Just as during the Industrial Revolution it was companies that led the push for the spread of steam engines, today many corporations are taking the driver’s seat in the global energy transformation.
In 2017, companies in 75 countries actively sourced 465 terawatt hours (TWh) of renewable energy, nearly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of France.
In 2018, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) published the first comprehensive analysis of corporate sourcing of renewable electricity, with data from over 2,400 companies in more than 40 countries, and found that while roughly one in five corporations has committed to renewable energy targets, there is scope to make them more ambitious.
Microsoft and BMW are at the forefront of the corporate sourcing of renewables within their respective industries.
BMW Group has taken a holistic look at CO2 emissions across the complete value chain, and has implemented measures in all areas to reduce carbon footprint in line with initiatives like the Carbon Disclosure Project Supply Chain programme. BMW plans to shift to 100% renewable electricity by 2020.
On the other hand, Microsoft which has one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world, and energy is the raw material of the cloud -they basically take energy and convert it into data.
This creates tremendous value, but also requires a massive amount of energy, leading the company to consider the purchase and management of energy as a core component of the company strategy.
The procurement of renewable energy is one key method to lower the energy costs.
According to Microsoft renewable energy is a defining feature of a low carbon future, but the company is also working to transform energy markets, green grids and develop grid infrastructure at large.
These methods will accelerate progress beyond company four walls and build an inclusive infrastructure that can help drive a global transition to that green and energy efficient future.
Reference- IRENA website, BMW PR, Microsoft website