RE100 Makes an Impact around The Globe

It’s the need of the hour for more and more RE100 companies to set an example for others. The earth is facing the heat. As a consequence, so are its inhabitants. Motivated by the ill-effects of global warming and environmental issues, Paris Climate Accord accelerated its initiative to facilitate the adoption of 100% renewable energy by industries.

While the agreement does not solely emphasize on discouraging the use of natural energy resources, there is a lot of focus on developing a sustainable energy source. With industry leaders acknowledging the need, more and more companies have committed to go 100% renewable in the coming years, setting a timeframe of 10 years or less to achieve the ambitious goal.

On April 10, 2018, Apple joined the list of RE100 companies and announced that it has achieved the target and that all its facilities across the globe are now running on 100% clean energy. Even better, with the multinational technology giant setting standards for the industry, 23 of its manufacturing suppliers have followed the suit, bringing down its greenhouse gas consumption worldwide by a massive 54%.

Apple isn’t the only one to have achieved the goal. Several tech companies have already converted to RE100. Microsoft has been running entirely on renewable energy since 2014.

Google was motivated by the idea in as early as 2010, even before most RE100 companies joined the initiative, and reached the 100% renewables target in 2017.

Intel met its goal to run completely on renewable energy in 2015.

Kohl’s, HSBC, Dannon, Pearson, Deutshe Bank, Whole Foods and Mohawk, representing several sectors, are some big names that have completely eliminated their dependency on non-renewable energy sources. This goes to show that going 100% renewable is not limited to a particular type of business or industry.

Inspired by these successes, some big names joined the initiative in 2017. As a matter of fact, a total of 131 RE100 companies have committed to go 100 percent renewable in the years to come.

The computer software company Adobe, headquartered in San Jose, has pledged to keep a check on its carbon emissions and subsequently sustain only on renewable energy by 2035.

Carlsberg, another of the RE100 companies, has pledged to go 100% renewable by 2022 and has plans to emit zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Swiss Re has already transitioned to renewable power. It has, in fact, taken measures to even cut down energy productivity by reducing its consumption.

The efforts are not limited to the United States. Companies in the Far East too have stepped ahead and volunteered. Asian retailer AEON Co. has set the ambitious goal and has announced that it aims to fully power its stores and malls worldwide on renewable energy by 2050. Given the number of stores it has throughout China and Japan, it needs great efforts to back up its plans.

Japan-based furniture company Askul Corp. has announced to go 100% renewable by as soon as 2030.

Major Indian automobile company Tata Motors Limited is already on its path towards going RE100. It joined the initiative in 2014.

A lot of companies, such as Bloomberg, AXA, Aviva, AstraZeneca, ABIBev and more, plan to have everything in place so they can achieve the target by 2025.

German automobile manufacturer BMW Group envisions to become the most sustainable automotive company and plans to support at least two-thirds of its electricity from renewable energy.

It is true that going 100% renewable is not going to be easy for many companies. A lot of focus will need to be put into boosting process efficiency to minimize energy dissipation and reducing dependency on power. Nevertheless, the benefits will plenty. Besides the obvious satisfaction of sustaining on green power, the long-term benefits of cost reduction and earning the reputation of a socially responsible company is going to motivate more businesses around the globe.

by Ajay Narayan