Corporate sustainability is a term much used but inconsistently understood. To some, it conjures notions of corporate philanthropy, charitable giving or public relations. To others, it is a mandate whereby companies carefully operate within legal requirements and prevailing social norms. Increasingly, however, it is being seen as a new core business model that sustains a company’s success over time and is the hallmark of its overall business health.

Properly understood and executed, corporate sustainability increases top-line and bottom-line value. It breaks down traditional lines and trade-offs between the interests of the private sector, the public sector and wider civil society. It embraces new models of transparency and stakeholder engagement while driving innovation and market growth.

Environmental, societal, regulatory drivers are creating a new challenge for corporations. Many leading firms have been addre

ssing these changes through sustainable practices and have managed to achieve higher business performance. Most fundamentally, incorporating sustainability strategies can be a source of competitive advantage.

And there is perhaps no greater source of both opportunity and risk for companies seeking to integrate sustainable practice
Growing concerns about climate change as well as the social and economic costs associated with poor air quality are leading to stricter regulatory regimes in many parts of the world. Leading companies and investors, however, are not just reacting to new or anticipated regulatory mandates. They are recognizing that enhancing energy efficiency and developing newer, cleaner sources of energy will create value.s into core business strategies than the topic of energy. Rising populations, expanding middle class populations and increased urbanization will increase demand for modern energy services and the resources upon which they rely. These demands will have consequences for national and world economies, geopolitical relations as well as the environment.

Yes, there have been some very high profile failures – in the U.S. and elsewhere – of clean technology companies. But it is important to keep a few things in mind while considering whether these failures indicate a counter-narrative to the one about the increasing importance of clean energy and sustainable practices. First, one must not confuse the poor business models, high-cost supply chains, or other reasons for the failure of individual companies with the lack of a market. In the solar sector, for example, it is very success of the market that has weeded out a number of less competitive companies and technologies.

Second, it is the nature of the press (and perhaps people) to focus more on high-profile failures and less on the many successes of companies embracing clean energy and sustainability. The key for corporate leaders and investors is to distinguish tactical matters from the strategic drivers that will define markets in the 21st century. I had the pleasure of serving again on the Selection Committee for the Zayed Future Energy Prize, an annual prize for excellence in the fields of renewable energy and sustainability in Abu Dhabi last month. We were presented with a lengthy list of companies and other market influencers who are driving the adoption of clean energy technologies and practices. While these success stories may not garner the headlines of the far more infrequent ’failures‘, smart companies and smart investors know to keep their eye on the ball, and on the future innovators of our time.

Roger Ballentine is President of Green Strategies, Inc. and a member of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Selection Committee. Previously, Roger was a senior member of the White House staff, serving President Bill Clinton as Chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force and Deputy Assistant to the President for Environmental Initiatives.
View original post here: http://sustainablog.org/2012/11/corporate-sustainability/

In 2011, while the cost of renewable energy technologies continued to fall, global total investment reached a record $257 billion, and global renewable power capacity exceeded 1,360 GW. With these investments, renewable energy has moved from a niche, environmentally driven option into an economically viable solution to meet the growing energy demand of a rapidly growing global population.

Many nations are currently making critical decisions on how to supply their populations soaring demand for energy. For some, this involves expanding their existing infrastructure, whereas for others it involves creating entirely new energy systems. Either way, the decisions that these nations make now will stay with them for decades, and will undoubtedly impact their future economic growth, social development, and environmental sustainability. To ensure that these decisions are rational, decision makers must be informed of the true costs and implications of all the options for meeting their energy needs.

To ensure that renewable energy receives the consideration it should: we must realise that our real challenge has moved from the idea, and growing public support for that idea, to creating concrete action. It is the practical issues that surround the development and deployment of renewable energy that pose the pressing questions now. These issues span many subjects, including policy, investment, technology, and technological costs. Creating pragmatic solutions for the future will unlock the true potential of renewable energy to provide clean, secure, and sustainable energy to all.

One way of increasing the global momentum of renewable energy technologies, whether in innovation or implementation, is by identifying the business case for renewables. We can do this by demonstrating the many situations where renewable energy has reached grid parity, or where it has created energy access, or reduced the costs of powering businesses. This will empower people to create solutions for the practical issues that are currently constraining uptake.

Fortunately, there are numerous international initiatives that are promoting and recognising practical contributions to renewable energy globally. I have the honour of being involved at a high level with several of these. One is the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s global initiative “Sustainable Energy for All,” which aims to achieve universal access to modern energy services, double the improvement in energy efficiency, and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030. The Secretary-General has called on governments, private sector, and civil society to make commitments towards achieving these complimentary objectives, and many, including the International Renewable Energy Agency, have answered this call.

Another international initiative is the Zayed Future Energy Prize. This annual award spurs innovation by recognising contributions made to renewable energy and sustainability that display innovation, long-term vision, and leadership, while also creating a real impact in the world. The Prize reflects the vision of the late Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and is awarded for categories ranging from large corporations through to high schools that have made significant contributions to creating a sustainable global energy future. This clearly acknowledges that the contributions that will transform our energy system will come from a multitude of sources.

Renewable energy is poised to power a new energy paradigm. But the potential of this energy revolution will be hamstrung unless we work to answer the practical questions facing development and deployment. Through the combined efforts of policy makers, courage of investors, and innovation of scientists, we have already shown that we are capable of realising the potential of renewable energy. The global growth in renewable energy investment and capacity attests to this. But to truly realise the global potential of renewable energy, we need to focus our efforts on creating pragmatic and relevant solutions to the real issues facing us.

Adnan Z. Amin is Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, and a jury member for the Zayed Future Energy Prize, an annual award that celebrates achievement in renewable energy and sustainability.  Mr. Amin is a development economist specializing in sustainable development.

Image Credits: renewable energy technologies at Discovery World via mjmonty; wind turbine, solar panel, & globe via Shutterstock; and Adnan Z. Amin via himself
Original Post can be found at Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1p5zw)

Over the course of September 9^th and 10^th, the members of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Review Committee were faced with

India’s recent power grid failure that left more than 600 million people – nearly 10 percent of the world’s population – without electricity and important services like running water, air-conditioning, traffic lights and the internet provided several important reminders.

Yes, some of the reminders were stark doses of reality, most notably that India’s electrical grid and infrastructure is in need of vast improvements if the country’s ever-growing middleclass populations can expect regular, reliable power.

But the massive blackouts also provided an encouraging reminder: that off-grid renewable energy truly is playing a critical role in sustainable development globally. Ironically, while hundreds of millions of urban, middle class Indians were left powerless, their rural – and formerly energy-poor – countrymen were largely unaffected, thanks in part to rooftop solar photovoltaic systems, and other forms of distributed, off-grid renewable energy. While businessmen in New Delhi couldn’t switch on their lights or turn on the television, farmers in rural Karnataka were able to keep their irrigation pumps on and their air-conditioners firing away.

In times of large-scale energy crises like this, the importance of sustainable energy innovators like Orb Energy – a Zayed Future Energy Prize runner-up in 2012 – become even more clear. It is trailblazers like Orb Energy – an India-based provider of solar PV and solar water heating systems – that will ultimately enable modern energy for the more than 1 billion people across that globe that still lack access. Since 2007, Orb Energy alone has brought solar energy to more than 150,000 people in rural and semi-rural India.

The Zayed Future Energy Prize has recognized several other leaders that are addressing the global challenges of energy security, energy access, and economic development in rural areas. Dipal Barua, a founder of Grameen Shakti, and one of the first winners of the Prize in 2009, has enabled modern, clean energy through solar power and biogas to nearly four million people in rural Bangladesh, one of the most energy-poor nations in the world.

And while sustainable energy pioneers like Mr. Barua and Orb Energy are acknowledged for their efforts to provide energy access to all, we must also remember the life-changing indirect benefits of clean energy that are being enabled: greater opportunity for education, better standards of healthcare, and more prospects for economic growth.

But it shouldn’t take events like catastrophic, society-crippling power-outages in the hottest throws of summer to remind us how important it is to increase overall renewable energy generation – whether for off-grid or grid-tied applications.

Bader Al Lamki is Director of Clean Energy at Masdar and Vice-Chairman of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Selection Committee

Image Credit: PWRDF, Flickr

This post was originally published at Triple Pundit on August 14, 2012.

There has been much-hyped talk about the massive growth of the Chinese economy in recent years and how it’s poised to overtake the world’s current largest economy, the United States.  Nowhere is that talk at a higher pitch than in the clean energy arena, as a report released earlier this year by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) demonstrated that China, with $49.8 billion in total annual renewable energy investment in 2010, overtook the United States to become the leading destination in the world for renewable energy investment.  In fact, during 2010, for the first time, total investment in clean energy was greater in the developing world ($72.2 billion) than in the developed world ($70.5 billion). One of the extraordinary aspects of China’s (and to a lesser extent other non-Western nations’) ascension to the lead in renewable energy investment is that it occurred despite the fact that such investment in the U.S. was at an all-time high in 2010 (aided by the Obama stimulus plan).  Renewable energy investment in the United States in 2010 totaled $29.6 billion and represented 56% growth against 2009.

Is this West-to-East/developed-to-developing country passing of the clean energy “baton” a fluke or a new paradigm shift in the global landscape for clean tech capital flow and technology deployment?  The climate, of course, doesn’t care – emissions reductions matter the same wherever they are made.  The climate would benefit from a cold-war style arms race for the lead in the development and deployment of clean technologies.

The U.S. and other Western countries should care, however.  Putting aside any environmental concerns, we in the West should have our competitive juices flowing, since we like to be “number 1” in just about anything we can.  We should want to lead the world in innovation, manufacturing, and in clean energy deployment. China is on its way to leadership in the latter two categories and it is likely solely within their control as to whether they succeed on a sustained basis – they have proven cost advantages in manufacturing and they have the largest single market for energy services.  I suspect they aim also to be the leader in clean technology innovation – a title that still rests largely in the developed world.

In the U.S., we should not relinquish our claim to leadership in any of these areas easily.  Innovation, manufacturing and deployment of clean energy are things we need more of here at home regardless of any competitive juices that lead us to want to be “number 1”.  Clean technology creates jobs, builds new and lasting skills in our workforce, cleans our air, and balances our trade deficits.  “Winning” a clean tech “arms race” should be a national priority, regardless of what you call it and for a number of different reasons.

But as tempting as it is for many in the U.S. to frame the clean tech issue as China vs. the West, there are many other countries besides the US and China engaged in serious investment, innovation and deployment of renewable and other clean energy projects.  Some may be pleasantly surprised to learn that oil-rich United Arab Emirates is one.

I recently had the privilege of visiting its capital, Abu Dhabi, for the first time to participate in a very special meeting with some of the world’s top renewable energy and sustainability experts. The occasion served to change some of the preconceptions of this region that I suspect many people from my part of the world have.  Over the course of two intensive days I helped assess some of the world’s most innovative sustainable energy companies and leaders  ideas and projects competing to win the prestigious Zayed Future Energy Prize.

The $4 million Prize is just as remarkable as its host country which continues to amaze me by what it has achieved over a short period of time. Launched in 2009, the Prize recognizes individual innovators and leaders, large corporations and small-to-medium enterprises & NGOs that have had a significant impact on society through their work in renewable energy and sustainability.

While in Abu Dhabi, I got to visit Masdar City, a six square kilometer parcel of land on the outskirts of the city that is home to the Masdar Institute of Science of Technology which focuses on actively researching and developing the clean and sustainable energy technologies of tomorrow. I was thoroughly impressed by what I saw. Even though the $22 billion project is still under construction, its plans are ambitious and this is just the start. Masdar aims to attract commercial investors who will play a crucial role in developing economically viable renewable energy solutions, Germany’s engineering giant Siemens has already set up the permanent regional headquarters of its energy arm at Masdar City, a sure sign that something big is in the pipeline for the project.

It’s great to see that the Zayed Future Energy Prize is promoting the world’s renewable energy industry which, in these tough economic times, needs all the support it can get. I’m glad I could be an instrumental part of it and am sure the experience will enhance and further inform my own work. And more importantly, I drew optimism from seeing that many different parts of the world seek to be leaders in the clean technology economy that will benefit us all.

Roger Ballentine is the President of Green Strategies Inc., where he advises clients on business strategy, transaction execution, investment evaluation and public policy matters in the energy and environmental arena. He has also served as board member for China Energy Recovery Inc. which specialises in generating low-cost electricity from capturing industrial waste energy.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Official U.S. Navy Imagery at flickr

The convergence of accelerating climate change, a weak world economy and an ever increasing world population should be seen as the ultimate challenge for humankind. Governments the world over have been  baffled as they seek to address these challenges, not least because  of their continuing dependency on hydrocarbon-based energy solutions.  This is understandable; it’s hard to wean society off a source of energy that has helped humankind develop by leaps and bounds in the space of a century.

In my country, the UK, where energy prices are already some of the highest in Europe, the percentage of households living in ‘fuel poverty’ is as high as it’s ever been.  Various Government-led initiatives to ease the burden of expensive energy and improve our use of energy – particularly in our domestic housing stock – have had some limited impact, but nothing like enough.

Energy efficiency should always come first in any policy hierarchy.  But beyond that, there’s a massive opportunity for renewable energy to ease the burden on conventional sources of energy. The UK’s £860 million Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme that allows homeowners to earn money from the power they generate from renewable energy sources (mostly solar), has proved to be very popular, with over 80,000 homes currently partaking in it. The scheme transformed the solar market into the fastest growing and most dynamic sector in the country.

The UK Government has now brought this initiative juddering to a halt – it was proving to be just too successful! – and this will have a very  negative impact on the uptake of solar energy by individuals, businesses and communities. I’m hopeful this is a temporary glitch, it simply doesn’t make sense (economically or environmentally) to backtrack on something like this.

But small-scale schemes like these only go so far in helping us collectively reduce our carbon footprint. The crux of the matter is that we must be more efficient in our use of the energy whether it is derived from conventional or renewable sources. This is just as true for a net energy importer like the UK as it is for an energy exporter like Abu Dhabi.

Energy efficiency is commonly seen as the unglamorous part of the climate change mitigation debate. For one thing, it’s not as flashy as an array of solar panels or swanky new wind turbines swishing away on top of some windswept exotic hillside. But the truth of it is that there is as much potential for wealth creation in pursuing energy efficiency as there is in developing renewable energy sources.

A 2008 report by McKinsey found that if we invest US$170 billion a year globally in energy efficiency initiatives, we could see an average internal rate of return (IRR) of 17%. What’s more, it would halve the world’s energy demand by 2020, and could help save just under a trillion dollars by this date with little or no impact on the consumer’s convenience

Massive investments of this kind require very high levels of cooperation between the business community and governments. In a 2008 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, just as the financial crisis was kicking off, Al Gore wrote about the need for what he termed sustainable capitalism where notions of longevity and sustainability should play a central role in business management and investment decision-making. This picked up on many of the themes that I covered back in 2005 in a book called Capitalism as if the World Matters.

In an ideal world, it shouldn’t take an economic crisis, let alone the countless warning signals from the natural world, to persuade us to change our ways.  But this is a far from ideal world.  With governments paralysed, we desperately need more business organisations to start taking the long view in terms of their future revenue streams instead of the current ludicrously short-term, profit-maximising model.

Nevertheless there’s a lot to be encouraged by. As a returning member of Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Future Energy Prize’s Selection Committee, tasked with the difficult job of shortlisting the last few candidates for the Prize ahead of the final jury selection, I can safely say that there’s certainly no shortage of businesses, individuals and non-governmental organisations with the long term health of our planet and society in mind. It was a hugely inspiring process.

I was especially impressed by the number of candidates with innovative ideas around efficient lighting solutions – the environmental impact of lighting is often underestimated, but inefficient lighting plays a significant part in increased energy consumption, energy which is still mostly produced by conventional power stations.

And judging overall by this year’s candidate selection, it was also very good to see that energy efficiency is finally being taken seriously. It’s worth repeating that no matter how green or sustainable your energy generation solution is, if it’s used inefficiently, you’re just wasting green electrons rather than wasting dirty grey ones!

Some environmentalists now claim that we might not make the move to renewable and sustainable energy solutions until there is a complete breakdown in the existing systems of wealth creation, energy generation and distribution. I profoundly hope that’s not the case because a breakdown in our existing system would be an utter disaster for all people, but particularly for the poorest people and those with least energy choices in their lives.

I personally hang on to the belief that we are an intelligent enough species to engineer our way out of what looks like an increasing grave crisis without it actually overwhelming us.

Jonathon Porritt is an environmentalist & writer and Co-Founder of Forum for the Future, a non-profit organisation working globally with business and government to create a sustainable future.

Photo: Some rights reserved by The Green Party

In 1999, fewer than 500 companies issued sustainability reports. That number is now over 3,500. Once only a concern for a few niche companies with sustainability as a core value and brand differentiator, corporate sustainability has moved categorically into the mainstream.

Today, there is a growing demand for companies to demonstrate a responsible, sustainable, long-term approach to business,  to produce a statement of their sustainability activities, and to clearly show how this relates to their core business strategy. Corporate sustainability  reports now contain detailed performance metrics and reflect the priority companies have given to measuring and managing the impact of their operations.

Several factors have driven the current momentum for sustainable corporate performance:

Stakeholder expectations: Companies understand the many benefits of sustainable operations, especially now that they engage with a wider range of stakeholders – shareholders, employees, business partners, investors, consumers, NGOs, the media – who demand accountability and transparency.

Global standards: The development and acceptance of global standards has played a critical role in sustainability reporting and performance management.  Currently, over 1,500 companies across 60 countries have adopted the G3 standards – introduced by the Global Reporting Initiative, which provides a universal framework for disclosure.  Additionally, groups such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the World Resources Institute and the World Intellectual Capital Initiative have also developed useful resources for business reporting language.

Investor interest: Institutional investors and stock exchanges have also asked for better sustainability reporting from listed companies. Consequently, environmental, social and corporate governance indices have been established, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and The Carbon Disclosure Project.

Natural resource constraints: Every company that depends on natural resources is facing increased costs and constraints.   Sustainability helps companies improve their operations as natural resource constraints reshape markets.

In November, I had the honour of serving on the Selection Committee of the Zayed Future Energy Prize – a global initiative by the Abu Dhabi government that recognizes and rewards outstanding efforts in the renewable energy and sustainability sectors.   I was impressed by the number of companies that had developed approaches, practices and processes to measure their performance as sustainable businesses.

From my experience on the Selection Committee, one thing is clear: corporate sustainability is becoming a boardroom strategy that is driving enormous creativity, efficiency and innovation.

The day may come when understanding the lifecycle of a product or service is so engrained in  business that we won’t need to call that “sustainability”. Until then, initiatives such as the Zayed Future Energy Prize help showcase and promote the business value of sustainability, while facilitating sharing and learning between large corporations, NGOs and individuals.

Roberta B. Bowman is Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Duke Energy, and served as a member of the Selection Committee for the 2012 Zayed Future Energy Prize

by Galen Torneby

Access to energy is a major issue for overall development around the world, many countries are assessing and reassessing their various energy infrastructure projects and initiatives so much so that propositions that might not have been considered before are being taken seriously now, particularly in distributed power generation.

Now that the world’s population has officially reached seven billion and with around half of this now living in urban areas, new and creative strategies in energy generation are definitely needed for the increasing number of us, and distributed renewable power generation presents a viable and importantly, sustainable solution.

Let’s get the basics out of the way, distributed generation in general terms refers to technology that is capable of producing anything between 3kW to 10,000 kW in or near the point of use. In addition to the potential cost savings, the other main driver to using the distributed generation model is of course its efficiency over centralized generation: distributed generation overcomes the issue of lost energy during transmission as it generates electricity close to where it will be used.

In the renewable energy space there are a number of different distributed generation technologies out there but solar appears to be the strongest contender. We’ll focus on solar as its market has witnessed the most growth in the last couple of years. In fact in the distributed generation space we could see the global market for photovoltaics (PV) triple to US$154 billion in just over four years time compared to $66 billion in 2010 if recent reports are anything to go by.

The reason for this is quite simple: reliability. Conventional grid-based power distribution networks usually satisfy consumer demand, if they are connected to the grid to begin with. What about all those who are not or when there is a grid-wide power outage? – this is particularly relevant in developing countries with their large off-grid populations and intermittent power supply.

The built up urban environment offers just the ideal kind of infrastructure needed for rapid deployment of power generation and distribution in an increasingly urbanized world. In distributed generation, a little bit goes a long way because you simply reduce the amount of power that the grid has to supply and you may not even need to feed it back to the grid.

You could argue that in this regard many rural communities especially in the developing world are ahead of the game due to the stark energy realities on the ground forcing them to seek reliable and cleaner energy sources such as solar. So now we’re in a strange place where affluent towns and cities with their established grid connections are playing catch-up to remote villages and settlements in terms of distributed generation.

Places like the UAE or California with their ample source of sunshine and highly urbanized environments have the potential to reign in the era of a truly sustainable renewable energy solution on a utility scale.

We’re already seeing California’s ‘Million Solar Roofs’ program taking shape to make solar power more competitive with fossil fuel-powered electricity generation. This intervention in fundamentally shaking up the energy landscape of a state like California is certainly a first and serves as a model for other regions around the world. According to the influential Californian environmental advocacy group Environment California, it’s not a “question of if, but when solar power becomes cost-competitive with traditional electricity sources,” I think we can all afford to extrapolate this idea a little further!

With around 150,000 new homes being built in the state each year (not to mention the surrounding associated infrastructure), there’s a strong impetus to integrating solar energy technology at the construction stage of a new build as it can save up to 33% on construction costs as oppose to retrofitting a property. Each of these homes is essentially an independent power station helping to considerably relieve pressure on the main grid and give the Golden State a more sustainable and brighter energy future.

Equally, I believe a rich country like the UAE which is seeing exponential growth in building construction work could tap into the potential for distributed generation from the get go, expediting its entry into more sustainable power generation.

For example just last month Abu Dhabi installed 2.3MWs of solar PV panels on various government building rooftops, it’s a small yet significant step for a nation which has ambitious plans to transition to renewable energy. It’s clear that by kickstarting government-level distributed renewable power generation which promises to yield a lot both environmentally and in return on investment terms, the Abu Dhabi leadership is doing just that: leading by example.

Another clear demonstration of this young Arab nation’s leadership in seeking to address the vagaries of climate change is its hosting of arguably the world’s biggest cash prize ($4 million) award for innovation and advancement in renewable energy and sustainability, the Zayed Future Energy Prize. The award has been held in Abu Dhabi every year since 2009, attracting candidates such as Toyota for mainstreaming its hybrid car, the Prius, and the founder of Bangladeshi clean energy company Grameen Shakti, Dipal Barua who helped bring solar electricity systems to 2 million people in Bangladesh.

You don’t make commitments like that as a major oil producer if you don’t believe in a greener and cleaner future for the earth. Attracting and selecting influential candidates such as these for an award on this scale calls for diligent quality control. Being part of the Prize’s international Review Committee to shortlist this year’s candidates gave me a great insight into the current debates being had around clean energy and sustainability.

What’s more the Prize this year, has attracted yet another committed and promising group of green innovators and policymakers from large multinational and diversified companies , NGOs, Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) and individuals.

Galen Torneby is the Head of Project Delivery, Masdar Clean Energy.

Photo: Some rights reserved by h080

Since the discovery of oil just over a century ago, the Middle East has experienced major economic growth from this bountiful resource under the ground, the world was a different place then to what it is now. Oil, it seemed, was the answer to all our prayers and for the most part it has been, and for that we are extremely grateful.

Now, in the 21^st century, the world faces threats to its energy and environmental security like never before. Climate change coupled with the increased use of oil and gas around the world to power our modern lifestyles has contributed to the need to better manage our energy use, this is just as important for a hydrocarbon-based economy such as the UAE as it is for developed countries such as the United States.

The world average annual increase in demand for energy is around 4% whereas in the UAE it is 10%, and I’m sure we have similar figures for our other GCC neighbours. The lack of fresh water resources forces many countries in this region to invest in and run energy-intensive desalination plants, a major contributor to the increase in energy use. The car culture and excess cooling requirements in this part of the world is also to blame.

We need to strike a balance between our sources of energy and our use of this energy, whether it’s clean or conventional because the last thing we can afford to do is curb our progress and development in the region.

All of this is changing for the better I’m happy to say, initiatives such as Abu Dhabi’s major renewable energy project, Masdar, or the establishment last year of the world’s largest single energy management project in the Emirate helping to save 10 million tonnes of CO2 over the next decade[ii].

Dubai’s commitment to sourcing 5% of its total power supply from alternative energy sources, clearly demonstrates that pursuing a sustainable energy future in this part of the world is certainly not a false economy.

Regionally we’re not alone in our green endevours, our neighbours in Qatar for example have started construction work on a US$1 billion polysilicon plant (polysilicon is the raw material used in solar panels) in Ras Laffan Industrial City, right at the heart of the country’s oil and gas processing operations.

Obviously there is always room for improvement particularly in terms of best practices and technologies in energy conservation, efficiency and management. Inspired by the vision of environmental sustainability of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, founder and President of the United Arab Emirates, the annual Zayed Future Energy Prize seeks out the leaders of renewable energy and sustainability from around the world.

As a member of the Prize’s Review Committee, determining the candidates who will make it through to the final selection process of the Prize has been a good problem to have if it means that we are able to create a more sustainable future for our global society. Although we didn’t see too many entries from the Middle East this year, I’m sure there is much innovation potential that is just waiting to be tapped particularly in the fast-growing and ever-diverse GCC economies. The UAE alone is home to no less than 215 different nationalities each of whom bring their unique experiences and ideas, given this, I look forward to seeing more home-grown innovation from our region in subsequent years of the Prize.

Abdalla AlAmiri is Associate professor in Mechanical Engineering at UAE University and is an advisor to the UAE Minister of Education on Strategic Affairs since August 2007.

The current state of the world economy leaves a lot to be desired particularly when it comes to the hunger for new investment opportunities, so conventional wisdom would suggest that investing in the renewable energy technology (or cleantech) sector is a fool’s errand.

With Google last week shutting down its ‘RE<C’ initiative that invested US$850 million in renewable energy and China’s mass production capability driving down solar PV (photovoltaic) prices put significant pressure on the profitability of the solar industry, these are tough times for the cleantech sector; if it wasn’t for the success of First Solar, many investors would still be skeptical of solar as an industry to achieve returns. Nevertheless there’s still plenty of appetite for investing in other sectors of the renewable energy market that have strong growth potential.  Yet, we see many opportunities in less capital intensive parts of the cleantech ‘new economy’ (as the sector is too broad to call an ‘industry’), that do solve climate change and regulatory issues without relying on subsidies.

Here in Abu Dhabi, through the investment arm of Masdar, Masdar Capital, we continue to see interesting opportunities for cleantech investing, and a number of worthy renewable energy projects both within the region and around the world. After the financial crisis in 2008, Masdar Capital announced a record intake of external capital for its second fund from investors such as Siemens, GE, and Japanese entities including Development Bank of Japan, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Inpex Corp, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Group, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

In addition, earlier this year Masdar along with its joint venture partner Spanish engineering company SENER oversaw the start up of the 19.9MW Gemasolar concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Andalucia, Spain. This $1.4 billion project is no ordinary renewable energy facility, what sets it apart is the fact that it can practically generate baseload power 24 hours a day – the holy grail of renewable energy – using molten salt which operates at a higher temperature (500 °C) than oil to generate higher pressure steam in the turbine for longer. The project is capable of supplying the uninterrupted power to 25,000 homes for most of the year.

I always get asked by potential investors, especially those from Japan who I regularly deal with, why oil-rich Abu Dhabi is pursuing renewable energy so aggressively. The answer, I must point out should not be such an alien concept: Abu Dhabi, like Japan believes that development in renewable energy and sustainability isn’t just good for the environment, it’s the pathway for a nation to develop its human and economic capital. This vision was set in stone by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the United Arab Emirates who strongly believed in conservation in every sense of the word and whose vision inspired the Zayed Future Energy Prize to give a chance to the green innovators and leaders of tomorrow to develop and grow.

Groundbreaking projects in renewable energy such as Gemasolar demonstrate that they are not simply ‘eye-candy’ in an industry that can sometimes feel like one long beauty contest trying to win investor appeal. As a member of the high-level Selection Committee for the Zayed Future Energy Prize, I was once again reminded of this. My industry peers and I judged the many outstanding projects and propositions in renewable energy and sustainability particularly from individuals, SMEs and NGOs. I am always amazed by the passion and ingenuity displayed by these groups for improving not only their own communities but those even further afield.

After all, one can easily see that an idea that might be effective in, for example, removing barriers to education for the school children of rural Africa by letting them study in the evening using low-cost rechargeable LED lamps, can be just as helpful to their counterparts in the remote mountain communities of Pakistan. It doesn’t just make good business investment sense to highlight such projects on an international platform such as the Zayed Future Energy Prize, it’s commonsense too.

EswarMani is currently an Investment Manager at Masdar Capital tasked with analysing investment opportunities globally in a wide variety of industries related to clean technologies, in addition to raising funds from Japanese investors.

Photo: Some rights reserved by epSos.de