Procure with Purpose: Impact Begins at the Project

Corporations have played a significant role in the staggering growth of renewable energy in the last few years. Over 315 corporations have now voluntarily made 100% renewable energy commitments for their global operations. These commitments total over 330,000,000 MWhs of renewable energy and represent billions of dollars of new investment. Because of their influence and scale, corporations will continue to shape industry standards and project development expectations based on their procurement goals.  With each step toward 100% renewable energy, there is an opportunity to push the industry forward with higher standards and support projects that have the most positive impact.  While corporate demand continues to grow and extend its reach to nearly every country, companies can signal to the industry that quality matters just as much as quantity.

3 Steps to Increasing the Positive Impact of Your Renewable Energy Commitment

1.      Understand Project Impacts

Corporations that are seeking to meet their renewable energy and emissions reduction targets have the ability to improve their procurement process through the evaluation of key project criteria. This project level criteria can be critical in determining a renewable energy project’s true cost and benefits. Such criteria can include, but is not limited to:

• Community Collaboration

• Land, Water, and Wildlife Impacts

• Gender and Health Impacts

• Avoided GHG Emissions

By committing to a higher level of diligence on proposed procurement projects, corporations can select for those projects that go above and beyond basic benefits. 

2.      Avoid the No-Gos

Avoid transactions with projects and developers that fail to prioritize human and local rights, or those that have a history of ongoing environmental or socioeconomic consequences. Other projects to avoid are those that infringe on local water resources, those without local consent, or projects that irreparably harm ecosystems.  Key questions that corporations can ask during the procurement process include:

• Does the project development company have a publicly available commitment to adhere to internationally recognized human rights norms?

• Has the project sought early and thorough input from the local community, including disseminating information in native languages effectively and truthfully?

• Does the project result in negative wildlife, habitat impacts or other negative health impacts expressed by the community or through project impact assessments?

3.      Commit to Higher Impact Projects

Companies should consider actively seeking to procure high-impact projects with significant co-benefits, such as microgrids in poorly electrified regions, solar + storage resiliency projects at schools, or Peace Renewable Energy Certificates (P-RECs). By selecting high-impact renewable energy projects, companies can simultaneously reach their pre-existing procurement goals while encouraging a just global energy transition.  We encourage corporations to start small, gain understanding of project benefits and gradually increase the amount of renewable energy commitments that drive significant local co-benefits. 

Be a High Impact Procurement Leader

Corporate leaders can catalyze a new expectation for procurement, one that considers company goals as well as the collective needs. There are enormous opportunities to create new value in going above and beyond standard procurement, improve global resilience, and reduce risk.  Get started today with positive impact procurement and help drive more dollars into those projects that benefit local communities.