How to build public trust in a sustainable energy future

The authors assert that the transition to a sustainable energy future requires collaboration across the entire ecosystem, as 25% of potential emissions reductions by 2050 depend on cooperation between energy suppliers and customers. To secure public trust, which is linked to financial performance, companies should articulate clear goals, implement concrete sustainability actions—such as adopting green cloud solutions or investing in carbon capture—and maintain transparency through regular external reporting and the use of carbon-intensity indicators.

• Collaboration between energy suppliers and their customers is critical for climate goals, with Accenture's analysis indicating that 25% of potential emissions reductions achievable by 2050, or more than 10 GT per year, depend on this cooperation.
• Public trust is directly linked to a company's financial performance; according to Accenture’s Competitive Agility Index, a loss in trust can result in a decline of nearly 10% in EBITA growth.
• Companies can achieve significant carbon reductions through digital transformation, specifically by migrating to "greener cloud" solutions, which can lower on-premise enterprise IT-related carbon emissions by up to 84% and reduce IT infrastructure total cost of ownership by up to 40%.
• Energy companies are encouraged to take specific actions to support the transition, including investing in renewable electricity, biofuels, energy storage, green gases like hydrogen or biogas, and carbon sinks via nature-based solutions or carbon capture use and storage (CCUS).
• Transparency in the energy transition involves the regular external publication of progress and the use of tools like carbon-intensity indicators to evaluate the average greenhouse gas emissions of energy products on a full life-cycle basis.

APA

Pouyanné, J. S. P. (2021). How to build public trust in a sustainable energy future. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-build-public-trust-in-a-sustainable-energy-future/

Chicago

Pouyanné, Julie Sweet, Patrick. How to build public trust in a sustainable energy future. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-build-public-trust-in-a-sustainable-energy-future/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Pouyanné |first1=Julie Sweet, Patrick |title=How to build public trust in a sustainable energy future |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=3 May 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-build-public-trust-in-a-sustainable-energy-future/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{pouyann2021how, author = {Pouyanné, Julie Sweet, Patrick}, title = {{How to build public trust in a sustainable energy future}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/how-to-build-public-trust-in-a-sustainable-energy-future/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }