Powering a cleaner future: RE100 and Google EU energy forum

On 2 February 2017, as part of its work on corporate sourcing of renewables, IRENA participated in the Leadership Forum: “Powering a cleaner future: Unlocking business demand for renewables in Europe”, co-organized by RE100 and Google, in Brussels, Belgium. The forum brought together high-level business representatives and EU policy makers, including Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the Energy Union at the European Commission, to strengthen the role and potential of corporates to drive renewable energy investment in Europe. The panel discussions focused on the EU Winter Package and how to create an enabling framework that allows for businesses to reach their ambitious renewable energy targets. Corporates such as Google, IKEA Group, Nestlé and Swiss RE highlighted the increasing business case for sourcing renewable energy while IRENA emphasized the importance of clear and enabling market regulations to create further demand pull for renewable energy.

Recognizing the potential of corporate sourcing of renewables, the Seventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7), held in San Francisco in May 2016, launched the Corporate Sourcing of Renewables Campaign. Under the CEM Campaign, IRENA is working to establish a central repository on trends and enabling frameworks for corporate sourcing of renewables that will feed into the IRENA REmade Index report. To support this work, a survey on enabling frameworks for corporate sourcing of renewables has been circulated to IRENA Member States (deadline for survey submission is 28 February 2017).

Contact: Elizabeth Press (EPress@irena.org), Stephanie Weckend (SWeckend@irena.org)