London (UK), January 25, 2018 reveals that most organisations feel prepared for a decentralised, decarbonised and digitised future, but many are not taking the necessary steps to integrate and advance their energy and sustainability programs.
This false sense of security can be attributed to the finding that most companies still take fairly conventional approaches to energy management and climate action. And the gaps in innovation are further complicated by limited coordination between procurement, operations and sustainability departments, as well as inefficient data collection and sharing.
81% of companies have made efficiency upgrades or plan to, but 30% or less are considering new energy opportunities such as microgrids and demand response
According to the survey of almost 240 large corporations ($100 million in revenue or more) from around the globe, 85 percent of respondents said their company is taking action over the next three years to keep its carbon-reduction plans competitive with industry leaders. But the projects that have been initiated or are in development skew heavily toward energy, water and waste conservation. Outside of renewables, few of the organisations represented are implementing more advanced strategies and technologies to manage energy and emissions.
Key findings include:
A primary barrier to progress may be internal alignment. Sixty-one percent of respondents said their organisation
Data management was cited as another obstacle for integrated energy and carbon management, with 45 percent of respondents stating that organisational data is highly decentralised, handled at local or regional levels. And of the people who identified
Managed cloud services leader iomart is an example of a company that
The research points to progress in several areas as well.
More than 50 percent of companies represented have initiated renewable energy projects or plan to do so within the next two years, with healthcare (64 percent) and consumer goods (58 percent) leading the way. Plus, the c-suite and corporate functions have a high degree of involvement in these and other sustainability-focused programs. Seventy-four percent said C-suite members review or approve renewables and sustainability initiatives, for instance, indicating this work is seen as a strategic priority.
And while ROI is the obvious benchmark for energy and sustainability initiatives, companies are starting to take a longer, more comprehensive view of investments. For example, more than half of the respondents said environmental impact is factored in to the evaluation process. Organisational risk (39 percent) is another important consideration.
The study was conducted by GreenBiz Research to identify how businesses develop energy and environmental strategies, collect and share data, and coordinate across departments industrial, healthcare and technology. Results of any sample are subject to variation.