ALL REGIONS
New joiners at Climate Week NYC
Apple, Bank of America and General Motors are among 12 world-leading companies that joined RE100 around Climate Week NYC, taking the total number of members to 81, and the overall renewable electricity demand being created to over 100TWh - a significant milestone.
Lisa Jackson, Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives at Apple and Andrew Plepler, Global Environmental, Social and Governance Executive at Bank of America announced their companies’ RE100 commitments on stage at the Opening Ceremony, organised by The Climate Group.
Speaking on Apple’s commitment to work with its manufacturing partners to expand 100% renewable power into its supply chain, Jackson said: “We have to be the ripple in the pond. We can’t just be 100% renewable energy - we have to bring others with us.”
In an exclusive interview for Climate TV, Plepler said that when it comes to addressing climate change, “the success of our business strategy depends on it”.
Other highlights included an interview with The Climate Group’s acting CEO Damian Ryan on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, and stories on CNBC.com and Mashable. We also generated 24.5 million impressions of #RE100 on Twitter - creating by far the biggest online moment for RE100 since COP21.
Scaling the Clean Economy: Using Better Energy, Better
David Tulauskas, Director of Sustainability at General Motors championed the business case for renewable power at a special event hosted by global law firm Baker & McKenzie. Tulauskas said: “This is what being part of RE100 is about. By working together we're stronger, more influential and effective”.
A panel discussion including Alex Liftman, Global Environment Executive at Bank of America examined how new, innovative and potentially disruptive technologies, business models, financing and policy can help to accelerate the clean energy transition.
Demonstrating progress
During Climate Week NYC, Swiss Re and Johnson & Johnson both announced new investments in renewable energy, taking them closer to being 100% powered by renewable electricity.
Already 85% renewable, re/insurance company Swiss Re announced plans to build its own solar plant at its U.S. headquarters in Armonk, New York. Lasse Wallquist, Senior Environmental Management Specialist at Swiss Re, said it “benefits the bottom line, increases resilience, and underlines our sustainability commitment.”
Global healthcare company Johnson & Johnson meanwhile announced a new contract to source 100MW of wind energy from E.ON’s new wind farm in Texas.
BMW Group targets 100% renewable electricity
BMW Group has been interviewed by Bloomberg New Energy Finance as part of the inaugural issue of its monthly analysis of corporate renewable energy procurement. Jury Witschnig, Head of Sustainability Strategy, Product and Production at BMW Group, said: “Renewable technology will improve. A few years ago, this technology didn’t make sense as an option, but it is now getting cheaper and a more attractive investment.”
INDIA
More than 30 people attended a RE100 webinar on Tuesday September 27 which gave an overview of India’s REC market and policy, and looked at the future role of voluntary standards in making credible claims about renewable electricity use there. The speakers were Shailesh Telang, Senior Project Officer at CDP India, and Jared Braslawsky, Secretary-General of RECS International.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES
Monday 10 - Tuesday 11 October: BNEF EMEA Future of Energy Summit, London - Through executive interviews and expert panels, Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Future of Energy Summit aims to facilitate constructive debate, create a forum to exchange ideas among industry peers, and provide the latest insights to drive change in the energy industry. This year's speakers include Google and The Climate Group. This event is invitation-only.
Sunday 16 - Tuesday 18 October: ‘Renewable Energy Markets 2016’, San Francisco, U.S. - Organized by the Center for Resource Solutions and co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this event will bring together generators, marketers, utilities, purchasers and policymakers, and help to set the renewables agenda for years to come. Confirmed speakers include RE100’s Roberto Zanchi, Technical Manager - Renewable Energy at CDP, as well as member companies Google, General Motors, and Bloomberg L.P.. Learn more here.
Thursday October 27: Joint RE100-BRC webinar - corporate PPAs in Mexico and Chile, 16:00 - 17:00hrs BST - All members of RE100 are invited to take part in this webinar jointly hosted by RE100 and The Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Center, together with WBCSD. Expert industry practitioners (tbc) will comment on the opportunities for renewable energy procurement in two increasingly-attractive international markets: Mexico and Chile.
November 7-18: UNFCCC COP22, Marrakesh, Morocco: There will be a number of speaking opportunities for senior executives of RE100 members, including: Wednesday 9 (Business & industry session of Global Action Agenda day), Friday 11 (energy day), Sunday 13 (CEM7 event), Tuesday 15 (100% RE multi stakeholder event) and Friday 18 (possible high level action event).
REVISED DATE: Friday December 9, ‘Powering a cleaner future: Unlocking business demand for renewables in Europe’, Brussels, Belgium - In the context of the development of the new EU Renewable Energy Directive, RE100 and Google are co-hosting a corporate leadership event to highlight the high level of corporate demand for renewable power across Europe. Please contact Sandra Roling with any questions - SRoling@theclimategroup.org.