Setting Sustainability Goals and Meeting Them with Reduction Targets3 min read
Climate change is often associated with marked variations in weather such as more frequent and intense storms and the ensuing impact of potential flooding. These weather events can have an impact on both businesses’ building structure as well as operations. In response to these concerns, government entities and institutional investors are collectively applying pressure on public companies to address climate change.
As increased scrutiny is placed on emissions and supply chain management, many companies have established aspirational goals to improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics in a short time frame but have done so with limited details on how to execute those objectives. Competitive energy suppliers, like Constellation, are positioned to deliver value and expertise in this area by helping customers understand the critical areas to target for improvement and how to establish key attainable milestones.
“Energy managers are looking for their competitive energy suppliers to engage customers not as ‘electricity consumers’ but as allies on a sustainable mission,” says Raj Bazaj, Constellation’s executive director of Solution Sales.
To comply with national and statewide clean energy regulations, and to be recognized as leaders in sustainability, more businesses are proactively measuring and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions and setting targets to reduce them.
Understanding Your Business’ CO2 Footprint
Businesses have the opportunity to influence the sources of their emissions. They might include:1
- Scope 1 emissions from onsite generation and fleet fuel consumption
- Scope 2 emissions from power plants providing purchased electricity
- Scope 3 emissions from indirect sources, such as company travel and supply chain management
Because sources of emissions are boundless, many organizations struggle to grasp their true energy footprint. As a result, businesses are turning to new technologies to uncover areas of opportunity within their facilities and operations.
There are many ways energy managers can manage their utility data. The Pear.ai platform, which is an energy intelligence platform, makes it easy for everyone to manage and understand their energy footprint. In-house data collection, combined with machine learning and reporting, give meaning to your data and identify opportunities for efficiency, demand reduction and potential cost savings – which can be a first step towards creating a sustainability plan.
In addition to the Pear.ai platform, Logical Buildings is a smart building technology offer through a strategic alliance with Constellation. Using internet of things (IOT) devices, Logical Buildings helps energy managers understand specific points in their operations that impact energy usage and costs. By using these technologies, energy managers can better understand how and where their operations use energy, which can help formulate their plan to meet sustainability goals, including the creation of energy reduction targets.
Creating Reduction Targets
After establishing a baseline and finding areas of opportunity, whether that’s implementing renewable energy purchases to decrease fossil fuel use or making the switch to energy-efficient LED lighting to reduce energy consumption, businesses can create attainable greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets with the help of a retail supplier like Constellation.
GHG reductions targets are emission reduction levels that entities set out to achieve by a specified time, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.2 Targets can drive a business’ commitment to achieve its sustainability goals.
Common reduction targets might include:
1. Absolute reduction goals (e.g., to use 100% renewable energy by a certain future date)
This can refer to a goal of baseline emissions being reduced by a certain percentage by a certain end year. Businesses may focus on market-based (i.e., energy efficiency and clean attribute purchases) or location-based accounting (i.e., energy efficiency or onsite renewables).
2. Science-based targets
An example of a science-based target is a 2-degree Celsius target. This is based on the internationally agreed upon threshold of 2-degree Celsius temperatures, representing the measure beyond which significant climatic changes would occur and be disruptive to earth’s systems that are currently relied on to meet basic societal needs. Corporate goals are vetted against the required reductions for their sector under this methodology and are encouraged to be achieved by 2050. Learn more about sector-specific goals.
Customers can look to technologies like Measurabl, invested in by Constellation Technology Ventures, the venture investing arm within Exelon Corporation, to keep track of their data and monitor the progression of their actions to reduce carbon emissions from start to finish. Measurabl is a cloud-based software that collects data, creates investment-grade sustainability reports and identifies improvement opportunities. Learn more by visiting www.constellation.com/CTV.
Businesses that implement aggressive sustainability goals can reduce emissions and energy costs. As a bonus, businesses will demonstrate their concern for environmental health, attract the growing number of eco-conscious consumers and ensure that institutional investors continue to support their businesses.
Contact your Constellation sales representative to learn more about sustainability strategies and helpful technologies to support your business’ goals. To receive similar content on a bimonthly basis, subscribe to our emails via www.constellation.com/subscribe.