RE100 companies are more profitable than their peers, a new report reveals today – underlining the business case for putting sustainability at the heart of corporate growth strategies.
The RE100 report with Capgemini Invent, which draws on 2016-17 data from a sample of 3,500 companies, shows RE100 businesses (committed to 100% renewable electricity) consistently perform better than non-members on two key financial indicators: net profit margin and EBIT margin (Earnings Before Interests and Taxes). The difference is significant (up to 7.7 percentage points), and is true across all sectors (most prominently for IT, telecommunications, construction and real estate).
The report comes from Climate Week NYC, where for the 10th year running The Climate Group is convening business and government leaders from around the world to advance climate action.
Also new today:
- For the first time, companies from Latin America and Turkey have joined RE100 – The Climate Group’s global initiative with CDP for businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. They are the world’s leading bakery company Grupo Bimbo and leading Turkish menswear retailer and manufacturer Gürmen Group;
- Other new RE100 joiners include Decathlon (France), Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India (India), Fuyo General Lease Co., Ltd. (Japan), Lyft (US), and Taiwanese skincare products company TRIDL (which also joined EP100).
Helen Clarkson, CEO The Climate Group, speaking from ‘Ambition. Pace. Scale.’, The Climate Group’s flagship business event at Climate Week NYC, said: “Being energy-smart and being business-smart goes hand in hand and this has to be norm, sooner rather than later to keep warming well below 2 degrees Celsius. We congratulate those going further and faster on climate action and we urge others to do the same – a win-win for emissions and the bottom line.”
With the addition of today’s new members and of PVH Corp. (Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Speedo) last week, RE100 now brings together 152 leading companies from a wide range of sectors, representing over US$3.8 trillion in revenue. Committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity for their global operations in more than 120 countries, they are creating demand for over 184 TWh of renewable energy per year – more than enough to power New York State and Connecticut combined*.
Increasing renewable energy demand – RE100
Grupo Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo is the leading bakery company headquartered in Mexico and with operations in 32 countries in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa, including the US, Canada, Chile, and Spain. The company is targeting 100% renewable electricity in all geographies by 2025, with an interim goal of 80% by 2020. Approaches include solar PV, power purchase agreements, renewable electricity attribute certificates, and green tariffs.
By 2019, Grupo Bimbo will be saving 440,000 tons of CO2 emissions every year globally, thanks to renewable electricity. 70% of the electricity used by the company in Mexico is being sourced from wind energy, and this year the company also installed 4.2MW solar panels on rooftops. In the US, Grupo Bimbo aims to become the first baking company to use 100% renewable electricity by 2019, and signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for wind energy earlier this year.
Daniel Servitje, President and CEO, Grupo Bimbo, said: “Our commitment to convert our operation to 100% renewable energy is a major step towards our purpose of building a sustainable, highly productive, and deeply humane company. Having operations in 32 countries, this is a challenge we assume with the clear conviction and responsibility of contributing to a better planet for present and future generations.”
Sharing the company’s renewable energy journey in front of peers at Ambition. Pace. Scale., Jorge Zárate, VP for Global Operations, Grupo Bimbo, added: “As a global company, we are firmly committed to working every day with a high sense of environmental responsibility. This initiative is part of our strategy for renewable energy, which we began in 2012 with the opening of the Piedra Larga wind farm, acquiring importance as an important global commitment. Today, we are the first Latin American Company in joining RE100 and we are confident that in the near future many other companies in the region will join this important project”.
Gürmen Group
Gürmen Group is based in Turkey and operates within the fields of retail, mining, energy, agriculture, construction and real estate, exporting to 60 countries worldwide. The company is expecting to achieve 100% renewable electricity by the end of this year. Gürmen Group has access to the largest geothermal power generation area in Turkey. Having built a 10 MW plant in 2017, the company will expand this to 34 MW in 2019, before adding an additional 50 MW by the end of 2020, and eventually taking advantage of the full 150 MW capacity of the site through further investments – buying and selling electricity through power purchase agreements.
Remzi Gür, Chairman, Gürmen Group, said: “Gurmen Group aims to become one of the industry leaders on environmental issues and the commitment of using 100% renewable electricity is the proof of this purpose. We are pleased to join the RE100 initiative and be the pioneer for our country. We hope these first steps will influence new firms in Turkey.”
Fuyo General Lease Co., Ltd.
Fuyo General Lease Co., Ltd. (FGL) is a Japanese company leasing buildings, IT and office equipment, industrial machinery, medical devices and transport equipment. The company is targeting 100% renewable electricity by 2050, with an interim goal of 50% by 2030. FGL will boost its supply of renewable electricity with up to 200MW of solar power plants by 2022. The company will promote project financing to renewable power plant operators and provide leasing options for renewable energy and energy saving systems.
Yasunori Tsujita, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fuyo General Lease Co. Ltd, said: “Joining the RE100 campaign means not only our commitment to 100% renewable electricity sources by 2050, but also our basic strategy that FGL will deliver a multi-faceted contribution in the business field, in order to promote renewable sources in society. FGL, as the first RE100 member among comprehensive leasing companies in Japan, expects to have increasing opportunities to collaborate with customers and various stakeholders to achieve our goals.”
Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India
Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India is a part of the Leisure and Hospitality sector of the Mahindra Group, providing holidays primarily through ownership memberships. Already a member of EP100 and committed to doubling its energy productivity by 2030 (2008-9 baseline), the company is targeting 100% renewable electricity by 2050, with an interim goal of 60% by 2030. By shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, it aims to reduce emissions, improve energy security, save costs, and enable sustainable business growth. The company is already using solar PV in its resorts, and it intends to drive innovation by using various renewable energy technologies going forward.
Kavinder Singh, MD & CEO, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd. “We are the leaders in leisure hospitality in India and we are the No. 1 vacation ownership company in the world in terms of member base (excluding North America). We are committed to RE100 as it is an important step towards sustainable tourism and sustainable livelihoods in the destinations, where we run/build our resorts. We believe RE100 is a step to achieve our mission - Good Living, Happy Families!”
TRIDL [also see EP100 section]
TRIDL is a facial mask and skincare company operating in Asia and North America. The company has a RE100 target to achieve 100% renewable electricity globally by 2048, with an interim target of 30% by 2020. TRIDL plans to install solar panels in 2019.
Sany Lai, Vice President, Tridl, said: “Joining the RE100 project shows TRIDL’s commitment to protecting our Earth and lands. Striving for environmental protection, efficient reuse of waste energy and ensuring our products are made using natural resources responsibly are the ways we are delivering on our promise to align with customer preferences and values and help make a positive impact.”
Decathlon
Decathlon is Europe’s biggest sports retailer, with operations in 51 countries and over 1,400 stores. The company is committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity globally by 2026. This includes facilities in France, Spain, Italy and China, which account for most of its electricity use and already have some onsite solar installations, as well as new territories such as Australia, Israel, Chile, Canada and the US.
Emma Woolley, Project Manager for renewable energy, Decathlon, said: “Decathlon is really proud to join RE100. We look forward to learning from, sharing and working with other companies to make renewable energy more accessible. This commitment is totally aligned with our company’s Vision for 2026, which was co-written by our team mates and has a heavy focus on reducing our environmental impact. By doing our part to combat climate change, we are protecting the natural environment where people play sport. We hope our commitment enables other companies to do the same.”
Lyft
Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the US. The company achieved its goal of covering 100% of its operations' electricity consumption, including electric vehicle charging, with renewable electricity in Q4 of 2018. Where available, Lyft is purchasing clean energy directly from its local utility partners, beginning in San Francisco with the city's CleanPowerSF program. Where direct renewable energy supply is not yet available, Lyft is purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) through its partner 3Degrees. The company intends to work with its local utility partners in other cities to replicate this direct supply model everywhere it can. Already public about its 100% renewable electricity achievement, Lyft is today joining the RE100 leadership group to help send a collective demand signal to the market.
Sam Arons, Director of Sustainability, Lyft, said: “Our pledge is to make Lyft a carbon neutral and 100% renewable company. This means offsetting the carbon emissions from all Lyft rides, and purchasing enough renewable energy to cover the electricity consumption of every Lyft office space, driver hub, and electric vehicle mile on our platform. Lyft’s investment and impact will continue to grow as the company does. We're excited to join RE100 to become a part of this important group of organizations stepping up to fight climate change.”