Beyond the Megawatt
Helping you maximize environmental and social outcomes of clean energy.
The Beyond the Megawatt (BTM) Initiative maximizes the environmental and social outcomes of the clean energy transition by leveraging the influential demand of energy customers through the procurement of clean energy.
BTM advances carbon-free energy systems that are resilient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable. Take action now through the Principles for Purpose-Driven Energy Procurement.
Beyond the Megawatt Toolkit
A toolkit to transform your organization’s commitment into action. Curated with the corporate energy customer and market complexity in mind, the Beyond the Megawatt Toolkit will help you evaluate and identify energy projects and suppliers that optimize environmental sustainability, social equity, and resilience criteria.
Toolkit Introduction
A recently published study found that over 60% of US-based corporate energy customers believe that a purpose-driven approach to clean energy will be the new standard in the next five years.
This toolkit provides two actionable tools that enable you to prioritize clean energy projects that optimize emissions reductions and maximize the benefits of clean energy development.
You will be able to effectively identify and evaluate clean energy projects that achieve your goals and integrate environmental sustainability, social equity, and resilience.
Toolkit Topic Areas
Every organization has different clean energy priorities and goals. You will be able to effectively identify, evaluate, and prioritize projects based on your key areas of interest: The topics covered in the toolkit, identified by industry stakeholders as key topics, are listed below. This breakdown allows users to focus on their priority areas if they wish.
- Responsible business practices
- Transparency & disclosure
- Fair, equitable workplace
- Siting
- Human rights
- Stakeholder engagement
- Community co-benefits
- Workforce development
- Labor rights and occupational health & safety
- Environmental impacts
- Waste & end of life management
- Greenhouse gases
- Visual & ambient impacts
- Emergency preparedness
- Responsible sourcing
- Supplier diversity
- Domestic sourcing
- O&M and resilience
About the Scoring System
Both spreadsheets are based on a three-tiered scoring system:
- Baseline questions cover work that Beyond the Megawatt stakeholders view as the minimum required to qualify the project as going Beyond the Megawatt.
- Advanced questions cover those that exceed the baseline requirements.
- Leading questions exhibit leadership in industry best practices.
Utilizing the three-tiered approach outlined is expected to offer clarity on what a “good project” looks like and where developers should be rewarded for more advanced practices. Both tools are flexible and enable users to choose their final content based on their organizational priorities.
Acknowledgments
The Beyond the Megawatt team is grateful for the time, energy, and dedication of the organizations listed below.
- Action Sustainability
- Amazon
- American Council on Renewable Energy
- American Farmland Trust
- Apex Energy
- Arizona State University
- Blue Stone Strategy Partners
- BSR
- Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
- Center for Resource Solutions
- Center for Rural Affairs
- CERES
- Clean Energy Buyers Association
- Colgate-Palmolive
- Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
- Converge Strategies
- Copacity, Inc.
- Corning Incorporated
- Earthworks
- EDF Renewables
- Enel North America
- Energy Impact Partners
- Energy Peace Partners
- ENGIE
- Equitable Origin
- Equinix
- Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
- First Solar
- General Motors
- Great Plains Institute
- Green Light Energy
- Greenlining Institute
- Heineken USA
- Hemlock Semiconductor
- Highgate
- High Road Energy Marketing
- Idaho National Lab
- Institute for Human Rights and Business
- Invenergy
- Johnson & Johnson
- Laborers International Union of North America
- LevelTen
- Lockheed Martin
- Microsoft
- Migizi Economic Development
- M-Rets Inc.
- National Audubon Society
- National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- NBCUniversal
- Origis Energy
- Orsted
- Partnership for Southern Equity
- Pattern Energy
- Philadelphia Energy Authority
- Pivot Energy
- Powertrust
- Reactivate
- Renewables Forward
- Rivian
- Salesforce
- Schneider Electric
- Silicon Ranch
- Sol Systems
- Solar Cycle
- Solar Stewards
- Standing Rock “SAGE” Development Authority
- Starbucks
- SupplyShift
- Sustain our Future
- twentyfifty
- The Nature Conservancy
- T-Mobile
- Toyota
- Ultra-low Carbon Solar Alliance
- UN Global Compact
- US-Solar
- USG Office of Federal Procurement Policy
- Volt Energy
- Walmart
- Workday
- World Forest Group
Procurement Guidance
For: Companies with a Clean Energy Goal
Application: Integrate during RFP process or bilateral negotiations
When: New Procurement
Due Diligence Framework
For: Companies with a Supply Chain Goal
Application: Evaluate existing and new supply chain partner
When: New and Existing Procurement
Featured Initiative Resources
Resilience in Clean Energy Procurement: Frameworks and Approaches for Energy Customers
Primer: An Introduction to Energy Resilience
Primer: Maximizing Community Co-Benefits Through Clean Energy Procurement
Beyond the Megawatt Principles
Environmental Sustainability
Guiding Principle:
Respecting and conserving our lands, waters, and biodiversity through avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures when siting, designing, developing, and operating clean energy projects.
Resilience
Guiding Principle:
Valuing the long-term efficiency and adaptive capacity of our energy systems to a changing environment by increasing investments in the resilience of regional grid infrastructure and clean energy supply chains.
Social Equity
Guiding Principle:
Advancing an equitable and just energy transition that upholds human rights and empowers and restores communities — including historically marginalized and frontline communities who have been harmed by energy development — and ensures those communities are active participants, decision-makers, and beneficiaries across all stages of the project life cycle.
View signatories and download the full Principles.
Get Involved
This is initiative is open to the public. If you are interested in more information, please contact communications@cebi.org.