Technical guidance

If you're interested in joining RE100, please make sure to read our key documents: 

• Joining criteria
• Technical criteria
• Market boundary criteria
• Materiality threshold
• Credible Claims

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.

What are the requirements to become a RE100 member?

1. Meet the joining criteria

To join the RE100 initiative, 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).

2. Set an ambitious RE100 target

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 are 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.

3. Source renewable electricity in line with the RE100 criteria

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

A. Technical Criteria (a version in Mandarin Chinese is also available), 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 from the European and the North American markets.

4. Report progress annually

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.

5. Communicate transparently on the barriers faced

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 does not reach their 100% target because they cannot make credible claims of renewable electricity use in a market, this is does not 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 are 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.

Contact

For queries related to the joining criteria or to get in touch about joining RE100, please contact info@RE100.org.

For more information about the technical criteria, or any technical questions, please contact re100@CDP.net.