At the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7), taking place in San Francisco, where governments accounting for about 75% of global greenhouse gases and 90% of clean energy investments are meeting, RE100 companies have been demonstrating their commitment to driving the transition to renewable energy.
Autodesk unveiled three milestones. Firstly, the American software company has achieved its target to power its facilities with 100% renewable electricity – four years ahead of schedule – via the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Secondly, on achievement of this Autodesk has strengthened its goal and over the next few years will procure additional and local renewable energy to catalyze demand in all geographies where they operate.
Also, the business has set an internal carbon price that it expects will help align business decisions and investments with a low-carbon economy as well as prepare the company for future carbon taxes.
Meanwhile, Google committed to working in collaboration with national governments, renewable energy buyers and suppliers, NGOs, and others across CEM member governments to convene a group of stakeholders to survey the policy and regulatory structures critical to enabling corporate purchasing of renewable energy and make policy recommendations for how to further unlock corporate renewable energy demand in CEM member governments.
Microsoft reasserted its recent commitment to powering its datacenters with energy that is at least 50% wind, hydro and solar by 2018, and 60% early next decade. For Microsoft, this means moving beyond datacenters that are already carbon neutral to also having those datacenters rely on a larger percentage of wind, solar and hydropower electricity over time.
Microsoft says this is significant given that the IT sector includes some of the fastest growing energy users in the world, consuming as much energy as a small state and in decades to come as much as mid-size nations. Microsoft is actively working through the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) to deliver on its goals in markets around the world. In addition, the company reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining 100% carbon neutrality.
A Summit Partner at CEM, Salesforce has shared its renewables story in a new RE100 case study to inspire other companies to follow suit. Director of Sustainability, Patrick Flynn, shares his reflections on the company’s progress to 100% renewables.
The announcements from RE100 companies come as RE100 welcomes six new joiners today, all committed to powering their entire operations with 100% renewable electricity. They include global interconnection and data center provider Equinix, Swedish food processing and packaging giant Tetra Pak, Canadian financial leader TD Bank Group, leading manufacturer of modular carpet Interface, Inc., global advertising, media and marketing group Dentsu Aegis Network and global provider of enterprise cloud applications, Workday, Inc..
As logos were projected on screens, all 65 companies now in RE100 and committed to 100% renewable power were praised on stage by the Danish Minister, in front of a room filled with 800+leading businesses and other high-level delegates from the 23 CEM member countries and the European commission.
Click here to read how a new campaign launched at CEM7 is driving the biggest, most influential companies to join RE100.