Case Study

Erica Ocampo, sustainability and advocacy manager at The Dow Chemical Company, is getting ready to present her report on the pilot Energy Bag program to her boss. The waste-to-energy program has been met with success in converting plastics to energy, but Ocampo is wondering how she can take the project a step further and truly make Dow a participant and leader in the circular economy. Students are asked to identify with Ocampo and develop a plan of action for the company.

Grid modernization is getting into gear across the country as electric utilities continue to work to automate distribution and smarten the grid. Buoyed by validating data, states such as California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts are leading the way, providing blueprints for other regions to follow.

Today, the United Nations Global Compact launched a new digital learning platform to help companies become more sustainable.

Physical activity is widely known to decrease the risk of countless chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and some forms of cancer. It also has a powerful impact on quality of life, mental health and well-being.

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.

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.

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.

The energy ecosystem is changing, driven by the advent of distributed clean energy, increased competition from new technologies and service providers, the evolving expectations of customers, and new opportunities for serving those customers. As the traditional business model changes, utilities are seeking new opportunities for revenue as they establish themselves as the “Preferred Energy Partner.” But getting there is another story, requiring a comprehensive category of innovative products and services that will define the future of revenue generation in the energy space.

Global engineering, procurement and construction company Black & Veatch’s newly released 2018 Strategic Directions: Electric Report explores the progress made by the industry as it addresses a rapidly changing customer base, commercial defection from the grid and a regulatory landscape challenged to support new market realities.

As part of Bechtel’s commitment to contribute 100 ideas to support the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this case study examines the efforts to build local inclusivity in urban communities impacted by major construction projects.