In order to have a more sustainable future one of the key things that companies need to is to switch to renewable sources of energy. Majority of organisations have yet to make the switch or have just started that journey but there have been a some organisations that have taken a leadership role and have made a commitment to switching to 100% renewable energy (RE). The RE100 group was established in order to bring organisations together to achieve this goal through knowledge sharing, public commitments to targets, enhancing reputation, and also provide policy advocacy.

The RE100 group promotes transparency through verification, disclosure, and communication of RE use. Such factors motivate businesses to join RE100 and en route their 100% renewable energy journey.

What is RE100?

RE100 is a global initiative developed by The Climate Group and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) committed to helping the corporate world achieve 100% renewable energy resources by 2050. Its objective is to fast-track the development of zero-carbon grids globally. This program strengthens the demand and supply chain of renewable energy resources. It ensures that the company’s commitment to achieving 100% renewable energy is eased and simplified.

Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100, Climate Group, commented on the annual closure report and said that the findings from the report demonstrate a clear signal to governments that corporates are investing at scale in renewable energy. The year-on-year improvements shown by our members’ data are encouraging confirmation that corporate demand for renewables is gaining peace.

RE100 was launched back in 2014, and since then, it has reached across Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific, and North America. About half of the world’s end-of-use electricity is attributed to industrial and commercial-scale companies. RE100 is operating around the globe, working with different industries like retail, cement, telecommunication, and automobile manufacturing. It helps the companies by providing policy support, peer learning, and local market insight into renewable energy.

What are the benefits of being RE100?

Companies joining RE100 entirely rely on renewable resources like wind, water, solar energy, and biogas for power supply. Their commitment is monitored and regulated publically, leaving a positive impact on customers. People are more likely to use their products to make them feel responsible for the environment. Direct generation of renewable energy is also becoming cheaper and cheaper when compared with energy generated from fossil fuel burning.

RE100 brings together significant companies with similar goals, i.e., to become entirely dependent on renewables for electricity. The RE100 member companies set a bar for other companies and encourage them to join this initiative. It considers and highlights barriers faced by member companies to make the whole process easy.

According to the RE100’s annual disclosure report (2021), the government needs to play a significant role in helping businesses transition to net-zero. The regulatory hurdles and procurement options should be improved and are possible by the government’s involvement and new policies. About 40 members’ reported limited or no availability of renewable energy in their market, 37 members claimed a lack of procurement opportunities, and 27 highlighted the issue of prohibitive costs.

Renewable Energy Policy measures

Souring 100% renewable energy at a reasonable cost is one of the chief factors that motivate companies. It may seem like a simple shift to move from non-renewable to renewable energy resources, but it is challenging. Many market and policy limitations make it difficult for companies to source renewables. RE100 is determined to help companies overcome these barriers.

This initiative is advocating for change at both global and local levels. The six policy measures that help to source renewables for RE100 member companies are as follows:

• Create a level playing field in which renewable power competes fairly with fossil-fuel electricity and reflects renewable electricity’s cost-competitiveness.
• Remove regulatory hurdles and establish reliable structures to encourage corporate renewable power procurement.
• Establish an electrical market system that enables direct trading between corporate purchasers of all sizes and renewable energy sources.
• Collaborate with utilities or power providers to give businesses renewable energy sourcing choices. 
• Encourage direct investments in on- and off-site renewable energy initiatives.
• Encourage the development of a reliable and transparent system for issuing, tracking, and certifying reasonably priced Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs).

RE100 members

350+ companies have acquired the status of RE100 members and are sourcing 45% of their electricity needs through solar, water, wind energy, or biogas. Some RE100 members are as follows: 3M, Adobe, Airbnb, ALTANA, Apple, AstraZeneca, Capital One, CHANEL, DuPont, Delta Electronics, First Solar, Fujitsu, Envision, Hyundai Motor Company, Google, Microsoft, etc.

The success of the RE100 initiative motivates more companies to join this program. According to reports, 36 companies from Asia-Pacific have recently joined RE100s membership. As an example of collaboration through the platform, LONGi became a RE100 member in 2020 and aimed to use 100% renewable energy by 2028 which has collaborated with companies like Envision and Solargiga to launch RE100 China. Such associations bring together top players to promote the use of wind, solar, and energy storage renewable ideas.

Other examples include Nokia which joined hands with RE100 and increased its share of renewable energy from 39% to 45% in just one year. It aims to achieve the target of using 100% RE by 2025. DBS is the first Singapore Company and Asian bank to partner with RE100 and shows its commitment to transitioning from non-renewables to renewables. The bank targets to achieve 100% RE in all of its markets with a deadline of 2030 for Singapore.

A founding member of RE100, IKEA, also tries to introduce new ideas to accelerate securing 100% renewable energy, particularly at the supplier end. The supply chain and the production at suppliers directly account for two-thirds of the IKEA climate footprint. More than 700,000 solar panels are installed on the rooftop of Ikea retail stores and distribution centers. It also commits to installing about 300 wind turbines worldwide. Such solar and wind projects cost about $2 billion investment which is made possible by the efforts of RE100.

Have any companies achieved 100 yet?

Fifth Third Bancorp is the first company to use a single solar power project to reach its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy. It made history by inaugurating the largest solar project in the US, generating electricity of 80 megawatts (MW) of capacity. This facility is expected to generate clean power to eliminate 143,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Fifth Third targeted to become wholly dependent on RE by 2022 but achieved its goal well ahead of time back in 2019.

Many companies are showing great potential to achieve the target of relying only on renewables for electricity. However, we will have to wait for a few years to see how these companies participate in lowering their greenhouse emissions.

Conclusion

Every company joining RE100 sets its target according to its demand, supply, and access to renewables. RE100 helps facilitate renewables for its members through a specific set of criteria and systems. The world’s most influential countries have partnered with RE100, motivating others to do the same. This initiative is driven by a drive for conserving the environment and making it sustainable for future generations. It also helps the economy as renewable sources of electricity are free and relatively cheap to acquire.

RE100 notices these challenges and brings public awareness to pressure governments to play their role. It is only possible for initiatives like RE100 to become successful if the government, policymakers, and companies work in tandem with each other.

Related Articles