Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.

Through Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.’s Net Zero Consortium for Buyers (NZCB), seven world-leading companies have signed an aggregated virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Southern Company for the renewable energy credits produced by the 180 MW Phase II portion of the Millers Branch Solar Facility in Haskell County, Texas. This long-term procurement enables the financing and development of the 180 MW solar project owned by SPC, and the project is expected to achieve commercial operation in the second quarter of 2026. Cisco, Juniper Networks, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Cadence Design Systems, IDEXX, PTC, and a large healthcare company joined this agreement, which democratizes access to the commercial and environmental benefits of utility-scale renewable energy by making procurement accessible to a broader range of enterprises. This aggregation is one of the largest peer-buyer organized aggregations to date globally. Today's announcement reflects the fact that the NZCB has achieved 86% of its goal of causing a gigawatt of new renewable energy capacity before 2025. Reaching NZCB’s gigawatt goal would generate enough energy to meet the annual average electricity needs of more than 200,000 U.S. homes while helping mitigate commercial Scope 2 emissions across the business operations of corporate buyers. This transaction demonstrates how the NZCB offers a breakthrough model for commercial collaboration in causing utility-scale renewables, beginning in North America and Europe. 

We’re excited to attend the Sustainable Brands flagship this year, where innovation meets sustainability. SR Inc has spent over 15 years partnering with Fortune 500 and global growth companies to help leaders set ambitious sustainability goals, drive progress, and deliver results. At the conference, we look forward to exploring the latest innovations across technology, materials science, supply chain management, and more. We’re committed to investigating how these advancements can fuel sustainable business growth, enhance brand value, and create lasting environmental and social impact. Will you be attending #SB24SanDiego? Please reach out to Anna Whitney to connect at the event. #Sustainability #InnovativeSolutions #BreakthroughInnovation

We're thrilled to welcome Brianna Jefferson as our newest Sustainable Business & Enterprise Roundtable Analyst! Brianna joins with abundant sustainability experience. Academically, she earned her Master’s in Environment and Sustainability Management from Georgetown and her Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies with distinction from Yale, where she minored in Energy and French. (She also furthers the SR Inc athletic roster, having captained the Varsity Squash team!) Professionally, she served as a Capstone Consultant at Flow Environmental Systems, where she assisted with their total addressable market analysis and conducted research on the health and environmental impacts of PFAS. She also interned in investment banking and sustainable agriculture, focusing on global food systems. She’s excited to apply her academic and professional sustainability experience to her role as a Sustainable Business & Enterprise Roundtable Analyst. Brianna will support Member-Clients with decarbonization roadmaps, renewable energy strategies, sustainability reporting, and other outsourced program assistance while contributing to SBER’s best practice guidance and tools with the Research & Content function. Welcome, Brianna! We’re glad you’re here and can’t wait to work together. #Sustainability #Team #SBER

Kelsey Misbrener’s new article in Solar Power World highlights how SR Inc’s Net Zero Consortium for Buyers helps companies like Akamai Technologies, Teradyne, and Wayfair to mitigate emissions through a new transaction, VPPA 2.0. The piece explains: ☀ How NZCB’s aggregated procurement model helps companies overcome the VPPA challenges typically posed by modest energy loads ☀How Prairie Solar’s location in a carbon-intensive grid will make this 135-MW offtake particularly impactful ☀ How the transaction will advance Wayfair’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction goals Anna Vinogradova, head of sustainability and ESG for Wayfair, shared, “We are proud to be part of our second aggregated virtual power purchase agreement in North America...Partnerships like the NZCB harness collaboration to unlock ambitious opportunities for companies to contribute to a cleaner environment.” #CleanEnergy #Sustainability #VPPAs #VPPA2.0

On Thursday, October 10th, SR Inc CEO James Boyle will speak at the ESG in Life Sciences Summit in Boston — the world’s first industry-specific forum focused on ESG and sustainability challenges in life sciences. During the "Democratizing Utility-Scale Clean Energy" session, Jim will dive into how SR Inc works with Member-Clients to guide them through innovative aggregated Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPA) — which we now call VPPA 2.0. The VPPA 2.0 allows off takers to aggregate their renewable energy procurement through its optimization of transaction process and structure. SR Inc manages the process from options evaluation through disciplined reverse auctions, negotiations, and deal closure. SR Inc’s VPPA 2.0 democratizes access to utility-scale renewable energy while ensuring auditable, risk-managed procurement for cautious corporations. Join Jim at the conference and strengthen your strategy as a truly sustainable business. Don't miss out on this crucial discussion for driving ESG impact in life sciences! #Sustainability #CleanEnergy #VPPA2 #VPPAs

Darrell Proctor’s new piece in POWER magazine explains how SR Inc’s Net Zero Consortium for Buyers’ latest utility-scale clean energy procurement provides further proof of concept for VPPA 2.0, a new transaction that democratizes utility-scale clean energy procurement. “Akamai, Teradyne, and Wayfair’s aggregated procurement is a marquee example of the VPPA 2.0. This new financial transaction optimizes the conventional VPPA process and transaction structure in transformative ways,” SR Inc CEO Jim Boyle explains in Power Mag. “It unlocks the utility-scale clean energy and storage market for the more than 95% of corporations not large enough to independently cause utility-scale projects.” Check out Proctor's full article for more details on how #VPPA2.0 works and how it could prove integral to achieving COP28’s 2030 commitments. Congratulations to Akamai Technologies, Teradyne, and Wayfair for their work on this procurement. Thanks to James Boyle, David Osborn, Brittany Nammour, Jeff Meltzer, and Julia Rothfield for coordinating an auditable reverse auction centered on buyers’ collective needs through the NZCB. #CleanEnergy #Sustainability #VPPAs

Thank you so much to Member-Clients Nell Triplett, Director of Sustainability at Juniper Networks, and James Goudreau, Head of Global Environmental Sustainability Operations at Takeda, for their enlightening contributions at the Sustainable Business and Enterprise Roundtable (SBER)’s Q3 Executive Symposium, an official #ClimateWeekNYC24 event. All the Member-Clients who gathered at the Library Hotel built on Nell and Jim’s contributions with convivial and stimulating discussion. We know how busy the fall (not to mention Climate Week) can be, so we are thrilled that our in-person and virtual attendees took time from their packed schedules to attend. Many thanks to Julia Rothfield, our Manager of Research & Advisory Services, and Rochelle Martin, our summer intern from Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment, for their work on Scope 1 Decarbonization Strategy. Thanks also to Senior Analyst Alison Millman for her five-step process on Gaining Internal Buy-In for Decarbonization Initiatives. Your work integrating Member-Client contributions into case-based executive guidance and tools grounded the day’s events in actionable insight. With our Q3 Symposium completed, our team continues working on our member-chartered research to build towards the Summit for Sustainable Business VIII: Decarbonizing Corporate Global Operations. #Sustainability #SBER #ItsTime

What do U.S. companies with substantial European Union (EU) business need to know about the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)? Dave Duncan, Vice President of Sustainability at PTC, explains the nuances behind this important question in his recent byline for Advanced Manufacturing. His article covers topics including: 📒 When non-EU companies with substantial EU business must begin reporting for CSRD - and when they need to start to get ready in time 🧠 What corporate sustainability leaders should keep in mind as they work towards filling CSRD requirements 🖇 How other reporting frameworks affect CSRD preparation ⚡ How to meet emissions reduction targets Dave’s piece offers a succinct introduction to many factors US-based companies should consider. We’ve been pleased to work with Dave and the rest of his team at PTC as they collaborate with SR Inc’s Sustainable Business and Enterprise Roundtable to set goals, drive progress, and report results for their sustainability program. Check out his article, “What You Need to Know About CSRD,” on Advanced Manufacturing! SME Media: Manufacturing Engineering Mag, Smart Manufacturing Mag, AdvancedManufacturing.org #CSRD #sustainability

SR Inc is thrilled to announce that Member-Clients Akamai Technologies, Teradyne, and Wayfair are mitigating their emissions with clean energy procurement through the Net Zero Consortium for Buyers (NZCB)! This aggregated Virtual Power Purchase Agreement exemplifies NZCB’s innovative new transaction type, VPPA 2.0. In this deal, Akamai Technologies, Teradyne, and Wayfair purchased renewable energy credits covering 135 megawatts of the Prairie Solar project in Champaign County, Illinois. What distinguishes VPPA 2.0? 1. It democratizes clean energy procurement: By aggregating multiple buyers, NZCB helps companies with modest energy loads to engage in utility-scale energy procurement they couldn’t otherwise access 2. It causes new renewable energy projects: By purchasing energy attribute certificates in the same contract that covers the project’s development and operations cost, NZCB buyers cause new clean energy development 3. It maximizes emissions impact: By causing new clean energy on carbon-intensive grids like in Southern Illinois, NZCB buyers target their clean energy procurement to help replace fossil-intensive traditional energy with renewables SR Inc congratulates Mike Mattera at Akamai, Rich Lupien and Debra Pulpi at Teradyne, Anna Vinogradova at Wayfair, and all their teams on their work on this momentous procurement. We look forward to following the project’s development as it targets a commercial launch in 2025! #VPPA2.0 #decarbonization #Scope2 #cleanenergy

How can Directors of Sustainability secure the stakeholder support needed to progress toward their decarbonization goals? Nell Triplett will address this question this Thursday at SR Inc’s Q3 Executive Symposium. She will introduce this quarter’s installment of SR Inc’s annually chartered, membership-based research with insight from her experience leading Juniper Networks to impactful decarbonization action. Nell will discuss: 🍃 Her three keys to securing executive buy-in for decarbonization and energy efficiency measures 🍃Top lessons learned from over two years establishing a global sustainability function SR Inc has supported Nell for years as she led Juniper Networks from its carbon neutrality commitments to SBTi-validated Science-Based Targets (SBTs). Most recently, her experience designing and executing against a roadmap for near-term SBTs informed “Gaining Buy-In for Decarbonization Initiatives,” the SR Inc best-practice executive guidance and tools that her talk will introduce. Thank you, Nell, for your impactful decarbonization work! We’re excited to hear from you on Thursday.