The results were announced at a recent event in Rio de Janeiro, hosted by Gabriela Da Rocha Oliveira, head of Latin America research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and Morten Albaek, GSVP, Global MarCom and Customer Insight at Vestas. The Brazil Corporate Renewable Energy Index is based on surveys sent to Brazil’s 200 largest corporations by market capitalization. The study is the first report on Brazil’s corporate renewable energy procurement.
The Brazil Corporate Renewable Energy Index is part of the forthcoming global Corporate Renewable Energy Index (CREX) due to be released on Friday. The aim of the CREX is to identify the quantity and sources of renewable energy used by companies around the world, based on the output of a detailed survey of 306 companies from 26 countries. This provides much-needed transparency for a range of stakeholders including corporations, investors, utilities, policy-makers, NGOs and - last but not least - consumers.
The CREX makes available information about the type and amount of energy used by corporations, providing insight that can be used to inform consumers about climate-friendly purchasing decisions. Corporations can evaluate their performance on renewable energy procurement against that of their competitors. They can also see how industry leaders in sustainability use renewable energy to make their operations and value chains climate-friendly.
The CREX covers companies’ total energy consumption and the proportion of that made up of renewable electricity. The renewable energy technology breakdown covers geothermal, solar, wind, hydro, waste energy, and a national blend of different technologies.
In Brazil, companies procure renewables mainly to secure their supply of energy and to align with their core business strategies. An additional benefit is the stable cost per MWh produced, making it an attractive investment. Overall, 86% of the Brazilian companies disclosing data about procurement methods are using direct investment in power capacity to access renewable energy sources. [Source: CREX2012]
According to the Brazil Corporate Renewable Energy Index 2012, Brazilian companies are outperforming global CREX renewable energy usage. The mining company Vale had an absolute consumption of renewable energy of 7.5TWh in 2011, by far the largest absolute consumption among the Brazilian CREX, and in the top five globally. Topping the ranking of share of renewable energy usage in overall consumption are the Brazil branch of Faber Castell, the world’s largest pencil manufacturer, and the metallurgical company Autometal. Both procured 100% of their electricity needs from renewable sources.
Respondents also indicated that renewable energies generate attractive returns on investment. Coupled with the consumers' willingness to pay a premium for products made using renewables, this represents a strong business case for corporations. More than nine out of 10 Brazilians prefer power from renewable sources and 94% of Brazilian consumers think the increased use of renewable energy is a good way to reduce the impact on the climate.
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