All electricity produced, regardless of type, is labeled by linking the output to the production facility via an origin marking system.

In Sweden, the Swedish Energy Agency is responsible for the system. Origin marking allows you as a buyer to link your electricity use to a specific type of electricity production, thus showing that your electricity comes from a specific energy producer.

Electricity producers receive a certificate for each megawatt-hour (1 MWh = 1000 kWh) of electricity they produce. This certificate is called a guarantee of origin and shows, among other things, the type of energy source from which the electricity comes. The guarantee of origin can then be sold by the producer on an open market. A buyer of guarantees of origin buys the same number of electricity certificates as their volume of electricity consumed. Once sold, the guarantee of origin is also canceled in favor of the end user of the guarantee of origin, to ensure that it cannot be sold again.

Therefore, it is the certificate of cancellation of the guarantee of origin that is important for you as a buyer to receive. It shows that the renewable electricity has been used, and that it is used in your name.

Electricity and energy use are often a significant part of a company's environmental and climate impact. By actively choosing to buy guarantees of origin for your electricity use, you as a company can reduce your climate footprint. This is an important and necessary step towards net-zero emissions and the transition to a sustainable electricity system.

The electricity you get at the tap is a mix of all electricity producers at any given time. It is not possible to physically show where your electricity comes from in an open electricity system. However, with the system of origin marking, it is theoretically possible to show that the electricity produced in a production plant was sold and consumed by you as an electricity user. This is provided that the origin marking has been canceled in the country's register in favor of you and your electricity use.

By purchasing guarantees of origin from renewable electricity production such as wind, hydro and solar power, your company is helping to support the development and expansion of renewable electricity in the electricity system.

In Sweden, the system of guarantees of origin has been criticized on the grounds that they are too cheap to influence investment decisions for new production, but this has been refuted. The additional income from guarantees of origin remains an important part of a producer's investment calculation.

Your purchase of origin-labeled electricity also sends a clear signal to business and politicians that there is a strong will to accelerate the transition to sustainably produced electricity.