Steven Schleider, Metropolitan Valuation ServicesNo, we are not talking about the election, polls and pundits. We are talking about the long accepted “wisdom” that adopting renewable energy sources, encouragement and regulation of increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ultimately drives up operating costs and energy prices.
In fact, based on the research we’ve been reading, the exact opposite is true: renewables, LED lighting and energy efficiency initiatives, even if costly to implement, are ultimately money savers.
Unconvinced? Would knowing that Fortune 100 companies are saving $1.1 billion or more annually through renewal energy provide pause for thought? Ceres, along with Calvert Investments and the World Wildlife Fund, recently partnered on a 36-page research report, “Power Forward 2.0: How American Companies are Setting Clean Energy Targets and Capturing Greater Business Value,” that explores Fortune 500 clean energy initiatives.
As we’ve written many times, going green and sustainability moved on long ago from being a novelty or simply a sign of good corporate citizenship to serious commitment to green initiatives and environmental best practices in companies and municipalities. The Power Forward study asserts that “For the largest corporations in the United States, clean energy is now becoming mainstream...Nearly half of the largest companies in the U.S. are capturing significant business value by cutting emissions and using clean forms of energy to power their operations.”
Those same companies have set time-specific goals to initiate green energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction. But, as the report also shows, the Fortune 500 are not as aggressive at the Fortune 100 in setting and meeting goals, even though savings are substantial and predicted to grow. “...smaller companies and some entire sectors are missing climate business opportunities…the companies in the Fortune 500 that are not adopting the practices of the leading companies are foregoing substantial opportunities to save money, generate shareholder value, and minimize their environmental footprint.”
This week, an expert blog published by the NRDC, the National Resource Defense Council, a not-for-profit organization that works globally to protect natural resources, public health and the environment, came to my attention.
Written referencing the study “Clearing Up Our Act on Energy and Reaping the Benefits,” findings show that states that have been aggressive in energy efficiency, New York among them, have kept electricity prices down. Those in the least energy efficient states had their electric bills double in cost from the most aggressive states.
From the blog: “...after adjusting for inflation, U.S. electricity is cheaper today than it was more than a quarter-century ago, in 1990. At the same time, wind and solar energy—which are immune to the periodic surges that fossil fuel prices experience—raised their market share from virtually nothing to 7 percent of U.S. electricity supply in 2015.”
Let’s take a quick look at cities. According to a poll of 178 mayors in U.S. cities, solar power (which as a technology is making tremendous strides that go way beyond installation of PVC panels), LED lighting (also swiftly overcoming feasibility, economic and quality issues) and efficient building systems are the triumvirate of strategies for increasing energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions and meeting climate goals.
The benefits of renewable energy and other green initiatives are becoming very clear. Simply put, the less energy you use by becoming more energy efficient and the more renewable energy you use for that reduced amount, the less you waste and the more money you save, all with the benefit of operating on a much more environmentally sound basis.
Yet, just as the Fortune 500 companies are lagging behind the Fortune 100 front runners, the biggest obstacle for municipalities in meeting their goals is having or budgeting the money to make changes.
All of the studies and surveys indicate that good corporate and municipal citizenship go hand-in-hand with cost savings when converting to renewal forms of energy and greater efficiencies, yet until companies are willing to the bite the bullet of upfront costs, and municipalities are able to generate the funds needed, all of the cost and environmental benefits will lag behind monetary obstacles.
Log onto Ceres.org for the full Power Forward:2.0 report. You’ll need to register to obtain the download.
To read the expert blog from the NRDC, click here:
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/ralph-cavanagh/clean-energy-investments-pay-big-time-new-study-shows
You’ll find a PDF download of the study here:
https://www.nrdc.org/resources/cleaning-our-act-energy-and-reaping-benefits
Steven Schleider, MAI, FRICS, LEED AP BD + C, is the president of Metropolitan Valuation Services, Inc., New York, N.Y.
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