This year the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) met in Rio, Brazil.  At the conference, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted a global initiative launched late 2011 that focused on achieving Sustainable Energy for All.  The initiative calls on private sector and national participation to meet three energy objectives by 2030 - energy access, energy efficiency and a focus on renewables.  In the wake of this conference, a new report has been released by the United Nations Global Compact and Accenture, titled “Sustainable Energy for All: The Business Opportunity.”  

The report, while focused globally, highlights industry specific opportunities and trends.  It reports that of industry CEO’s surveyed, 91% will employ energy efficiency measures to address sustainability issues over the next five years.  This correlates broadly with consumer perceptions which also indicate a growing trend in renewable awareness and efficiency, with 79% of consumers worldwide reporting a more positive perception of brands produced with wind energy, and 50% of consumers worldwide willing to pay extra for products based on renewable energy.  

While the report offers broad recommendations, it also focuses on 19 subsectors and advises on the impacts renewable energy can have on the bottom line.  It suggest that renewable energy can acts as a hedge against volatile energy costs, while also offering a potential regulatory hedge against carbon restrictions imposed by governmental actors.   An executive summary focusing specifically on the Information and Communications sector was published and provides insights on actions the sector can take to become more energy efficient and advance business opportunities. A few of these include recommendations on the improved energy efficiency of operations, as well as the development of services to improve the energy efficiency of travel and logistics.

In spite of the reports lack of specifics on precisely how to implement efficiency recommendations for advancing business opportunities, a variety of tools presently exist to identify key areas for development.  A first step in the process is to identify present energy usage in the form of a carbon audit.  Viewing energy usage through the lens of a carbon audit allows for companies to assess their energy usage, while simultaneously addressing their carbon footprint.  

A carbon audit provides baseline data to assess current energy consumption, offers insights into areas of potential energy and financial savings, and allows for the creation of baseline energy/carbon reduction targets. Armed with the potential for energy and financial savings, companies can leverage their corporate sustainability efforts with positive communications to consumers and improved brand imaging.  The combination of these often results in an improved bottom line.