Within the financial industry, we are seeing a growing momentum of companies looking to not only reduce their carbon footprint but also undertake additional pledges of varying size to source renewable energy for their power supply. Leading companies such as Goldman Sachs, UBS and Aviva have all committed to sourcing 100% renewable energy by 2020 by joining the RE100 initiative. However, multinational companies face many challenges in securing renewable energy globally, particularly in developing and emerging markets.
Our recent webinar 'Utilising Renewable Energy in the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy' shed some light on how companies in the financial and professional services industries can source renewable energy globally. The participants included senior professionals from high profile companies such as McKinsey, Deloitte, UBS and Credit Suisse.
Renewable Energy Certificates or RECs were highlighted as an important entry to the market for all corporates planning to meaningfully decrease their GHG emissions. RECs are cost-effective, low-risk instruments that enable companies to lower the carbon footprint of their operations globally. Notably, two-thirds of the financial and professional services companies that are RE100 signatories purchase RECs to meet their renewable energy targets.
It is clear that the alignment of renewable energy with strategic business objectives is becoming ever more important for business success, and the Paris Agreement is the first global agreement that sends strong signals that low-carbon investments will truly pay off.
To find out more about the latest insights on the topic and on the available renewable energy solutions on the market, watch the webinar recording below or on the South Pole Group YouTube channel.
