Long gone are the days of the Material Girl – Madonna - singing about living in a Material World, where green was just a color and consumer choices were based purely on what product looked swankier. As another remarkable songwriter – Bob Dylan - would say, the times they are a changin’ and to prove this we call on stage the experts from Deloitte. In a May 2018 report, the consulting firm noted how 48% of companies are ready to invest more in renewables as their energy source of choice and a whopping 70% of them are aware of how consumers are pushing for more corporate sustainability. These latest consumer trends are instrumental in the rise of influential advocacy groups like RE100, uniting a growing group of more than 160 businesses and corporations committed to 100% renewable electricity, working to increase demand for - and delivery of - renewable energy. Among the global corporations that are part of this group, Enel Green Power is proud to call some of them partners, like Anheuser-Busch, Bloomberg, Facebook and General Motors. On the launch of the latest RE100 Progress and Insights Annual Report in November 2018, which reflects on the progress of the initiative and its members in the last year, Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100 at the not-for profit, The Climate Group, had said: “over the past year we’ve seen rapid geographic expansion of our membership that has transformed RE100 into a truly global movement. This is hugely exciting and has the potential to shift entire markets in places like Japan, where policymakers are taking note of the demand signal being sent by our members. 2019 will be all about building that demand across sectors and geographies with the highest potential to effect change, accelerating the clean energy systems of tomorrow.” This success story is just one example of how businesses have embraced climate action, not for greenwashing, but for the greenbacks, because moving towards decarbonization is good for their bottom line. In 2016 alone, 190 of the Fortune 500 companies together saved close to $3.7bn through their collective renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and this figure could exponentially rise by 2030 to 12 trillion dollars in business savings and revenue by pursuing sustainable, low-carbon business models. Thanks to its vast portfolio of renewable energy plants, a corporate business model with sustainability written in its DNA and a suite of Power Purchase Agreements that guarantee long-term and profitable relationships, Enel Green Power is here to help your business unlock this incredible potential.
