Accenture BlogPodium » Sustainable Performance

Round Table 2011 – Sustainability Performance Management

Jeroen van Heiningen — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:51:17 +0000

On November 16th, Accenture —in conjunction with Ahold— organized last week’s Round Table titled “Sustainability Performance Management: An evaluation of high-performance”. This round table was especially organized for sustainability and finance experts from large Dutch companies. Next to Ahold, the following companies attended: Philips, Heineken, Alliander, KLM, Schiphol, DSM, Wavin, ASML, FrieslandCampina and Sita.

Accenture’s Kees-Jan de Korver and I had the opportunity to present an overview of the current state of —and interactively discuss the key challenges around—Sustainability Performance Management (SPM). Furthermore, during the event Hugo van den Ochtend took us into the world of Ahold by discussing Ahold’s Corporate Responsibility practices. He emphasized the progress and opportunities for improvements and ended with several lessons learned in his journey of Corporate Responsibility.

The current state of SPM
Every three years the United Nations Global Compact surveys its member CEOs around the world. The most recent research in 2010, in conjunction with Accenture, reports that CEOs identify sustainability as a driver for value creation through revenue growth. Over 70 percent of CEOs globally cite brand, trust and reputation as the key motivating factors to take action on sustainability issues, and regard consumer demand as significantly more important in driving sustainability.

The Round Table started with Accenture’s comprehensive definition of Sustainability Performance Management as the process of 1) identifying key social, environmental and economic drivers that influence the success of an organization; 2) establishing an appropriate system to set sustainability goals and then measuring progress against those objectives; and 3) aligning sustainability objectives with other markers of business performance.

SPM enables organizations to deliver on its sustainability ambitions and promises. The majority of organizations are in the starting fase of understanding how sustainability influences business value, acknowledging sustainability issues in qualitative terms and/or measuring environmental and social performance. Because SPM is a path for growth, organizations will achieve greater benefits when integration with regular performance management processes is achieved. This can be realized for example by measuring financial impact of sustainability activities and wider business performance, prioritizing key sustainability issues which contribute to shareholder value and calculate total return to shareholders (TRS).

An effective SPM approach is key to achieve sustainable ‘Sustainability’ results at speed and aligns behavioral incentives with the business and Sustainability priorities. The desired outcome is to support an effective change in behavior that drives Sustainability success.

Interactive session
The interactive session started with a brief look at some key survey results (which was sent upfront) around sustainability objectives, sustainability performance indicators and governance and processes. One of the key findings is that a large majority of the still have limited insight into the concrete value of their sustainability agenda. Another key observation is that companies are willing to let go of a GRI A+ rating ambition if the KPI’s are not directly relevant to the business. The external validation / audit of the GRI factors is however still critical.

During an open debate, the participants exchanged success stories and current challenges, based on several sharp hypotheses regarding sustainability measurement, leveraging assets and aligning stakeholder focus. An enjoyable discussion arose between the participants in which experiences were shared and dilemmas and future perspectives were presented. Primary focus during the debate was around the hypotheses: “To drive value with sustainability, we need to turn sustainability into real numbers” as opinions were divided.

Please click on below visuals for an impression of the Round Table.

Clever ways in using Smart Buildings data

Jeroen van Heiningen — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:11:31 +0000

Although the rise of sustainable office buildings in the Netherlands is noteworthy, the focus of these projects lies mostly on new constructions. There are fewer initiatives to make existing buildings more energy efficient. The main reason is that traditional energy efficient solutions (such as new installations, insulation or renewable energy sources) still have a relatively long return on investment time.

Business cases for sustainable real estate need to have a short ROI time. Optimization of the climate systems can make a significant contribution. Building management systems are controlling climate systems for air conditioning and cooling in buildings. These building systems are often responsible for half of the energy consumption of a building, and actions are only taken in case of failure. Despite such a large contribution to the overall energy consumption, and thereby the costs incurred, these systems are managed primarily on output. For example, in a space that is cooled and heated simultaneously, no alarms will be generated as long as the temperature in that space is correct. Yet, there is unnecessary consumption of energy and an increasing risk of wear and errors.

Managing for Performance
The example above underlines that alarms preventions is the main goals of most technical engineers, not optimization. Lack of capacity, time and (technical) knowledge hinders proactive management. Only in case of failure, action will follow. While good insights will provide profits for the long term, there is a lack of good insight into the actual performance of facilities. Focus on performance, however, demands proper management information. The challenge is to transform the data of current systems into actual controllable and management information. This requires strong analytical tools; tools that identify inefficiencies, which are not -or merely- visible after manual analysis.

With accurate control information, it is possible to better align the use of existing facilities without major investments, renovations and downtime. An energy reduction of 15 to 35 percent can be realized by optimizing building-related air conditioning systems. Since these are the biggest energy consuming systems this contributes to substantial cost reduction. Furthermore, having insight into the actual performance of installations has a positive effect on their availability and reliability. In particular in buildings where climate control systems are crucial (such as in hospitals), the availability and reliability of installations are even more important than energy reduction is.

By using the available systems and installations in smart ways, every building can be a smart building, without any disruption to the occupier.

European Energy: Is the free market economy still playing a role?

Jort Possel — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:27:03 +0000

Recently online newspaper Energeia published below article by Accenture’s Manon van Beek about the current role of the free energy market in Europe. I translated the article from Dutch to English and republish it with their full permission.

The decision by Germany and Italy to phase out the production of nuclear power has generated uncertainties on the goals of the European Union (EU) to achieve emission reductions and energy independence. The difference between the future electricity needs and our ability to meet this need is in fact only increasing. Is the free market economy still playing a role? And what happens now?

The required investment for bridging the gap between the future electricity needs and our ability to meet these needs are up to EUR 3 bln over the next four decades. This is essentially due to the country-specific approach of selecting energy sources and power generation. The relative autonomy of the EU member states has led some critics to question whether market liberalization is still the preferred method to achieve our energy goals. This question, however, ignores one key aspect: market operations are indeed crucial, but can only bring results if it is widely supported on a European level.

Energy security
EU liberalization has mixed results in terms of sustainability objectives, competitiveness and energy security. Europe is on track to achieving the 2020 targets for emission reductions and renewable energy. A more competitive market yielded efficiency and the proportion of ’old’ energy suppliers has fallen to less than one third. On the other hand, only 8% of consumers switched energy suppliers, compared to 20% who have switched from telecom providers or insurers. Also, the liberalization is proven powerless when it comes to lowering consumer prices as a result of fuel decisions.

Competitiveness has depleted the capacity reserves, resulting in a country like the United Kingdom that is below the level needed to deal with fluctuations in consumption. Admittedly, Spain and Italy have increased their energy security, but at huge costs. On average, the dependence on imports of primary energy has increased in EU countries.

Investments
Driven by organic growth and for example the emergence of electric cars -compared to the levels of today- the energy capacity has to be increased with 60% to meet demands in 2050. This has to be realized with stricter emission requirements and with less energy from fossil fuels. Despite the German and Italian decisions, nuclear energy will remain a part of the mix. Europe is facing two expensive options: maintaining the current share of nuclear energy of 30% and go for a 40% share of renewable energy. The other option is a reduction in the share of nuclear power to 20%, which requires an increase in renewable energy to 60% by 2050. Both scenarios imply that the EU needs an estimated EUR 410 billion investment in nuclear power plants and EUR 1.4 bln in renewable energy.

In total, above options for new capacity and replacement of obsolete plants will cost Europe for option 1: EUR 1.75 bln and for option 2: EUR 2.3 bln. And that does not include the additional costs for necessary backup energy, smart grids and transmission networks.

Change is required
It is obvious that all investors need stable incentives and mechanisms to minimize the fluctuation of returns. Indeed, the technical immaturity and the large number of irregularities in the energy sector require a change in the way we plan and support renewable energy. Success will largely depend on whether the market forces continue to do their job or that we intervene at European level to improve market efficiencies.

In recent years, taxpayers have supported a disproportionate expansion of solar energy in Germany, while Spanish citizens had to pay for investments in large wind projects that may have been more efficient in Great Britain. When these imbalances continue to exist on a regional level, they can result in wasted capacity, greater dependence on gas imports and the need for backup power to compensate the fluctuating wind and solar power.

International mechanisms are required
It is about time that our power generation is defined on a rational EU-level by using logic, based on geo climate information. This needs to be done with the backup of the transnational networks. They support the regional markets by dealing with trading surplus energy, capacity shortages and disruptions. Only when we have realized that, will we be able to optimally use the energy we generate, bring back the need for backup fossil fuel and improve the viability of local investments.

This requires the EU to determine the capacity requirements by region in terms of renewable energy, back up energy and interconnections. Therefore international mechanisms are needed, to ensure that risks and rewards of cross-border investments are aligned so that investors are fairly compensated. And if the EU minimizes the emerged local distortions in several countries, they must also play a role in the standardization of indirect incentives such as emission lines and direct performance incentives like feed-in tariffs.

In short: Europe-wide coordination of our energy, capacity planning and incentives can only be successful if players in the private sector open themselves up for greater integration with business colleagues and competitors. Greater EU intervention does not mean that market forces should withdraw, but that it can be successful with an effective framework.

The New Energy Consumer

Jort Possel — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:56:30 +0000

How can utilities/electricity providers differentiate electricity management programs? How much value do consumers place on smart home technologies, mobile applications and nontraditional channels? And are consumers interested in the delivery of energy management programs through third parties?

The utilities industry is currently faced with a broad range of perspectives on what utilities/electricity providers should focus on beyond the meter. Accenture’s experience working around the world with utilities/electricity providers and our ongoing global end-consumer research program has shown that no one approach fits for all providers, but certain market trends are emerging. To help utilities/electricity providers meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the evolving energy marketplace, Accenture launched a multi-year global research program aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of consumers’ attitudes, opinions and preferences toward energy management programs.

Multiyear global research

To further our understanding of the new energy consumer landscape, we have completed the second installment in our multiyear research program titled: Revealing the Values of the New Energy Consumer. The survey probed consumer attitudes toward electricity management programs and the beyond-the-meter market by researching questions including: “What are the energy consumer’s traditional and nontraditional values surrounding in-home technologies, electricity management programs, and related products and services?”

The second installment of the research provided us with four key findings:

While consumers regard their utilities as the primary provider for energy-related products and services, dynamic business models are emerging.
73 percent of consumers would consider at least one provider other than their utility for these products and services.
Price is the pivotal factor in the acceptance of electricity management programs, but price alone will not drive adoption.
The opportunity to reduce the electricity bill remains the most important fact that would encourage consumers to adopt an electricity management program. Loyalty rewards represent the most important nonprice consideration, while usage adjustment is the least important.
A wide array of consumer preferences is driving the need for differentiated propositions and experiences.
For example: Service-centrics are more likely than the average consumer to be dissatisfied by a program with poor customer support and poor product installation, and have the highest preference for dealing with their utilities/electricity providers.
Consumers will respond to programs that consider their full spectrum of values and preferences.
60 percent of all consumers are interested in technology that can completely automate the management of the electricity they use.

Implications

Consumers (still) prefer traditional utilities/electricity providers, but new beyond-the-meter products and services offer new opportunities for alternative providers. According to the published report, more than 60 percent of consumers are above average interested in energy management programs, exhibit the willingness to pay more for easy to use programs and comfort. Although the price is most considerable for most consumers, as more consumers gain access to smart in-home technologies, the offered service by providers is becoming increasingly important.

The findings of this report highlight four critical implications for utilities/electricity providers as they seek to address the evolving energy marketplace:

Make information the new currency: focus on analytics to gain a deeper understanding of consumers. So providers will need the ability to understand their customers, develop tailored products and services and bundle these with value propositions that will resonate with their target consumer segments.
Embed innovation into customer operations: use an analytics-driven understanding of consumer segments to develop tailored products and services.
The traditional commodity service may no longer be at the heart of utilities’/electricity providers’ offering set, but just one component of a whole range of services making up the entire product offer.
Redefine the meaning of “consumer”: address the service and channel requirements of all consumer segments.
While consumers have traditionally been defined as a “bill payer attached to a fixed premise” consuming energy, tomorrow’s providers must think of them as much more than just the bill payer.
Rethink traditional business models to maximize value: navigate the evolving energy marketplace.
As providers around the world respond to the challenges and opportunities of industry convergence, they will also need to transform their operating models to be more consumer-focused, agile and flexible enough to meet the changing consumer needs.

In the future providers need to make the important choice to become a price fighter or a ‘quality service energy provider’ offering related services on top of the traditional products and services. The choice needs to be made fast, because consumers are already considering providers (like retailers and online providers) other than their utility for purchasing both electricity and beyond-the-meter products and services. Utilities that embrace the perceptions and behaviors of their consumers will ultimately generate the most value in the evolving energy marketplace.

For more insights and information about the New Energy Consumer, please take a look at our published report ‘Revealing the Values of the New Energy Consumer’. For information about the first installment of the research, please visit ‘Understanding Consumer Preferences in Energy Efficiency’.

Consumers perception on Plug-in Electric Vehicles

Jort Possel — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:07:10 +0000

PEVs (plug-in electric vehicles) have received much attention and support from governments and industry alike and are therefore a potential game changer in the realm of transport fuel technologies. As industry players monitor how the electrification of transport evolves, one of the key fronts to watch is the battle between PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) and full EVs. As stated in one of my previous posts, the battle between full EVs and PHEVs will not just be determined by technology, but by consumers’ perceptions and preferences. If drivers do not break out of ingrained habits or alter their perceptions, the popularity of PHEVs could hold back the adoption of full EVs.

Large potential for Plug-in electic vehicles

According to the global survey by Accenture of over 7000 people in 13 countries, 58 percent of drivers are in favor of plug-in EVs replacing conventional cars over time. In reality, today’s cars will be with us for the long haul, not least because of their improved engine efficiency and higher biofuels consumption. Consumers are strongly aware of the emergence of PEVs, but our research shows that they require more information before they are in a position to make purchase decisions.

In the Netherlands, 41% of Dutch consumers consider buying a plug-in EV withing 3 years for their next car purchase. They want to charge at home, at the office, on parkinglots and be free to charge at a time that suits them. They prefer to purchase a car and battery instead of leasing them. They are not in favor of battery swapping. They want to enjoy a similar driving and “tank-filling” experience as they do with today’s conventional cars (powercharging). All these preferences show that convenience, range improvements and charging facilities are key to motivate consumers to purchase a PEV.

“Pilots have shown that preconceptions about convenience and use are cleared when a consumer experience how it feels to ride in an electric car. Moreover, the perception of consumers still need to be changed before all costs can be compared between conventional cars and plug-in EVs.”
- Mark Schütz, Senior Manager at Accenture Netherlands.

Purchase cost: no key factor for Plug-in electic vehicles

The industry consensus is that the purchase cost of PEVs is the main barrier to adoption. The survey results suggest that while purchase cost is a key factor, it is not the only key factor for many consumers today. When consumers make decisions regarding electric vehicles, they place different levels of importance on different components. The most important factor is the cost of charging the battery compared to filling a tank of a conventional car (25 percent). Followed by the availability of gasoline/diesel back-up (24 percent), Charging time for an empty battery (22 percent), The total cost of purchase and maintainance compared to a conventional car (15 percent) and the time when to charge (14 percent). This counterintuitive result may reflect consumers’ preoccupation with other issues that might fade in significance once consumers develop a fuller understanding of PEVs.

Other insights included in the research are:

Consumers’ preferences for charging PEVs will challenge utilities and charging network providers
Purchase price is not the only key factor of PEV adoption: utilities, city authorities and service providers will have to address concerns for convenience, range anxiety and the fuel source of electricity
Consumers strongly prefer plug-in hybrid EVs over full EVs
Utilities face a retail challenge, as consumers are open to buying charging services from other providers

Accenture’s study reveals consumers’ motivations for switching to PEVs and addresses two issues: whether consumers are open to changing their driving-related perceptions, preferences and habits, and what actions industry stakeholders can take amid the uncertain outlook for PEVs. For more information, please take a look at our press release (in Dutch) and recent report: ‘Plug-in electric vehicles: changing perceptions, hedging bets’.

Amsmarterdam City 2011

Jort Possel — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:16:49 +0000

As strategic partner of Amsterdam Innovation Motor (AIM) since 2009, Accenture brings together utilities and city authorities who are committed to deploying smart electric grids. By accelerating the deployment of smart grids and allowing cities to exchange experience on their efforts, we strive to improve the efficiency and carbon footprint of Amsterdam.

Recently the AIM published their book titled ‘Smart Stories’, about tangible innovative solutions in and around Amsterdam. With real-life smart projects i.e. ‘Zuidas Solar Challenge’ and ‘Climate street’, a substantial number of projects (16 in total) have been implemented over a period of 2 years of unique partnerships between the people of Amsterdam, businesses, knowledge institutions and local authorities; all set up with the aim of showing how energy savings can be enhanced now and in the future.

With projects in the fields of Working, Living, Mobility and Public Space; Accenture’s Dutch head office in Amsterdam the ITO Tower was one of the five projects in the category ‘Sustainable Working’. In alignment with our sustainability core value, we implemented a number of activities over a period of 18 months, including extensive consultations with the building manager and owners on the implementation of a variety of suitable sustainable measures. By installing 300 LED lights, 6 smart technologies and 360 smart plugs, we realized: 72% energy saving by LED, 18% energy reduction by switching off devices automatically and 16% savings on office prints.

Amsterdam Smart City is closely linked to the Amsterdam Climate Program, which states clear climate goals for the City of Amsterdam to reduce carbon emissions and encourage change in the energy consumption of the citizens. Because cities are the world’s major source of carbon emissions, they must play a leadership role in energy management and electricity consumption by uniting the private and public sectors. “We chose Accenture for its innovative thinking in helping city authorities and utilities come together in responding to climate change challenges, as well as its expertise in smart-grid and smart-metering technologies.”, said Joke van Antwerpen, director of the Amsterdam Innovation Motor.

Acceleration in innovation

Accenture Intelligent City Network’s role is to facilitate this integration and to build and manage the intelligent infrastructure that will transform the urban environment. We’re bringing utilities and cities together to accelerate smart-grid deployment, because city authorities are in the best position to coordinate the many stakeholders involved in the fight against carbon emissions and to transform the energy consumption habits of local communities. Next to this the Amsterdam Smart City initiative has accelerated Accenture’s own sustainability ambitions: 15% of the 100 LEAFs (new plug-in electric vehicles) that recently came to Amsterdam, are driven by Accenture personnel.

For more information about innovative projects, please visit the Amsterdam Innovation Motor website or http://www.amsterdamsmartcity.nl

CFO Day 2011 – Corporate Sustainability & Outsourcing

Jeroen van Heiningen — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:55:14 +0000

With over 530 participants and 350 CFOs attending and top speakers including former Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers and former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Yvo de Boer; CFO Day, last week’s event for financial leaders in the Netherlands had it’s 10th anniversary. The theme for this event was ‘Value Driven Corporate Sustainability’, a topic that increasingly has become a Boardroom theme.

On behalf of Gold partner Accenture, Bart van der Mark and I had the opportunity to present our (interactive) session titled ‘The role of the CFO in integrating sustainability in the organization’, about the role of the CFO, the value of sustainable performance management and a free format discussion about the role of sustainability in outsourcing programs.

Corporate Sustainability

We started with Accenture’s comprehensive definition of sustainability: “The way an organization, on its path to high performance, creates value for its stakeholders by leveraging its assets and capabilities to drive innovation and profitable growth through striving for a positive economic, environmental, and social impact”.

Sustainability goals are becoming more ambitious and are directly related to innovation, growth and cost reduction. Companies are shifting from strategy to execution to maximize value from the Sustainability Agenda. According to the UN Global Compact CEO study 2010, 96% of CEO’s worldwide want sustainability to be fully integrated in their strategy and operations (up from 72% in 2007). Currently the role of the CFO with regard to sustainable performance is limited, but with the increasing need to get a better grip on sustainable results, this role gains in importance. Sustainability is no longer limited to being a requirement for external reporting, but as a driver for innovation and growth impacting the business agenda on all levels. The development of a robust sustainability performance management process is a crucial enabler in this for monitoring, reporting and driving actions. The CFO plays an essential role in several critical sustainability areas including:

Define sustainability targets, KPI’s and metrics
Ensure auditable Sustainability Quality Assurance processes
Integrate financial and non financial agenda
Balance sustainability within the investment portfolio

Outsourcing

The second half of the session (the interactive part) revolved around the key question: “What effect does moving activities have on a carbon footprint and what other economic and social factors play a part in this?”. With polls and statements including “outsourcing always has a significant impact on CO2 performance” and “the sustainability agenda for outsourcing needs to look beyond CO2 reduction”, the audience was asked to participate, discuss and share their point of view on the impact of outsourcing.

The impact of outsourcing heavily depends on the type of industry and outsourcing. As Outsourcing inherently leads to a shift of Carbon emissions from a company’s own operations (scope 1 and 2) to its suppliers (scope 3), it not only impacts the environmental performance of that company, but it can also lead to a reduced control of carbon emissions over the entire value chain. Depending on your outsourcing partner this can be an opportunity or threat. A partner can play several roles in supporting a companies sustainability targets by i.e. providing environmental data to support (external) reporting, support the company in achieving its environmental goals or even set-up joint programs to maximize positive impact on the local community. This role of outsourcing partners is currently not being recognized extensively in the selection of Outsourcing partners. Therefore sustainability needs to be paired with outsourcing programs.

Accenture is planning to organize a round-table session in September 2011 about “Sustainability as a driver for growth and innovation” with inspiring stories per industry, an interactive session among peers and insight in sustainability data. For further information about Sustainability, Outsourcing or (to register for) the round-table session, please contact:

Jeroen van Heiningen
Head of Sustainability Services Netherlands
Management Consulting
jeroen.van.heiningen@accenture.com

Bart van der Mark
Senior Manager BPO
Business Process Outsourcing
bart.van.der.mark@accenture.com

Sustainability 24 – One day to set the agenda for business

Jeroen van Heiningen — Tue, 10 May 2011 10:15:37 +0000

Only two weeks left and Sustainability 24 will kick-off on Wednesday May 25th 2011.

Sustainability 24 is a unique opportunity to discover how modern sustainable business practices are helping organizations achieve high performance. During this live virtual event, business and local government leaders will demonstrate how sustainability can be embedded throughout an organization to drive efficiencies, cost savings, and differentiation in their markets through innovation.

Throughout the live broadcast you’ll be able to join sessions with a variety of leaders from all over the world as they debate and discuss key themes such as Intelligent Cities, Smart Solutions, Sustainable Operations, Energy Innovation, Sustainable Growth and Renewables all of which are major issues when it comes to tackling key concerns around the sustainability agenda. It’s an exciting and unique format for sharing ideas with a global audience, leveraging the latest in collaborative technology to minimize our carbon footprint and maximize the debate.

Join in the debate during this truly unique live and virtual gathering to discover how modern sustainable business practices can help your organization achieve high performance. To register (required) or for further information about Sustainability 24, the live schedule and speakers, please visit http://www.accenture.com/sustainability24 and don’t forget to join us on Facebook and Linkedin.

This event will be fully streamed through your computer, including audio.

Making Amsterdam smarter

Maikel van Verseveld — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:07:33 +0000

Each city is unique from a geographic, demographic and economic standpoint. Consequently, cities are not equal when it comes to their impact on the environment, positive or negative. Accenture believes that the cities that will thrive in this era are what we call “Intelligent Cities”. Intelligent Cities are cities that are capable of achieving and maintaining two important goals simultaneously:

Reducing the negative impact of people and businesses on the environment, and running government and services in a sustainable fashion; and
Creating an attractive economic and social environment for growth in which citizens, companies and government live, work and interact. An open, intelligent infrastructure and integrated management will be essential to create a city that is able to compete effectively for people, resources,businesses and investments.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is in the midst of an ambitious program to become the first Intelligent City in Europe. The goal of the project is to develop and implement sustainable and cost-effective programs that will help Amsterdam reduce its carbon footprint while exceeding the carbon reduction targets. Accomplishing these objectives involves bringing together various technologies and approaches that include smart meters, smart grid, electric vehicles, and intelligent building design to promote energy efficiency in all economic sectors. The program actually has three primary objectives in terms of environmental impact:

A 40 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2025 (twice the European objective);
Reliance on 20 percent renewable energy by 2015;
And achieving total CO2 neutrality by 2015.

The city began with a two-year program to be implemented in three phases. The first of the city’s smart grid measures was launched in 2009. Smart meter installations were included within the first phase of work, along with an innovation called “Climate Street.” This area (within the popular Utrechtsestraat shopping and dining area) features sustainable waste collection, numerous energy generating tram stops and highly efficient streetlights. City managers are able to monitor energy consumption on Climate Street through the use of smart meters and to share their findings with business owners.

Looking at the citizen outcomes to be produced from the initiative, four are primary:

Sustainable living: Reducing carbon emissions generated by citizens through awareness programs, supporting behavior changes, and encouraging energy efficiency through technologies such as smart meters.
Sustainable working: Reducing carbon emissions generated by businesses by increasing building efficiency and by adopting “smart building” technologies that can reduce the carbon intensity of business processes.
Sustainable mobility: Reducing carbon emissions from transportation by increasing the percentage of vehicles with a lower carbon footprint (e.g., electric vehicles), and by changing transportation patterns and behaviors.
Sustainable public spaces: Reducing emissions associated with public spaces by, for example, installing more energy-efficient lighting.

Apart from Amsterdam and the Climate Street our research and experience highlight many pioneering cities around the world that are engaged in innovative initiatives to improve their competitiveness and attractiveness to citizens. For example, Singapore (which is already a global leader in public transportation usage) has set a target by which, by 2020, residents will make 70 percent of all morning peak-hour trips on public transportation, with at least 85 percent of public transportation commuters completing their journey within 60 minutes.

But let’s not forget where we started: Every city is different and, therefore, there is not one “correct” way to go about developing the suite of capabilities necessary to become an Intelligent City. Given the influence of cities on the health of the planet, the Intelligent City agenda has importance for all citizens, regardless of where they live. For further information about how new strategies, technologies, open platforms and effective governance can help create Intelligent Cities, please visit https://microsite.accenture.com/sustainability/research_and_insights/Pages/Building-Managing-Intelligent-City.aspx.

What challenges do you think Amsterdam will face becoming the first Intelligent City in Europe? And what is your favorite Intelligent City in the world?

Creating a PEV market model in the Netherlands

Maikel van Verseveld — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:29:59 +0000

Click to view full size PEV market model

Recently Accenture conducted a study for two Dutch energy organizations to design the market model for Plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging infrastructure in the public domain. The market players involved realized the importance of stakeholder input (from traditional utility players to car manufacturers and fleet owners) to create a widely supported market model. Therefore, we conducted the study, consulting 43 companies and organizations from eight different industries, to gauge their preferences and insights.

Important outcomes from the broad consultation included:

The widely accepted condition that customers must have easy and full access to charging spots in the public space.
Customers from abroad must have access to those charging spots.
A strong preference for an open market, which would include giving a variety of providers access to one charging station and would enable wide customer choice with regard to payment methods, including ATM cards, “cash-on-a-card” (pre-paid payment cards) and other methods.

Based on the information gathered, a preferred market model was selected. The market model is in many ways comparable with the market model used in the telecommunications industry. It describes the segregation between ownership, local operation (operator) and charging services (provider) at the charging spot. Within this model, the charge spot operator is responsible for operating the charging point and for settlement. The operator is also responsible for granting access to the charging station. The provider, in turn is (as in the telecommunications industry), responsible for the customer. The provider has a contract with the customer offering full access to charging spots, and is responsible for cost settlement with both the customer and the operator.

The model is an extension of the current market model in the Dutch energy sector, which offers optimal service and freedom of choice of energy supplier for the customer. It is expected to stimulate new market entrants to participate in the electrification of transport as it supports access to all, therefore supporting competition and innovation.

For further information about PEVs, PEV landscapes, pilots and business models visit: http://www.accenture.com/nl-en/Pages/insight-changing-game-plug-in-electric-vehicle-pilots.aspx or download our published research report titled: Changing the Game: Plug-in Electric Vehicle Pilots.