Green giants

Each of these benefits is a ‘business case’ for using renewable energy, in other words, each constitutes a business rationale for management to switch at least some of the corporation’s energy supply to renewable sources. Each business case directly or indirectly links renewable energy use to better margins and operating performance. As a result, opportunities exist for firms to conduct business in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner.

Companies are pursuing innovative project financing and implementation strategies to get these projects off the ground. The Green Power Market Development Group-Europe, a unique partnership of leading European companies, is playing a role in advancing corporate markets for renewable energy in Europe.

A common misperception is that renewable energy is always more expensive than energy from conventional sources. Many companies, however, are finding that under the right conditions this is not necessarily the case. In fact, some firms are switching to renewable resources in order to reduce their energy costs.

Several types of on-site renewable energy projects can cut costs. Geothermal heat pumps, for example, can reduce heating and cooling expenses at corporate facilities. For Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy business unit in France, a geothermal heat pump is saving the facility nearly €9,000 a year.

On-site wind power projects can also be cost competitive if the wind resource and national renewable energy incentives are advantageous. In the United Kingdom, for example, Ford, Michelin, and Pirelli have all installed three to four megawatt on-site wind parks at their sites, providing attractively priced power. In Belgium, Nike hosts a nine megawatt on-site wind park at its Customers Service Center in Laakdal and receives cost-competitive green power in return.

Biomass is another renewable energy resource that can be cost effective, particularly if the biomass residues are a by-product of a higher-value manufacturing process (eg, wood mill or food processing wastes), if the residues would otherwise have incurred a ‘tipping’ fee when dumped in a landfill, or if they already are being collected in close proximity to the location where they could be used as fuel (thereby reducing transportation costs). Johnson & Johnson switched its distribution center in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, to a biomass-fired boiler which uses wood chips from a nearby forest managed sustainably by the local authorities. The project provides cost-effective thermal energy for the site, but also contributes to Johnson & Johnson’s global goal of achieving a seven percent absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from facilities worldwide by 2010, compared to that of 1990.

As with the Johnson & Johnson example above, switching from fossil fuels to renewable resources can help a company lower its ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Direct GHG emissions are those from sources that are owned or controlled by the company such as emissions from the on-site generation of electricity, heat, or steam. For example, a DuPont manufacturing plant in Uentrop, Germany, replaced natural gas boilers with a biomass cogeneration system and thereby decreased its direct emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). By co-firing biomass with coal at one of its smelters in the United Kingdom, aluminum manufacturer Alcan reduced the site’s CO2 emissions relative to burning 100 percent coal at the facility. Cement manufacturer Holcim reduces CO2 emissions at several of its kilns when it combusts biomass instead of fossil-based fuels.

Indirect GHG emissions are those that are a consequence of the company’s activities, but that occur from sources owned or controlled by another entity. They include emissions associated with the generation of purchased electricity, heat, or steam. For example, packaging material manufacturer Tetra Pak reduced its indirect GHG emissions by switching from fossil-fired electricity to green power supplied by its retail electricity providers in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. These green power purchases are helping Tetra Pak meet its goal of reducing its global greenhouse gas emissions ten percent below 2005 levels by 2010. Johnson & Johnson, IKEA, Interface, and others have likewise reduced their indirect GHG emissions by purchasing green power instead of conventional power from their utilities in Europe.

Greenhouse gas emissions reductions, however, are often not ends in themselves. Rather, the goal is to improve the corporation’s operating margins. When regulated, emissions effectively become monetised; emitters incur costs in the form of emissions allowance or credit costs, pollution taxes, emissions control equipment expenses, or other mechanisms, depending on the country. Renewable energy can lower these emissions-related operating costs by reducing emissions, a financial impact that is readily quantifiable.

Some companies seek to differentiate their brands from those of competitors by being recognised as ‘green’ or as environmentally responsible corporate citizens. Using renewable energy is one such way to enhance a corporate or brand image. Many companies have successfully pursued this strategy. Although initially renewable energy was used more by business-to-consumer industries, a slew of business-to-business entities are now turning to green power as well. Wal-Mart, for instance, is starting to leverage its considerable clout to encourage its suppliers to improve their own efficiency and environmental performance.

Furthermore, on-site renewable energy generation systems can enhance a company’s relations with its stakeholders, from neighbors in the local community, to employees and customers. Switching to renewable energy is one element of a successful CSR strategy. For instance, Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to using renewable energy at its facilities in Europe, North America, and elsewhere, substantiates corporate values that are important not only to its customers but also to current and prospective employees.

Last, but not least, renewable energy can help strengthen a company’s standing with shareholders, especially at a time when many institutional investors are becoming increasingly concerned about corporate financial and regulatory exposure to existing and future climate change policies. Many financial institutions, such as Deutsche Bank, now examine a company’s exposure to climate change policies and impacts when evaluating loans. Likewise, several pension funds, investment banks, and other firms have banded together to form the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) to use their collective power of over 700 billion euro in assets to influence the behaviour of companies in which they have invested.

Switching to renewable energy is one way that a company can signal to these and other institutional investors that it is managing its greenhouse gas emissions and, therefore, its climate-related risk. Furthermore, some investors interpret proactive environmental performance as an indication that corporate management has a forward-looking strategy and runs a tight ship.

The group is a unique partnership dedicated to building commercial and industrial markets for renewable energy in Europe. Group partners include British Telecom, Dow, DuPont, General Motors, Holcim, IBM, IKEA, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, Michelin, Nike CSC, Staples, and Tetra Pak. Group members explore opportunities to install renewable energy generation systems such as solar, wind, and biomass at their corporate facilities and to purchase green electricity from their utilities. The peer-to-peer interaction helps the Group demonstrate the business case for corporate use of renewable energy, evaluate and deploy a variety of renewable energy technologies, and engage the marketplace to take green power to scale.

The Group is convened by the World Resources Institute (www.wri.org), a global non-profit environmental think tank that links analysis with engagement to protect the Earth and improve people’s lives.

In Europe, WRI is collaborating with the Climate Group www.theclimategroup.org), a solutions-focused organisation working to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gases by assembling a leadership coalition of proactive companies and city, state and national governments.

More information about the Green Power Market Development Group and its activities can be found at www.thegreenpowergroup.org