With the return of nice weather and more individuals returning to the office, 51·çÁ÷Canada’s Green Teams and Wellness Teams have joined forces to create a campaign aimed at motivating employees to find more sustainable ways to commute and enhance their overall wellness. The goal was not only to raise awareness about the benefits of sustainable transportation, but also to collectively achieve a significant milestone as a team.

The employee-driven Strides for Sustainability challenge encouraged individuals to walk, bike or blade to work, and if that wasn’t feasible, to simply add more steps to their daily routine and track them. The goal was to collectively complete one journey across Canada, the equivalent of 4,830,000 combined steps (steps and steps converted from biking or blading) or approximately 3,682km, within a month. This challenge not only promoted sustainable transportation options and physical activity, but also aligns with SAP’s Pledge to Flex and sustainability commitments, challenging employees to take it to a new level. It is no wonder why 51·çÁ÷Canada has been named one of by Canada’s Top 100 Employers again in 2024.

“We succeed as a company when our teams work in unison towards a common goal. These goals need to be balanced between business objectives and employee engagement,” said Cindy Fagen, Managing Director, 51·çÁ÷Canada Labs. “It is inspiring to watch our employee engagement groups empower their peers and create these wonderful challenges to get the entire country activated, which ultimately impact their health and our environment.”

After four weeks, the results were outstanding, with 110 employees, from five locations actively participating and completing a total of 30,180,067 combined steps, equivalent to 23,003km. As a group, they far surpassed their initial goal, completing 6.25 journeys across Canada. The success of the Strides for Sustainability campaign not only demonstrates the commitment of 51·çÁ÷Canada’s employees to sustainability and wellness, but also sets an inspiring example for other organizations to prioritize sustainable transportation options.

“Our vision for the Strides for Sustainability challenge was to encourage people to find creative, low-carbon ways to commute to the office,” said Anik Roy, Green Team lead, 51·çÁ÷Canada Labs Montreal. “We were thrilled with the response we received from our colleagues across the country and hope the spirit of the challenge continues to grow throughout the year with everyone embracing healthy, environmentally friendly commutes.”

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Perhaps surprisingly, private equity firms are a huge driver of this trend, whether via investments in solar, wind, biomass, or some other type ofĚýrenewable energy. These companies recognize not only the social, humanitarian benefit but the economic benefit of renewables: low-cost power, reduced dependence on imported fuel, and more secure, reliable energy supply.

The numbers bear out this trend. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, private equity and venture capital transactions in the global renewable energy sector reachedĚý, the highest total in the last five years. More so, funds raised in recent years are approachingĚýĚýthe value of fossil fuel asset fundraising, per The Impact Investor.

However, there are challenges inherent in this tectonic shift. With broader strategic change in how we produce and consume energy comes more narrow change – and difficulties – in areas like engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain management, human resources, and finance. These areas make it hard for private equity investors to easily operate and scale businesses, highlighting the present need and opportunity for scalable, cost-effective solutions that truly support the renewable space’s growth and future success.

With Great Power…

A crucial element of today’s state of play in the renewables space is the rapid acceleration in load growth made manifest by today’s technology advancements. Whether it be ChatGPT, Bitcoin, or some other artificial intelligence- or machine learning-related innovation, our tools are requiring more energy production and consumption than ever.

That means there is expansive economic benefit to finding cheaper, faster, less energy-consuming ways to run these tools and solutions – not to mention widespread social benefit.

Companies across the industry are already embracing 51·çÁ÷solutions to use less energy, improve business operations, and meet sustainability goals. One global market leader in energy storage solutions and services recently selected 51·çÁ÷to help it scale faster, improve supply chain visibility, and boost overall efficiency. Another business – an established provider and owner of clean energy solutions nationwide for commercial and industrial businesses – chose 51·çÁ÷to help amplify its growth efforts via the acceleration of its ability to both scale and innovate in the energy space.

By iterating and streamlining processes to meet modern needs, companies like these can not only equip themselves for success today but for success tomorrow, as they grow and change alongside the evolving and progressing energy transition.

…Comes Great Capability

In our current industry moment, renewable energy companies demand unparalleled visibility and insights into financing, projects, operations, and more. Whether it be land acquisition, asset construction, or maintenance, a centralized data model that facilitates intelligent business insights is vital. It’s how you empower everyone in the organization to make informed decisions that drive the company forward.

Take supply chain management. Renewable energy companies can’t just order new parts or materials with a short delivery time. Some of the materials necessary for renewable energy products, like graphite, have order lead times spanning years rather than months. Top technology solutions will meet engineering requirements for things like storage, transportation, and integration of natural resources into the production process so that they can ensure supply chain management goals are met. In short, efficient and effective development and implementation of renewable assets requires careful management of the supply chain.

So, yes, these companies and their private equity backers are innovating toward a cleaner future. But they may not always have the time or resources to fully innovate and advance their business processes, sometimes resorting to manual ones that slow things down and add risk. Companies like 51·çÁ÷can offer a seamless platform for managing these enterprises’ various business needs, in an integrated way that can enable them to focus on their core business and not have to worry about IT risks.

No matter where a renewable company is on their journey, 51·çÁ÷and its partners have solutions that can automate and optimize core business processes to help meet their maximum potential. This is due to elements like:

• Centralized ERP data providing a single source of truth and improved decision-making ability
• Fully managed supply chain procurement and logistics, with deep supplier networks
• Faster ROI thanks to repeatable, trustworthy, and accurate processes empowering business users

These seamless integrations and true end-to-end insights will power renewable companies well into the future, so that they can power us as well.

A Brighter Tomorrow

Leading private equity firms are leading for a reason. They see what’s possible in the renewable energy space and recognize the tremendous economic and social benefits that are available. For them, digital transformation is the skeleton key for unlocking a bigger and better future – one where they can easily scale up or down depending on their needs.

Leading ERP solutions can meet these companies where they are, with the speed and flexibility necessary to streamline business processes and build on them in exponential ways.

For the renewables space, it’s about setting the foundation for whatever comes next – not just for individual companies, but for our world and the way we all consume energy.

Mark Hollis is an industry executive advisor for Renewable Energy & Utilities at SAP.

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With nearly 200 renewable technology projects registered in Canada, valued at over $116 billion, the industry is booming and supporting over 115,000 Canadian jobs. From decarbonization to decentralization, renewable companies are navigating a new reality and creating a new ecosystem that allows for innovative approaches to energy production, storage, and distribution.

While all renewable energy companies share the common goal of delivering clean, renewable energy solutions, they are facing business opportunities and challenges in engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain management, people management, and finance. These challenges make it difficult to operate and scale a business efficiently, highlighting the opportunity for scalable and cost-effective solutions that support the industry’s growth.

To stay ahead in this dynamic and evolving industry, renewable energy companies require unparalleled visibility and insights into their financing, projects and operations. From land acquisition to asset construction and into maintenance and operations, they need a centralized data model that facilitates intelligent business insights. This empowers everyone within the organization, from the executive suite to the field, to make informed decisions and drive the company forward.

One area where renewable energy companies face unique challenges is with supply chain management for new and ongoing development projects. Unlike traditional companies, they cannot simply order parts or materials with a short delivery time. Some materials required for renewable energy projects, such as graphite, have order lead times of up to 72 months. Developing renewable energy solutions introduces engineering requirements for storage, transportation, and integration of natural resources into the production process. Ensuring the efficient and effective development and implementation of renewable assets requires careful management of the supply chain to avoid delays or wasted materials.

The introduction of new materials and processes in the renewable sector has also led to the emergence of new suppliers. While established suppliers may have a track record of quality control, the same cannot be said for new vendors. This raises questions and uncertainties about the quality control processes and guarantees that must be embedded into the supply chain. Companies cannot afford delays or wasted resources due to unprepared vendors and suppliers. Therefore, it is crucial to have a robust supply chain management system in place to mitigate risks and ensure smooth operations.

Whether small or established, many renewable energy companies are creating new revenue streams and building piecemeal business approaches leveraging specialized technologies designed to address the problem in hand. They are innovating our cleaner futures, but their business processes are not as innovative, maybe even executed manually, which puts a strain on their operations. Companies need a seamless platform that allows them to manage all their engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain management, people management, and finance data in an integrated format while they focus on their core business without worrying about IT risks. They need to worry about building our future today and lean on partners to support their business process concerns.

No matter where a renewable company is on their journey in the energy transition, 51·çÁ÷has solutions that can optimize and automate core business processes that will enable and empower companies to maximize their potential. True end-to-end insights and seamless integration will “power” success.

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