Clean Energy Investment

Noting that sustainably-sourced energy isn’t always available at the time and place it’s needed, Rachel emphasised that efficiency is just as crucial an issue. Investment in efficiency is as equally important as investment in renewable energy itself.

As a practical example, Spirax Sarco is investing in a retrofit kit that enables an existing fossil-fuelled steam boiler to be converted to an electrically-fuelled one. The benefits are lower costs than with a replacement and the speed with which the conversion can be carried out. With steam’s tremendous ability to carry thermal energy, investment in its future production and use is vital to helping various industries achieve their sustainability goals.

Rachel continued to reveal our investment in thermal battery technology, where storing thermal energy rather than electrical energy (as in a typical battery) has a lesser environmental cost.

It’s not simply about using renewable energy, it’s about stopping viewing all energy as a renewable resource, and seeking more efficient ways of managing it.

Asked by Panel Chair Chris Fox how Spirax Sarco is bringing inclusivity into the equation of clean energy innovation, Rachel commented that meeting some of the tough challenges ahead would require purpose and resilience, so an inclusive organisation naturally fosters the creativity needed to find those solutions.

Summing up the panel discussion, Chris Fox pointed to the Global Investors Statement. 733 institutional investors representing $52 trillion of assets stated that companies and countries actively involved in dealing with climate change issues would be increasingly favoured for investment.

Echoing that sentiment, Rachel’s concluding comment was to urge investors to “Be bold. Act now. And let’s hold ourselves accountable.”