24/7
Always-on operations
Grids need around-the-clock oversight across markets and weather systems.
Sustainability for energyproviders
Plan clean generation, flexibility, and reliability together.
Energy providers juggle renewables, grids, storage, and customer programs. This guide explains ESG in the energy sector so utilities and developers can share a single plan.
What does sustainability in energy cover?
It ensures generation portfolios, grid operations, customer programs, and workforce plans meet decarbonisation, reliability, and affordability goals.
Grid
Stakeholder grid partners
Regulators, communities, and system operators all need visibility.
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Dual transition reality
Energy companies must run today’s system while building the next one.
Energy sustainability focus areas
Generation mix & storage. Balance renewables, firming resources, and storage to hit emissions targets.
Grid reliability & flexibility. Invest in transmission, demand response, and digital twins to keep power flowing.
Customer programs & electrification. Support EVs, heat pumps, and efficiency with clear incentives.
Workforce & supply resilience. Reskill crews, secure components, and plan for extreme weather.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why sustainability strengthens energy providers
Regulatory confidence. Transparent plans speed approvals and rate cases.
Capital attraction. Investors reward utilities and developers with credible transition roadmaps.
Community trust. Residents want resilient, affordable power backed by real commitments.
Operational excellence. Integrating sustainability with outage management and maintenance avoids surprises.
PLANNING
How to build an energy sustainability plan
- Model scenarios. Link resource plans, load forecasts, and policy outlooks in one transparent model.
- Coordinate stakeholders. Work with regulators, communities, and system operators on sequencing and approvals.
- Prioritise investments. Rank projects by emissions impact, reliability, and customer benefit.
- Log commitments. Track board approvals, procurement timelines, and resilience actions in RunSustainably.
MEASUREMENT
Tracking progress across the energy mix
- Emissions intensity. Share kg CO2e per megawatt hour plus renewable energy share.
- Reliability metrics. Monitor SAIDI/SAIFI, outage minutes, and resilience indicators.
- Customer impact. Report participation in demand response, electrification, and community programs.
- Supplier readiness. Log component availability, local content, and workforce status.
Actions for energy providers
Run a portfolio decarb sprint. Compare different generation mixes and share the trade-offs.
Stand up a resilience war room. Use RunSustainably to link weather intel, crews, and customer alerts.
Share progress locally. Create community dashboards showing projects, investments, and benefits.
GLOSSARY SNAPSHOT
Energy glossary snapshot
Integrated resource plan (IRP). A long-term roadmap for generation, transmission, and demand programs.
Capacity factor. A measure of how much energy a resource produces relative to its maximum output.
Virtual power plant (VPP). A network of distributed resources orchestrated to provide grid services.
FAQS
Sustainability in energy FAQs
How is this different from oil & gas sustainability?
Energy providers manage generation, grid operations, and customer programs rather than upstream production, so the levers and stakeholders differ.
Where do we start the energy transition?
Update the resource plan, align stakeholders, and log the first wave of projects with clear KPIs.
How do we keep customers informed?
Use town halls, portals, and RunSustainably-powered updates to show milestones.
Do small utilities need this much structure?
Yes—scaled-down templates still help boards and regulators see progress.
Drova RunSustainably unites objectives, approvals, and reporting so industry teams stay aligned.
Ready to keep sustainability work visible?
ESG 101 HUB
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