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Introduction to Sustainable Energy and Its Requisite in a Flash

You are probably familiar with the terms and ideas of climate change, sustainable energy, or even sustainable development goals (SDGs). As we are shifting to use sustainable energy, it is worth knowing more about it and how it would affect you and your communities. 

Post date: 19/05/2023 – by author

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Four people holding sustainable energy signs.

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In this article, we will explore together the following. 

Understand Sustainable Energy and Renewable Energy in Seconds

In a nutshell, sustainable energy refers to all kinds of environment-friendly energy. Unlike fossils such as oil, coal, natural gas, etc., that may run out in the future, they least pollute and can not be depleted forever. Furthermore, it is very similar to renewable energy, however, renewable energy uses naturally replenishing resources from the earth, such as Biomass from plants.

Examples of the most famous sustainable energy are as follows,

  • Solar Energy
    Solar Energy is radiation captured from the sun that can produce heat that is converted into electricity using solar panels. Individuals widely adopt it worldwide.
  • Wind Energy
    Wind power obtains from wind turbines that convert the kinetic energy in the wind into electrical power.
  • Hydropower
    Hydroelectric power is converted energy from flowing water, such as water from a reservoir or river, into electricity using spinning turbines and generators.
Wind turbines on a seacoast

What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)?

In 2015, The United Nations (UN)  set the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to unite nearly 200 countries worldwide to accomplish 17 goals by 2030, resulting in a better and sustainable future for us all. These goals cover several aspects, for instance, poverty, food, natural resources, health, education, gender equality, energy, economy, and more, and obviously, sustainability is one of the crucial goals.

Regarding the SDGs no. 7, there are 5 goal targets, including: 

  • By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services.
  • By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
  • By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
  • By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology.
  • By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, particularly least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing coun. 

Source: UNDP

The 17 sustainable development goals

Image by Freepik

From these targets, by 2030, we can expect to see the following:

  • The proportion of renewable energy to fossil energy will highly increase worldwide, while the average cost will be cheaper than fossil energy.
  • There will be more cooperation between organizations or communities in producing and efficiently consuming renewable energy. This can be the expansion or occurrence of new businesses related to clean energy.
  • Incoming new guidelines and regulations related to clean energy.
  • More advanced technology development and AI for sustainable energy services in isolated areas and developing countries.

Overall, sustainable and renewable energy will increasingly impact the global economy, business operations, and our lives.

What is ESG?

ESG: Environment, Social, Governance in relation

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We talked about the global goals earlier. Next, the question is how to know whether we archive these goals. This is where the ESG comes in. In a simple explanation, ESG is a set of criteria used by stakeholders, particularly investors, to evaluate the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance factors on a company along with its financial performance.

There are no global standards for the metrics, however, there are guidelines from some organizations such as Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), etc. Some ESG metrics are represented as follows.

Examples of ESG metrics

The Environment aspect of ESG emphasizes the importance of sustainable energy application in companies worldwide.

Applied Real-World Sustainable Energy Solution

Solar panels on the roof in the sunrise background

Image by tawatchai07 on Freepik

Gigaphoton Inc., a Japanese light sources manufacturer for semiconductor lithography machines, installed 1,100 photovoltaic solar panels on the head office’s roof in February 2023. It is set first to generate power this month (May 2023). The installed solar panels are forecasted to generate about 460MWh, or 4% of the company’s power consumption annually. The company plans to achieve a 30% use ratio of renewable energy in 2030, which aligns with its commitment to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint.

Source: Business Wire

Woman watching three wind turbines.

Conclusion

Sustainable and renewable energy has become increasingly crucial for the global economy and business operations with driving factors like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. By 2030, we expect sustainable and renewable energy usage to become mainstream using advanced technology development in all areas of the world.

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