Ice points either online, via the telephone or in-store.
Ice is run by Jude Thorne (CEO, former CEO of Airmiles), Steven Esom (Chairperson, Former Managing Director of Waitrose

Waitrose

Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...

) and Tessa Tennant (President, Co-founder of the UK Social Investment Forum, and the Carbon Disclosure Project) and the scheme tries to make people think about the environmental impacts of their shopping baskets and rewards them for making more environmentally friendly purchases.

Environmental credentials

The Ice business structure includes an advisory panel of global experts in climate change

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...

 and environmental issues. The panel offers advice and guidance on partner selection criteria and programme structure. Before partners are selected, their environmental credentials are researched. This is done using information from publically available reports, provided by the partner and by certifying organisations. The company’s structure also includes the Climate Foundation, now merged with The Global Cool

Global Cool

Global Cool is a green lifestyle campaign run by the Global Cool Foundation, a registered climate change charity in the United Kingdom. Global Cool works with celebrities and the media and entertainment industries to promote green behaviours such as using public transport and taking flight-free...

 Foundation, which works with celebrities to mobilise mass consumer action on climate change.

Ice and SSE

In March 2011 Ice established a partnership with SSE to reward Ice customers for choosing to purchase their energy from SSE. This partnership was established due to the shared environmental credentials and sustainability visions of the two businesses. SSE has all the correct attributes to help Ice achieve its mission to “mitigate climate change through mass consumer purchase power” as it has the highest proportion of renewable generation in its fuel mix and is the largest renewable energy generator in the UK. Whilst SSE is committed to ensuring a steady and reliable supply of electricity for years to come, the company also recognises the role that increased energy efficiency can have in reducing energy demand. Many of the tariffs offered by SSE to Ice customers actively reward energy reduction and through iplan, which provides a smart energy kit with on line energy service, helps Ice customers save money and manage their energy bills. Along with advice and tips on how to optimise their energy use, iplan can reduce their bills and environmental impact.

Ice Partners

Ice has a number of national partners, including

• SSE
• Eurostar
  Eurostar
  Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
  
  
• City Car Club
  City Car Club
  City Car Club is one of the leading car club operators in the UK. Established in 2000 and with over 500 vehicles, it is the oldest and one of the largest Car Clubs operating at a national scale in the country. Operating a range of low-emissions vehicles, it uses the now standard technologies of...
  
  
• Arriva
  Arriva
  Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
  
  
• Stagecoach Group
  Stagecoach Group
  Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
  
  
• Environmental Justice Foundation
  Environmental Justice Foundation
  The Environmental Justice Foundation is a [non-governmental organisation]] founded in 2001 by Steve Trent and Juliette Williams that promotes the non-violent resolution of human rights abuses and related environmental issues in the Global South...
  
  
• Sacred Spirits
  Sacred Microdistillery
  Sacred Microdistillery is a microdistillery located in Highgate, London. It is unusual in that it distils its spirits under a vacuum in glassware, and thus at a lower temperature than traditional pot stills, which operate at atmospheric pressure...
  
  
• MyTrainTicket.co.uk
• Big Barn
• BritishFineFoods.com
• Green & Blacks Direct
• Vintage Roots
• British Eco
• Eat Sleep Live
• EthicalBabe.com
• Green Building Store
• Green Woods Furniture
• The Kitchen Doctor
• The Little Green Sheep
• Natural Garden Company
• Urbane Living
• Utterly Eco
• Amisha Jewellery
• Frank & Faith
• Mimimyne
• Rapanui Clothing
• Content
• LoveLula
• City Car Club
• Green Tomato Cars
• The Solar Centre
• Fair Energy
• OrganiPets
• Glebe Farm Products

Ice also has a network of UK farm shops, box schemes, and food retailers who offer Ice to customers buying local and seasonal food. Customers are also able to earn and spend Ice across a wide variety of UK businesses, all of whom are more sustainable than traditional High St retailers.

External Links

Official MyIce.com Website

BBC News Article on launch of Ice