Companies in 75 countries actively sourced 465 TWh of renewable energy last year, an amount close to the overall electricity demand of France, a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) states.

With the continued decline in the costs of renewables, the report suggests that corporate demand will continue to increase as companies seek to reduce electricity bills, hedge against future price spikes and address sustainability concerns.

Titled ‘Corporate Sourcing of Renewables: Market and Industry Trends’, the first global assessment of trends and policies in corporate sourcing of renewables, shows that renewable- energy sourcing by private-sector companies is made possible with the right policy framework in place and that it can be a key factor in the world’s pursuit of a sustainable energy transformation in line with the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement.

The agreement, the Paris climate accord, or the Paris climate agreement, is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change dealing with greenhouse-gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance, starting in the year 2020.

According to the report, environmental and sustainability concerns, social responsibility and reputation management and economic and financial objectives are the three primary drivers of corporate sourcing of renewable energy.

“Renewable energy sourcing has become a mainstream pillar of business strategy in recent years,” says Irena director-general Adnan Amin.

While environmental concerns initiated this growing trend, Amin added that the strengthening business case and price stability offered by renewables could also deliver a competitive advantage to corporations and support sustainable growth.

The findings of the report, presented at the ninth Clean Energy Ministerial, in Copenhagen, last week, show that half of the over 2 400 large companies surveyed are voluntarily and actively procuring or investing in self-generation of renewable electricity for their operations.

Of the companies surveyed, more than 200 source at least half of their power from renewables.

“Corporations are responsible for around two-thirds of the world’s total final electricity demand, making them central to, and key actors in, energy transformation,” continued Amin.

“As governments all over the world recognise this vast potential, the development of policies that foster and encourage corporate sourcing in the electricity sector and beyond will inject the additional investment needed in renewable energy.”

The report also finds that the corporate sourcing trend is widespread and dynamic, with companies participating in the practice coming from various sectors.

By volume, most of the renewable electricity was consumed in the materials sector, while the highest use of renewable electricity is in the financial and information technology sectors, at 24% each.