Research & Reports

As Large Corporations Go Green, Utilities Are Feeling the Loss

It’s been a headache-inducing nexus of active regulation, distributed energy and environmentalism for some electric utilities. Plunging costs of solar power and growing concerns of climate change are inspiring swelling ranks of the largest private and Fortune 500 companies pursuing not only aggressive renewable energy goals for sustainability purposes but also cost effectiveness and resiliency. Now utilities are facing the sobering question of whether to significantly invest in green infrastructure to keep these large customers and risk controversial rate cases, or watch helplessly as that caravan of large, rate-paying customers defects, taking considerable revenue with them.

Research & Reports

Integrating Renewables in the Grid: A Snapshot of Progress

Just a few years ago, there were predictions that 30 percent of power from renewables was all the grid could easily handle and that anything more would have significant consequences. However, recent events have shown that it is possible to integrate much higher levels of renewable energy without large negative effects. Part of the reason is that the growth has been incremental, typically a few percentage points a year, allowing grid planners to adjust as needed. It’s also because of the emergence of technologies and techniques that help incorporate fluctuating power from renewables into the grid.

Research & Reports

The Future of Energy

The concept of “new energy” has ushered in a global movement dedicated to cost-effective sustainability, clean energy technology and grid innovation. Today more than ever, we’re seeing stakeholders and industry giants from all sectors — finance, manufacturing, retail, utilities, technology, even academia — come together in combined efforts.

Environment

HP Works to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Its Worldwide Operations

In early 2018, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that independent analyses conducted by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show that 2017 was the second warmest year on record globally.
That warming trend has continued, as the latest research by NOAA predicts that 2018 is on pace to be the fourth hottest year on record – with only 2015, 2016, and 2017 being warmer.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Transparency Is Key to Sappi's Sustainability Strategy

Sappi utilizes numerous systems and other tools for providing information on our sustainability performance.

Environment

Ceres: Clean Energy Opportunities Align With Investment Fundamentals

Now that clean energy has gone mainstream, there is an array of existing and emerging opportunities to scale up clean energy investments while also meeting investors’ risk-return requirements. Across asset classes, clean energy opportunities are available that align with investment fundamentals such as long-term risk diversification. Savvy investors are now moving to understand the expanding opportunities in the clean energy sector, recognizing that this market is growing in terms of the breadth and quality of available opportunities.

Energy & Infrastructure

Businesses and Institutions Call for a Regional Approach to Curb Transportation Emissions

Influential investors, companies, hospital systems, colleges, and universities called on Northeast and Mid-Atlantic governors to take steps to modernize the region’s transportation system and keep the local economy thriving.

“As businesses and investors with operations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, we urge you to prioritize policies and investments to create a clean, equitable and efficient transportation system,” more than 70 signatories wrote in letters delivered this week to governors throughout the region. “Our system for moving people and goods throughout the region has a clear impact on business productivity and costs, and our region stands to benefit significantly from making investments today to modernize that system.”

Energy & Infrastructure

Making the Case for Connecting Efficiency and Sustainability Teams

Many companies face internal barriers such as siloed departments or expertise that prevent them from reaching their energy and sustainability potential. To clear these hurdles, organizations are starting to integrate how they buy and use energy with sustainability initiatives, an approach that maximizes investments, delivers greater returns and builds more robust, viable operations.

Energy & Infrastructure

NRG | Transforming the Future of Solar with a Solar Electricity Plan That’s Clean, Green, and Accessible

The driving force behind NRG's new solar energy plan for businesses was – businesses. That revolutionary idea led to the development of something equally innovative – a solar energy plan made easy, simple and instantly capable of being added to any Texas company's energy approach.

Research & Reports

In Clean Energy Portfolios, Money Isn’t Everything – Research by Erb Institute Faculty Director, Joe Arvai

People may be more willing to pay for clean energy and strategies that dramatically reduce emissions than previous studies have suggested, according to new research by Michigan State University Professor Douglas Bessette and University of Michigan Professor Joseph Árvai, “Engaging Attribute Tradeoffs in Clean Energy Portfolio Development,” published in Energy Policy. Árvai is the Erb Institute’s faculty director.

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