Product case study · MBA live-client consultancy · University of Glasgow, 2025
Product strategy and a roadmap to increase adoption of green energy products. I worked as Product Manager, covering strategy, discovery, product design, roadmap and the commercial case. I owned the work end to end within a team of five.
Product Manager: strategy, discovery, product design, roadmap, commercial case
OVO Energy, a UK energy supplier with about 5 million customers and 13% market share
Discovery, prioritisation, product concept, phased roadmap, pricing, market expansion, risk plan, metrics
Recommended programme with a projected 15–30% ROI over 3 years. This is a projection, not a delivered result.
Client brief
OVO sells decarbonisation products: solar panels, EV chargers, heat pumps and smart energy systems. It wanted more customers to adopt them. The brief was: how can OVO make its green products affordable, accessible and relevant, so that everyone can be part of the journey to net zero?
Challenge
Discovery & insight
UK renewable generation is up over 40% since 2018. Households are the largest single consumer group, at 34% of electricity. Public support for renewables stays at 82–88% (DESNZ tracker).
I reviewed OVO's four product lines and benchmarked OVO against competitors on their differentiators.
I built audience personas and a Customer Experience Matrix (concerned vs not concerned, satisfied vs not satisfied) from 2024–25 Trustpilot reviews. Each quadrant got a recommended action.
Key insight64% of the UK population cares about climate, yet 42% lack awareness.
Ideation & prioritisation
Only Project Go Green scored high on both, so it became the recommendation.
| Option | Benefit | Feasibility |
|---|---|---|
| Project Go Green | High | High |
| Green tariff bundles for SMEs | Medium | High |
| Aggressive multi-channel marketing | Medium | High |
| Virtual Power Plant investment | Medium | Low |
| Grid flexibility investment | Medium | Low |
| Employee engagement toolkit | Low | Medium |
| Community energy projects | Low | Low |
Product solution
Uses the last three months of usage to show how much a customer could have saved with OVO's green products.
Hourly, daily, weekly and monthly predictions help customers shift usage to off-peak or greenest hours.
Clear in app registration, profile settings and offline forms. Green is the default but never mandatory, so the choice stays transparent and informed.
Curious → Committed → Connector → Challenger → Climate Conscious Citizen → Climate Champion. Points, green-usage streaks, referrals and community actions unlock rewards, from digital badges and green credits up to a free month of green tariff.
In-app carbon impact linked to customer actions, to build an emotional connection to the brand.
Prototype to production
The deck delivered concepts and a phased plan, not a shipped product. The phasing shows how I would take it from prototype to production.
Ships: savings dashboard, forecasting and the opt-in/opt-out toggle in the Beyond app.
Gate: prove engagement with users before wider rollout.
Ships: tiered programme, the 'Climate Conscious Citizen' campaign, One Customer = One Tree and an upskilled support team.
Gate: track tier progression and repeat support contacts.
Ships: volume-led pricing strategy and B2B expansion into universities and commercial buildings.
Gate: scale once engagement and unit economics are proven.
About 260 universities (roughly £200M annual energy spend, many targeting carbon-neutral campuses by 2035), about 2.1 million commercial properties and about 3.8 million homes in housing societies. I costed the extra investment needed: a B2B sales team, compliance, feasibility assessments, custom billing and dashboards, a business helpdesk, partnerships and vendor expansion.
Product maturity assessment
Market, competitor and customer research complete
Prioritised concept and feature set defined
Phased plan, costing and projected ROI: reached here
Next step: usability test the dashboard and toggle
Tier programme with one segment and an A/B control
Pricing and B2B expansion
Risks & mitigations
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Low uptake of the opt-in and tree features | Gamified storytelling, transparent opt-out messaging, A/B testing, in-app rewards |
| Education fatigue | Bite-size tips, expert-led sessions, the Beyond app as a learning hub |
| High upfront cost for customers (solar, batteries, heat pumps) | Leasing, Green PPAs, government-backed financing |
| Pilot failure damaging the green reputation | Feedback loops; partnerships with trusted institutions such as universities |
Engagement metrics & impact
ProjectedModelled impact, not delivered results.
ROI over 3 years from strategic pricing plus B2B expansion
increase in customer acquisition
increase in retention
CO₂ reduction through upgrades across UK universities and commercial buildings
What I would do next
Sources: DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker (Spring 2024); gov.uk and ons.gov.uk datasets (2023–24); Trustpilot OVO Energy reviews (2024–25).