ALL REGIONS
Highlights from COP22
There was plenty of RE100 activity at COP this year, as a number of members went to Marrakech.
On Energy Day, November 11, India’s Dalmia Cement and Swiss insurer Helvetia joined RE100 with a commitment to 100% renewable power. The new additions take the total number of members to 83, and the total demand for renewable electricity being created to over 100 TWh.
News of Dalmia Cement joining RE100 was covered by a number of media outlets in India, including The Economic Times and Business Standard. "We are committed to decarbonizing our operations in a way that makes business sense", said Group CEO Mahendra Singhi, who was also interviewed by Climate TV.
Dalmia Cement is already a member of EP100 - RE100’s sibling corporate energy initiative. On Energy Day, RE100 founding partner Swiss Re also joined EP100, with the goal of doubling its energy productivity by 2020 (baseline 2005). Rachel Kyte, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO of SEforAll praised the leadership of both companies. The Climate Group’s Acting CEO Damian Ryan reflected on their decision to ‘use better energy, better’ in a Guardian Sustainable Business opinion piece facilitated by General Motors.
RE100 worked closely with IRENA and the European Commission to secure speaking slots for our members at a number of key COP events - helping to demonstrate the strong business case for renewable power. Facebook’s Director of Sustainability Bill Weihl spoke on Business & Industry Day. Formula E’s CEO Alejandro Agag and Mars Incorporated’s Global Sustainability Director Kevin Rabinovitch spoke on Energy Day - Kevin announcing a new contract to power Mars’ Mexico operations with 100% renewable power, and highlighting the value of RE100. Dalmia Cement’s Group CEO Mahendra Singhi then spoke alongside Facebook’s Bill Weihl at the World Climate Summit on November 13th, and IKEA Group’s Public Affairs Manager Katarina Maaskant spoke on EU Energy Day, November 14th.
During the second week of COP, Microsoft and General Motors also made announcements of new investments in renewable energy. Microsoft has made its largest wind energy purchase to date - 237 MW - allowing its data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming to be powered entirely by wind power. General Motors also made its largest renewable energy purchase to date, signing a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 50 MW of wind energy from a new wind farm being developed in Texas.
RE100 was highlighted as a game-changing initiative in a new report by UN Global Compact on the business contribution to global climate action.
RE100 also partnered on a major event coordinated by CAN International, which saw Chief Sustainability Officers Barry Parkin of Mars and Steve Howard of IKEA demonstrating that leading businesses are playing their part in a wider societal movement to 100% renewable energy worldwide.
During the two weeks of COP22, RE100, our members and partners generated 18.4 million impressions of #RE100 on Twitter - creating a real buzz for the campaign. Thanks to everyone who helped by sharing and re-sharing our content, helping us to reach a much wider audience.
EUROPE
As the EU Commission prepares to release a review of the EU Renewable Energy Directive and Market Design Initiative, expected later this week, a new RE100 report backed by members BT Group, IKEA Group, Google, Nestlé, Royal DSM and Unilever calls for EU energy policy to prioritize renewables. The report was picked up by a number of media outlets including CleanTechnica and EurActiv. Damian Ryan, Acting CEO at The Climate Group, which leads RE100 in partnership with CDP, said: “More companies than ever before are committed to bold climate action because it makes business sense. But to ensure that many more are able to reach 100% renewable power, governments at all levels need to set or raise the ambition of long-term supportive policies.”
DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES
November 29: Breakfast event with Nick Hurd, London, UK, 08:00 - 10.30hrs - Organised by Here Now together with RE100 and Maitland Green, this event with Nick Hurd, UK Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is designed to showcase and grow the UK’s network of local authorities committed to 100% clean energy - inspired by the success of RE100. Speakers from Marks & Spencer and Land Securities will share their own journeys towards 100% renewable power. Attendance is by invitation only.
December 15, RE100 knowledge sharing webinars - Tata Motors’ renewable energy journey, 16:00hrs-17:00hrs IST (Indian participants) or 11:30-12:30hrs CET (International participants)- Tata Motors will share its experiences of adapting its business model to incorporate more renewable energy in its electricity mix, as well as sourcing renewable energy via open access, onsite installations, and third party procurement. The automobile company will also share the challenges it is experiencing, for example regulatory bottlenecks. Speakers TBC.
January 14-15, 2017: IRENA General Assembly, Abu Dhabi, UAE - There will be a session dedicated to corporate sourcing of renewables at the IRENA General Assembly, and a small number of speaker slots will be open to RE100 members.
January 16-19, 2017: Launch of RE100 Annual Report/ World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAE - We are working on our 2017 RE100 Annual Report, to coincide with the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. This year we will be taking a closer look at regional trends and the strategies that companies are using to journey to 100% renewable power.
REVISED DATE: February 2, 2017: ‘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 and Market Design Initiative, this event - co-hosted by RE100 and Google - will highlight to policymakers and other stakeholders the high level of corporate demand for renewable power in Europe, and discuss the framework conditions required by businesses to fulfil their renewable energy ambitions. This event follows on from our recently published RE100 report which calls for key changes to EU energy policy. European Commissioner Vice President Sefcovic will attend.