frequently asked questions

Why are you called 9carrots?

There are two ways to move a donkey - a carrot or a stick. We believe in taking positive action on climate change.

Is this charitable donation to businesses?!

NO! 9carrots isn't charity. Businesses invest 10% of the money you spend with them in their own business to make it more energy efficient. Not only is this a good long-term investment anyway, they got extra customers because we promote them on our web site. Don't forget to ask for 9carrots receipts though!

How can you be sure that businesses will actually switch to low-energy alternatives?

In order to join the 9carrots scheme, each business must sign a written contract stating that they will "invest [an agreed percentage] of 9carrots customers' purchases in [an agreed target] costing an estimated [amount]". We agree a specific project, percentage commitment and estimated project cost with them before advertising them on the 9carrots web site. We believe that it is in the interests of everyone to promote energy efficiency and to encourage interaction and support between business and community.

Disclaimer: While 9Carrots will make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Supplier makes the environmentally friendly changes to its business promised (as shown on the 9Carrots website) it cannot be held liable for any failure on the part of the Supplier to implement its promises.

What if a shop has no written contract yet?

This means that we have not got round to asking them to sign the written contract yet. They still have plenty of reasons to fulfil their promise, though.

How does 9carrots know when a transaction has taken place? - receipts

9carrots needs to track purchases, stay up-to-date with progress and inform everyone when a

green target has been reached and the business can upgrade to an energy-efficient alternative. Our special receipts (see above) achieve this in a simple and fun way. Participating businesses will give you these receipts every time you make a purchase - just ask! This lets the business know that you came to the shop because they are part of the 9carrots scheme. The receipts have special registered codes on them that you type into the web site or send by sms. These codes tell us how much you spent and where. This means that you can immediately see the progress the business is making towards its target.

how does 9carrots make money? - not-for-profit

9carrots is not-for-profit (see our Memoranda and Articles of association). As well as grant funding, we aim to make money in order to pay staff and maintain the website.

Wondering how your business can get involved in 9carrots? See our FAQ page for businesses