According to a new report published by RE100, its member companies sourced 72 TWh of renewable power in 2017, an increase of 41 percent compared with the preceding year.

RE 100 is a global initiative by companies committed to use 100 percent renewable energy. The initiative has brought around 140 multinational companies together to fight climate change so far. Some of the well-known multinationals that have joined the RE 100 and committed to source 100 percent renewable electricity are the likes of McKinsey and Company and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). In 2018, 37 new companies joined the RE100 initiative.

“If RE100 were a country, it would be the 23rd largest in terms of electricity use, ahead of Egypt and just behind Thailand,” stated the report.

According to the new report, the 155 members companies of RE100 are creating a demand nearing 188 TWh of renewable power on an yearly basis. As per the report, on an average, these 155 members were sourcing 38 percent of their power from renewables back in 2017. The companies that were included in last year’s analysis have achieved an average of 42 percent renewable electricity in 2017, up from 32 percent in 2016.

The report highlights that 37 out of these 155 companies sourced above 95 percent of their electricity from renewables in 2017, and almost half of the members achieved more than 50 percent. This is not only ahead of the global average of 26.5 percent, but also ahead of leading countries such as Spain (33.7 percent) or the United Kingdom (26 percent).

The average target year for RE100 members to become 100 percent renewable is 2026, and more than three in four companies aim to get there by 2030.

The private sector power usage accounted for two-thirds of the world’s electricity demand last year, the report noted.  RE100 members have a total combined revenue of more than $4.5 trillion which is over 5 percent of global GDP.

In September 2018, Sony Corporation, an electronics and entertainment company, had announced its plans  to join RE 100 ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in San Francisco, United Sates.

Earlier, Mercom reported that Facebook would power all its facilities, including office and data centres, with 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2020.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer