Building a green industry: Transitioning to renewable energy

In the continued effort to protect our environment from climate change impacts, businesses around the world are seeking more sustainable alternatives to products, processes, and operations to reduce emissions. Transitioning to renewable energy sources — with the goal of eliminating greenhouse gases and the reliance on fossil fuels — requires the steadfast commitment of global businesses, governmental authorities, investors, and stakeholders. 

Following our introductory guide to renewable energy, this article details the actions businesses can take to build a more sustainable industry by transitioning to renewable energy.

Why do we need to adopt an energy transition?

The climate crisis requires an urgent — and achievable — effort to conserve the health of our environment. Anthropocentric activity is producing excessive greenhouse gas emissions, warming up our planet and causing irreversible damage to ecosystems.  

One of the most crucial elements to mitigating the impacts of climate change is to limit the global average temperature to below 2°C, with a particular focus on limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Carbon removal is an essential factor in achieving a net zero economy, fostering clean energy, and bringing the temperature down to a safe level.  

As the climate crisis continues, countries around the world suffer from food and water insecurity as a result of damaged soil, corrupted ecosystems, and polluted water; economical and personal damage from severe weather events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, or floods; and health complications from air pollution.  

To protect the environment and human health, it’s imperative that businesses (and households) strive to find more sustainable alternatives to support green energy production — and one such method is by opting for renewable energy sources over extracting oil and burning fossil fuels.  

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that earth can afford a maximum of 2,600 – 2,900 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) to stay within the desired temperature of 1.5˚C, but with our current usage, this allowance will be depleted in 10 – 17 years without an energy transition, rendering our climate goals unattainable.
 

Who’s held accountable for CO2 emissions? 

In a report breaking down the carbon dioxide emissions around the world, it was discovered that while Europe and the United States produced the most emissions in the 1900s, Asia — and particularly China — now dominates as the leading region. However, this is indicative of where the emissions are generated, not necessarily where the products are exported to or purchased by consumers. Global demand for specific products and services can accelerate the negative environmental impacts in other parts of the world, triggering the necessity for a global transition to renewable energy sources, rather than just individual regions.  

The type of energy used also has an impact on the emissions; for example, in the UK, Portugal, and France, electricity is mostly generated from nuclear and renewable sources, while half of Germany’s electricity is derived from fossil fuels.  

Individual businesses carry a large responsibility in enabling the energy transition, but, as the World Economic Forum notes, the complexities of this shift requires a coalition of governments, policy-makers, businesses, international organizations, and NGOs to address regional carbon footprints.

Regulating emissions for renewable energy efforts

Local governments and global authorities play an important role in tackling climate change and supporting the adoption of clean energy by prioritizing climate mitigation and adaptation regulations, policies, and initiatives for businesses to comply with. 

There already exists global and region-specific regulations on environmental preservation and overall energy consumption, but here we share a summary of some worldwide initiatives striving for clean energy usage.
 

The Paris Agreement 

A prominent global treaty, the Paris Agreement is an international agreement between 196 parties, who have pledged a commitment to combating the effects of climate change. 

The Paris Agreement aims to tackle climate change through: 

• Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — NDCs are action plans that each pledged country must continuously review to meet the Paris Agreement goals. These plans map out how each country intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 

• Long-term strategies (LT-LEDS) — though not mandatory, the Agreement encourages the production of long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies 

• Global support — the Agreement provides financial, technical, and capacity building support for developing countries so all participants have equal opportunity to finance climate change resilience and mitigation plans 

Additionally, review the key insights from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29), where global governments annually implement new steps that align with the Paris Agreement goals, such as mitigating climate change impacts, keeping global warming to 1.5°C, and investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar power and wind energy.
 

Mission Possible Platform 

One initiative aiming to tackle climate change is the Mission Possible Platform (MPP), a scheme devised by climate leaders and companies focused on industrial decarbonization across the supply chain. Its main goal is to encourage CEOs from carbon-intensive industries to act to decarbonize their sector within the next decade. 

By decarbonizing, emissions are reduced, and companies can then focus more on renewable energy opportunities for their facilities and processes. 

The MPP focuses on the world’s highest-emitting industrial sectors: 

1. Aluminium 
2. Concrete and cement 
3. Chemicals 
4. Steel 
5. Aviation 
6. Shipping 
7. Trucking
    

The B Team Just Transition and Decent Jobs pledge 

The Just Transition and Decent Jobs pledge is committed to supporting the development of green jobs, reducing emissions, and fostering the energy transition for a more sustainable global economy. It currently has 27 companies from the energy and industrial sectors as members. 

Renewable energy producers, developers, and buyers involved in the pledge expect to hold their businesses and contractors to strict sustainable standards.
 

We Mean Business Coalition 

The We Mean Business Coalition aims to facilitate business action to halve emissions by 2030, accelerating the transition to a net zero economy.  

One such effort is their Fossil to Clean campaign, a global movement focused on migrating businesses from using fossil fuels for energy production to cleaner solutions. The campaign encourages businesses to enact policies for phasing out fossil fuels.

Approaching the transition to renewable energy

Improving energy efficiency, introducing renewable energy, and providing funding and support are crucial to a successful transition toward more sustainable and clean energy use. There are many internal actions and steps companies can take to accelerate this effort.
 

Pledge your commitment 

The first step to committing to a more sustainable economy through renewable energy use is by announcing company goals. Much like the 196 countries committed to the Paris Agreement, businesses around the world should announce their commitment to being more sustainable — both internally and externally.  

Ensure your commitment to a more renewable future is approved and advocated by leadership.
 

Create an action plan 

To secure a reliable and effective transition to renewable energy, companies need to develop timely, yet realistic, frameworks. This plan needs to be implemented across teams, ensuring all employees and stakeholders are aware of new or emerging changes to operations, processes, material use, and/or products.  

Each player in the company should have a clearly defined role for the energy transition. Providing training for new skills and opportunities is another helpful tool to prepare existing and new employees.
 

Disclose sustainability data 

To continually support the global path to a renewable future, companies must disclose their actions, sustainability data, and energy efforts to stakeholders — both to comply with local and regional regulations, and to promote a global commitment to more sustainable practices.  

This will also keep companies accountable so climate change mitigation and renewable energy efforts remain a top priority in present and future plans.