Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  April 22, 2022 - By Alexandra Failla, Smart Energy Decisions

Celebrating Earth Day with SED's 1st Sustainability Report

This Earth Day, Smart Energy Decisions is proud to be the first energy focused business-to-business media company to release its own Sustainability Report, showcasing progress across three key sustainability dimensions: environmental, social, and governance.

Our goals to shape SED’s sustainability strategy, establish an emissions inventory, and find opportunities for efficiencies, innovation, and risk management were outlined in the 18-page report that was released at our Innovation Summit in March 2022.  

In the report, we highlight how helping others navigate the energy transition is central to the mission and values of SED, discuss the markets we serve and our stakeholder engagement strategy, and detail SED’s sustainability initiatives and opportunities for improvement through the ESG framework covering environmental, social and governance factors.

SED’s first Sustainability Report focuses on the elements of our business we believe offer the most significant opportunities for positive impact. These topics were selected after thoughtful consideration of our stakeholder priorities, and their alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Environmental
The 2021 emissions analysis included an emissions inventory from one in-person event due to COVID travel restrictions. As we are planning four in-person events in 2022, we will use the 2022 emissions inventory as our baseline upon which to measure future reductions.

Our GHG emissions inventory helps us to better understand our impact. Because we do not own or operate office space & machinery, SED has no Scope 1 emissions, and Scope 2 emissions are limited to purchased office electricity. Nearly all our emissions are Scope 3, which consists of business travel, purchased goods and services, professional services, and waste generated in operations at events.

A few environmental opportunities for improvement include:

• Research options to offset Smart Energy Decisions’ event-related carbon emissions
• Explore available options for attendees to offset their carbon emissions from travel

Waste
We have evaluated our waste and recycling practices from our in-person events at partnering hotels and plan to implement changes to our waste management program, some of which opportunities include:

• Reduce single-use plastic at events, both on stage and during meals
• Deploy clearly labeled recycling bins where appropriate at our event hotels
• Research alternative materials for signage at events
• Linen re-use programs to be offered to all SED guests at partnering hotels
• Request accurate waste metrics from hotels to measure progress

Social
Our Inspiring Diversity in Energy series, which began in 2019, in addition to other efforts has paved the way for others to follow in addressing this important issue in the industry. To engage with our local community, we have prioritized various social impact efforts through educating our community and providing financial assistance to organizations aligned with our values.

Some of our Social Opportunities include:

• Continue SED’s Inspiring Diversity in Energy series at 2022 events
• Implement the WISE (Women in Smart Energy) Awards at the Innovation Summit in March 2022
• Support the launch of the Diversity in Clean Energy program
• Develop ideas for social programs to be launched in concert with SED’s Net Zero Forum in September 2022

Governance
At Smart Energy Decisions, we hold ourselves accountable to operate with integrity and fairness. In this section of the report, we outline our plans for vendor & site selection process, customer privacy, workplace equality, and our Advisory Board.

In the future, we aim to work with hotels and suppliers that are aligned with our sustainability goals. We will accomplish this by establishing a process to screen and source vendors whose operations are consistent with our sustainability practices, increasing the representation of minorities and women on SED’s advisory board, and increasing the representation of minorities and women as speakers at our events.

We are very excited about this report and look forward to continuing to help companies navigate the energy transition in a sustainable manner. Please feel free to email me your comments and feedback after you read the report. 

Alexandra Failla is Smart Energy Decisions' Director of ESG and Administration, managing sustainability initiatives, social media, and coordinating content-related scheduling.  She recently received her M.S. in Sustainability Management at Columbia University. 

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