Operationalizing the Energy Transition for an Integrated Major
An integrated energy company had clearly defined its Energy Transition strategy and was seeking support to operationalize the strategy in one of its operating regions. The company acknowledged that its governance structures and decision processes needed to evolve in the context of the Energy Transition. These included capital allocation processes and approvals for Energy Transition projects.
Carnrite was engaged to conduct an assessment of existing governance structures and processes vis-à-vis the company’s stated Energy Transition strategies, ambitions, and priorities. Following the assessment, Carnrite recommended a series of targeted modifications.
Approach
Our small team conducted targeted interviews to understand current ways of working, priorities to drive sustainability principles throughout the organization, and strengths and weaknesses of current governance structures. We also used the opportunity to solicit feedback from this cross-section of the organization about what had worked well during the rollout of the company’s Energy Transition strategy, as well as what could be improved in the future. In parallel, we assessed existing processes, decision rights, performance metrics, and criteria used to make key decisions in the context of the company’s sustainability strategy and priorities.
Armed with this information, we made a series of recommendations, each with a defined business case, to evolve the sustainability governance model. We also prepared a report summarizing our findings from the assessment, including observations about:
- Roles and responsibilities for achieving Energy Transition goals
- Integration of Energy Transition priorities into processes
- Decision rights for decarbonization and low carbon investments
- Performance metrics and performance management
- Mechanisms to measure and assure progress
Business Impact
Working in partnership with the client’s sustainability lead and other key stakeholders, we developed a framework that became the foundation of the sustainability governance structure. The framework included expectations, roles, and responsibilities for sustainability for all levels of the organization. Subsequently, a series of fit-for-purpose guidance documents and standards were developed to communicate and implement sustainability principles into existing ways of working.