Technical guidance

To achieve 100% renewable electricity, companies must match 100% of the electricity used across their global operations with electricity produced from renewable sources. These can include biomass (including biogas), geothermal, solar, water, and/or wind – either sourced from the market or self-produced.

Companies must meet certain requirements (i.e. size, sector) outlined in the RE100 joining criteria. The commitment includes all electricity that a company consumes (including self-generated electricity).

RE100 companies must select a target date for achieving 100% renewable electricity. The minimum requirements are:

• 100% by 2050, with interim steps of at least:
• 60% by 2030
• 90% by 2040

If a joining member company is already at 100% renewable electricity, they're invited to share the date they reached this achievement. In this case, and if the company has a year-on-year rolling target, its target year will be the reporting year.

The average target date for RE100 companies is 2028, with those based in more mature markets such as Europe and the US tending towards shorter timeframes. Based on the rate at which the global power system needs to be decarbonised to meet the ambitions in the Paris Agreement, no company should set a date later than 2050. Setting a 100% renewable electricity target by 2030 at the latest shows a strong level of leadership.

The target applies to all operations globally, but companies have the possibility to exclude from the scope of their target some small operations which have negligible impact on local demand, up to 100 MWh per market for a limited number of markets. The full details are available in our Materiality Threshold document.

This is done by submitting a joining form to Climate Group. This will then be thoroughly assessed alongside the joining criteria. We carry out a due diligence process when a company applies to join RE100. Where questions arise or issues of concern are identified, we may seek to discuss these with the company prior to determining eligibility. 

Once eligibility has been established and the application has been accepted, communication of the joining announcement will be agreed with Climate Group.

RE100 member companies must progress towards their 100% commitment in line with the RE100 criteria, contained in the following three documents:

A. Technical Criteria, which gives details on:

• The technologies that we consider to be renewable;
• The sourcing options we recognise (both self-generation and purchase options);
• How to make credible unique use claims depending on the sourcing option chosen

B. Guidance on making credible renewable electricity usage claims, providing details on:

• How renewable electricity claims are distinct from offsetting claims;
• The attributes needed to claim renewable electricity usage;
• The definition of a credible attribute tracking system – we have identified that RECS (US and Canada), GOs or REGO (Europe), T-REC (Taiwan), Green Power Certificate/J-Credit (renewables) (Japan), I-REC (International) and TIGR (International) meet those criteria

C. Market boundary criteria, defining what can be considered as a single electricity market; to comply with RE100, the electricity consumed by the members must be produced within the same market boundary as it is consumed. So far, the market boundaries are country boundaries, except for the European and the North American markets.

Company progress towards 100% renewable electricity must be reported annually via the RE100 Reporting Spreadsheet or CDP’s Climate Change questionnaire. Consumption and production of renewable electricity need to meet credibility and transparency requirements.

The data collected is published in the RE100 annual reports and provides the insights on corporate renewable electricity sourcing and aggregated demand, that drive and direct our policy work globally.

2021 Reporting Guidance can be found here.

Procuring renewable electricity in some markets is challenging and we recognise that corporate ambition to reach 100% may outpace availability in some areas.

If a company doesn't reach their 100% target because they can't make credible claims of renewable electricity use in a market, this is doesn't represent a failure of the company. Rather, it is an opportunity to use their influence in combination with other RE100 members and supporting organisations to advocate for market change.

If none of the sourcing options considered as credible in the RE100 criteria are available – including onsite self-generation – we recommend that:

• companies communicate transparently and publicly on the barriers they face in those markets and countries, as their voices are powerful
• companies operating in the country try to aggregate their demand and to develop a solution. We're happy to discuss opportunities to connect members in regions where sourcing renewable electricity is particularly challenging
• companies engage with key stakeholders such as governments and energy companies to develop new options that suit their needs.

Renewable energy is a fast-evolving sector and we expect that all regions will have renewable energy sourcing options available in the near future.

For an overview of our membership offering, and the costs involved, please visit our membership section.

If your company meets the technical requirements, contact info@re100.org to receive the RE100 joining form. This will be reviewed by our team alongside the RE100 joining criteria.