Alliance renovates leadership, entrusts Greening the Islands to lead the secretariat.
The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy and its members are glad to announce new leadership with the appointment of Marco Proietti, Head of Procurement at Enel Green Power, as new Chair.
“The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy has been working since 2021, through a collaborative and multi-stakeholder approach, to ensure the full sustainability of the energy sector along the entire value chain. Decarbonization, circularity, human rights and biodiversity are the four priorities of the Alliance in order to achieve a just transition and I am thrilled to lead such an ambitious initiative together with some among the main actors of the entire energy value chain” said Marco Proietti.
Greening the Islands Foundation was entrusted to lead the Alliance’s renovated Secretariat.
Gianni Chianetta, Chair of Greening the Islands Foundation said, “It is an honour for Greening the Islands, that has its mission to support the sustainable development, to manage the Secretariat of the Alliance. Our aim is to upscale activities and maximise visibility. With the participation, among others, of key global leaders from across the renewable energy value chain and the innovation ecosystem (civil society, academic institutions, sector’s associations, international agencies), the Alliance represents a unique and highly significant player to ensure sustainability in the accelerated the energy transition, in close cooperation with all its relevant actors.”
The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy represents a global multi-stakeholder alliance for the full sustainability of the energy sector. Its 16 members collaborate on key priorities to advance new standards for sustainable supply chains and drive progress towards the entire industry.
The Alliance has created four working groups to gather expertise from different layers of the energy supply chain and work on the definition of new indicators and standards for a more sustainable and inclusive future. To facilitate and support working group’s activities, Greening the Islands has assigned one expert with extensive experience to each.
– Net Zero working group, chaired by Adani Green Energy and co-chaired by Goldwind. The working group focuses on scope 3 emissions (all indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of a company including upstream and downstream) to develop a standardised approach to mainstream decarbonisation into business operation throughout the value chain. Activities include sharing best practices, measuring GHG emissions, mapping targets, overview and proposition of management tools and indicators.
– Circular Economy working group, chaired by Iberdrola. The working group draws on existing regulations (e.g., NZIA), new standards (e.g., ISO 59020, 59010, 59004), and stakeholders’ best practices to advance progress on reducing the environmental and social impact of a widespread usage of raw materials in renewable energy equipment manufacturing. Activities include raw materials mapping, scouting and mapping of environmental and social impacts mitigation strategies, scouting and mapping of external initiatives targeting sustainable mining and raw material extraction.
– Human Rights working group, chaired by Enel Green Power and co-chaired by Goldwind and Trina Solar. The working group focuses on human rights and inclusion to create specific competences, standards, methodologies and practices to integrate human rights management and value creation into business across all energy generation technologies. Activities include analytical survey of international legal and regulatory landmarks, mapping salient risks for stakeholders on business activities and value chain, general code of conduct and organizational guidance, overview and proposition of reporting tools and indicators.
– Biodiversity working group, chaired by Enel Green Power with the support of GTI specialist. The working group focuses on key environmental challenges to align sectoral approaches to best practices protecting plants and animal species from impacts of renewable energy installations and addressing land use challenges with respect to agriculture and ecosystem.
Activating collaborative frameworks, the working groups produce position papers and policy recommendations. A key objective for 2024 is to host a high-level event at COP29 to disseminate results.
The working groups had started sharing first results in 2022 including webinars and position papers, available on the Alliance’s website, reaffirming that renewables and their supply chain need to ensure full sustainability along the way.
Among the significant milestones, the Alliance hosted an event at COP27 and and at COP 28. Furthermore, in 2023, several industrial members of the Alliance launched the Net Zero Pledge in an effort to lead by example, committing to a Net Zero ambition in line with 1.5°C scenario and to publicly target and update on a yearly basis this ambition across scope 1, 2 and 3.
The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy will continue focusing on these crucial aspects to ensure full sustainability of the energy transition.
ENDS
Editor’s note
The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy (est. 2021) is an independent global alliance open to all actors recognizing the urgency of tackling the climate emergency according to the ‘just transition’ principles and the need to promote and embed sustainability and social responsibility in the renewable energy industry. The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy aims to highlight the meaning of ‘sustainable energy’ inspired by ESG principles and embrace all those working in and impacted by renewables, joining efforts with NGOs, associations and civil society representatives, utility companies, material suppliers and equipment manufacturers, renewable project developers and plant builders, technical and technological partners, and end-users, spanning industrial, commercial and domestic energy consumers.
