The following article by Michael Holder was featured on BusinessGreen on July, 29 2019.
Report by EP100 campaign reveals over past year 18 firms have collectively saved $55m from smarter energy use
Efforts from some of the world’s largest companies to use their energy more efficiently have collectively saved them $131m, while curbing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of 134 US coal-fired power plants, according to the EP100 campaign.
A new report by the global initiative, which is run by green NGO The Climate Group and the Alliance to Save Energy, details progress to date from its 50 member companies, all of which have committed to significantly improving their energy productivity.
Firms as diverse as energy supplier SSE, insurer SwissRe and Indian cement brand UltraTech Cement have all signed up to the campaign, as part of which they commit to either doubling their energy productivity within 25 years, implementing an energy management system within 10 years, or achieving net zero carbon emissions from their buildings by 2030.
EP100’s first progress report, released on July 24th, reveals that to date 21 reporting member companies are already 67 percent of the way towards their energy productivity targets, collectively saving more than enough energy to power Germany for a whole year.
Moreover, the 18 companies which reported their financial data to the campaign have generated collective financial savings to the tune of $131m, while also reaping wider business benefits such as increased employee productivity and reputational boosts for their brands, according to the report.
In the past year alone, smarter energy use has saved those same 18 companies – which include major corporate names such as property giant LandSec, fashion retailer H&M, and hotel chain Hilton – $55m overall by achieving a higher economic output per unit of energy consumed.
On average EP100 companies are increasing their energy productivity by eight percent each year, with nine members achieving an improvement of 50 percent or more annually since their baseline year.
These energy efficiency efforts are having a sizeable impact on emissions, too, the report reveals. It estimates that 21 members reporting the emissions impacts of their energy productivity have avoided over 522 million tonnes of CO2 since their baseline commitment years, which is the equivalent CO2 to running 134 US coal-fired power plants for an entire year.
The report estimates that without the new energy efficiency efforts, EP100 firms would be using 146TWh more energy each year, producing emissions that would take an area of forest twice the size of the UK to sequester.
Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group, said the progress demonstrated by EP100 companies to date showed how improving energy productivity can unlock faster decarbonization of the global economy.
“From the boiler room to the boardroom, smarter energy use benefits a business at every level, helping to meet the growing expectations of shareholders, customers and employees while generating capital that can be reinvested in clean growth,” she said.
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