The number of businesses seeking to generate energy of their own, for profit or environmental motives, is on the increase – and with good reason
London 27/04/212
A Special Briefing, published in April’s issue of the Ethical Corporation magazine, delves into the energy industry with a focus on renewable and microgeneration. It analyses the recent rise in businesses creating their own energy through microgeneration plus the motives behind their actions.
Microgeneration is where a company or individual generates their own energy via installations on their land. The briefing highlights that this is a trend that is becoming increasingly popular.
BP, which until recently was an important player itself in the photovoltaic market, has been routinely installing solar panels on its service stations worldwide since 1999 as part of its Clean Fuels, Clean Cities programme.
And as the price of PV and other renewable energy technologies has plummeted, and that of traditional power has risen, the level of corporate microgeneration activity has steadily increased.
This is something that is set to continue as businesses generate plans to continue microgeneration for the foreseeable future. BP isn’t alone.
The briefing outlines how Ikea recently switched on the 15th of a planned 37 rooftop PV installations in the US as part of a programme to generate 30.8MW across its stores nationally. One of Ikea’s installations in College Park, Maryland, is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 1,200 tonnes a year.
It appears that although microgeneration may only be a small part of businesses efforts at the moment, it’s something that will become increasingly important in the near future. As part of the briefing Ethical Corporation conducted a survey of company’s energy use and plans.
Just over 56% (39 of 69) respondents stated that they either currently generate their own electricity or have plans to do so. Cindy Drucker, director of global sustainability at SC Johnson, states that microgeneration forms a key component in their energy mix.
Drucker says: “Renewable energy is a key part of our holistic approach to sustainability, playing a vital role in helping the company achieve its 2011 sustainability goals.” She adds that “With co-generation, wind power and more, we have achieved a 25% absolute reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.
SC Johnson is fairly characteristic of the businesses that have traditionally favoured microgeneration: large companies with a deeply ingrained sense of social and environmental responsibility.
In a separate survey of 500 SMEs, the business-to-business energy supplier found that 38% were expecting to be generating their own renewable energy within five years, and 42% would switch to microgeneration if they could definitely make some money from it.
Until recently, the main incentive for corporate microgeneration has probably been mostly reputational rather than financial.
But what about the general public? Businesses can use solar panels not only for financial reason but also as a great PR stunt. Tesco in the UK, for example, has gone from putting solar panels on its own roofs to putting them on customers’ roofs, with its Tesco Home Efficiency offering.
The company claims its customers can save £678 a year on electricity, and £129 on water heating, using its microgeneration kits. Microgeneration will become an ever-important part of the energy mix.
However, companies need to realise the financial benefit, as well as the environmental benefits, before they start adding to the grid.
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Ethical Corporation was established in 2001 and provides business intelligence for sustainability to more than 3,000 multinational companies every year. Ethical Corporation publishes the leading responsible business magazine, website, and research reports.
For more information on this briefing or Ethical Corporation contact:
Tommy Derrick
Marketing Executive
Ethical Corporation: Business Intelligence for Sustainability
thomas.derrick@ethicalcorp.com
+44 (0)207 375 7213