Audax 2021? Always energy for sustainability. Now also in the name
by Francesco Calabretta - Cluster Lead Hungary & Italy
Among the many Days that now crowd the calendar, May 15 seems to be dedicated to World Climate Change. I say “seems” because I discovered its existence when I started working between the Italian and Hungarian offices of Audax Energia. In fact, it is precisely in the latter country that the initiative finds a certain resonance, considering that the rest of the world celebrated World Earth Day only a few weeks earlier, on April 22.
Whether they are more or less global, these opportunities are designed for keep attention alive and remind us of the catastrophic consequences we face if we do not act promptly.
An issue that after years of uncertainty and contradictory opinions seems to have finally entered the agendas of governments and supranational organizations, with measurable consequences and not only on the basis of multilateral agreements, often disregarded. I am referring, for example, to the European Union and the concrete initiatives it is building such as the Green Deal, the Green Taxonomy and, last but not least, the huge resources of the now well-known Recovery Fund of which a significant portion is dedicated to projects related to sustainability and the mitigation of the effects of climate change.
Global finance itself is increasingly directing its investment choices towards companies that have environmental sustainability as a strategic pillar of their action. Already at the beginning of 2020, I was struck by how this awareness, in itself rather recent, already appeared well-rooted. In particular, according to the opinions of over 700 analysts and protagonists of the global economy interviewed by Global Risk Report 2020 it emerged that the first five positions of greatest risk were occupied precisely by events related to the environment and to climate change. In the Report 2021 the environment still occupies 4 positions; a fifth – as can be imagined – concerns the spread of diseases.
Another significant piece of data comes from the “green bonds” of companies operating in sectors related to sustainability. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (data referring to 2019), there were 465 billion dollars of sustainable debt issued worldwide, with an increase of 78% compared to the previous year. In this context, Audax Renovables was a clear example with 315 million euros of “green” and convertible bonds issued in 2020 alone.
And the'energy – as is known – is among those responsible for the current situation and therefore also the main positive protagonist of a “green revolution”. Only with an intervention on energy sources, abandoning fossil fuels to move towards renewable ones carbon neutral it is possible to modify the existing and mitigate its negative effects. Otherwise it will be difficult to reverse the trend. Some recent data from theInternational Energy Agency (IEA), they tell us that CO emissions2 energy-related will grow by almost 5%, reaching 33 billion tons. An increase in which the weight of coal is felt, whose demand is expected to rise by 4.5%.
However, these less than comforting data correspond to others definitely better. In 2021 it is expected that renewable sources will contribute 30% to global electricity production, even better than the already flattering 27% of 2019.
Numbers that make sense to the our work and to the our beliefs: provide energy that is completely carbon neutral and coming from RES. And this is thanks to the agreements with those who produce this energy (through innovative contractual forms such as PPAs), but also and above all, thanks to direct investment in wind and photovoltaic parks scattered throughout Europe and beyond. Because this is the main objective to which we do not stop striving both at the Group level and at the individual entities of the 8 countries in which Audax is present.
I come, therefore, to clarify the meaning of the title of this intervention of mine. The 100% of “green” energy supplied today finally finds a complete expression: Audax loses “Energy” to become Audax Renewables. In Italy as in other markets, with the sole exception of Spain, where it maintains the name of Audax Renovables; different idioms that, however, mean the same commitment.
Because the time has come for align brand-mission-values. Or if you prefer, finally make “what we call ourselves”, what “we are” and what “we believe in” coincide. With renewable and sustainable energy as the common denominator.
