Europacable – Europcable at the European Sustainable Energy Week event on environmental impact of grids across the value chain

EMR Analysis

More information on Europacable: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services 

More information on Christopher Guérin (President, Europacable + Chief Executive Officer, Nexans): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services 

More information on Alberto Lampasona (Senior Director Public Affairs, Europacable): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services 

 

 

More information on the European Union Sustainable Energy Week 2025 (EUEW) (10 to 12 June, 2025 – Brussels, Belgium): https://eusew.eu + https://sustainable-energy-week.ec.europa.eu/index_en + The European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) is the biggest annual event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe and comprises a series of activities aimed at building a secure energy future for Europe. It brings together public authorities, private companies, NGOs, EU project partners, researchers and consumers to promote initiatives to go green and digital for Europe’s energy transition. EUSEW wants to support public and private actors in their efforts to transform Europe’s energy landscape.

 

 

More information on Eurelectric: https://www.eurelectric.org/ + We are the federation of the European electricity industry. We speak for more than 3500 European utilities active in power generation, distribution and supply. Our mission is to lead Europe’s energy transition with clean energy.

We work with around 1,500 industry experts to cover all the major trends and developments in our sector – from markets to energy policy, environment & sustainable development, retail customers or networks.

More information on Markus Rauramo (President, Eurelectric + President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortum): https://www.eurelectric.org/about/ + https://www.fortum.com/investors/corporate-governance/leadership-team + https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-rauramo-ceo-fortum/ 

 

 

More information on Renewables Grid Initiative (RGI): https://renewables-grid.eu/ + RGI is a unique collaboration of NGOs and TSOs from across Europe engaging in an ‘energy transition ecosystem-of-actors’. We promote fair, transparent, sustainable  grid development to enable the growth of renewables to achieve full decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement.

The European power system is responding to energy and climate concerns by increasing the share of renewable energy. In the next years and decades, renewable energy will be the main component of the European power mix.

This European expansion of renewable energy is technically feasible, but only if the necessary steps are implemented. At RGI, we try to aid this process by focussing on:

• Grid development as an essential precondition for substantive renewable energy integration from both decentralised and utility scale installations
• Building strong coalitions across different sectors in society that work on the necessary transformation to the power sector requires strong coalitions across different sectors in society

RGI is a non-profit organisation, registered under German law. We have 24 Members from 12 European countries. In addition, many of our NGO Members are Brussels-based umbrella organisations with Members all over Europe (e.g. CAN Europe or BirdLife Europe). 

More information on Antonella Battaglini (Chief Executive Officer, GRI): https://renewables-grid.eu/about/secretariat.html + https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonella-battaglini-44446a4/ 

 

 

More information on CEN – CENELEC: https://www.cencenelec.eu/ + The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) are two distinct private international non-profit organizations.

• CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, is an association that brings together the National Standardization Bodies of 34 European countries.
  • CEN provides a platform for the development of European Standards and other technical documents in relation to various kinds of products, materials, services and processes.
  • CEN supports standardization activities in relation to a wide range of fields and sectors including: air and space, chemicals, construction, consumer products, defence and security, energy, the environment, food and feed, health and safety, healthcare, ICT, machinery, materials, pressure equipment, services, smart living, transport and packaging.
• CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, is an association that brings together the National Electrotechnical Committees of 34 European countries.
  • CENELEC prepares voluntary standards in the electrotechnical field, which help facilitate trade between countries, create new markets, cut compliance costs and support the development of a Single European Market.
  • CENELEC supports standardization activities in relation to a wide range of fields and sectors including: Electromagnetic compatibility, Accumulators, primary cells and primary batteries, Insulated wire and cable, Electrical equipment and apparatus, Electronic, electromechanical and electrotechnical supplies, Electric motors and transformers, Lighting equipment and electric lamps, Low Voltage electrical installations material, Electric vehicles railways, smart grid, smart metering, solar (photovoltaic) electricity systems, etc.

 

 

More information on The European Union: https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en + The European Union’s institutional set-up is unique and its decision-making system is constantly evolving. The 7 European institutions, 7 EU bodies and over 30 decentralised agencies are spread across the EU. They work together to address the common interests of the EU and European people. 

In terms of administration, there are a further 20 EU agencies and organisations which carry out specific legal functions and 4 interinstitutional services which support the institutions.

All of these establishments have specific roles – from developing EU laws and policy-making to implementing policies and working on specialist areas, such as health, medicine, transport and the environment.

There are 4 main decision-making institutions which lead the EU’s administration. These institutions collectively provide the EU with policy direction and play different roles in the law-making process: 

• the European Parliament (Brussels/Strasbourg/Luxembourg)
• the European Council (Brussels)
• the Council of the European Union (Brussels/Luxembourg)
• the European Commission (Brussels/Luxembourg/Representations across the EU)

Their work is complemented by other institutions and bodies, which include:

• the Court of Justice of the European Union (Luxembourg)
• the European Central Bank (Frankfurt)
• the European Court of Auditors (Luxembourg)

The EU institutions and bodies cooperate extensively with the network of EU agencies and organisations across the European Union. The primary function of these bodies and agencies is to translate policies into realities on the ground.

Around 60,000 EU civil servants and other staff serve the 450 million Europeans (and countless others around the world).

Currently, 27 countries are part of the EU: https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/country-profiles_en 

 

More information on The European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_en + The Commission helps to shape the EU’s overall strategy, proposes new EU laws and policies, monitors their implementation and manages the EU budget. It also plays a significant role in supporting international development and delivering aid.

The Commission is steered by a group of 27 Commissioners, known as ‘the college’. Together they take decisions on the Commission’s political and strategic direction.

A new college of Commissioners is appointed every 5 years.

The Commission is organised into policy departments, known as Directorates-General (DGs), which are responsible for different policy areas. DGs develop, implement and manage EU policy, law, and funding programmes. In addition, service departments deal with particular administrative issues. Executive agencies manage programmes set up by the Commission.

Principal roles in law: The Commission proposes and implements laws which are in keeping with the objectives of the EU treaties. It encourages input from business and citizens in the law-making process and ensures laws are correctly implemented, evaluated and updated when needed.

More information on Ursula von der Leyen (President, The European Commission): https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2019-2024/president_en + https://www.linkedin.com/in/ursula-von-der-leyen/ 

 

More information on the Critical of the Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/03/15/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam-council-agrees-its-negotiating-mandate/ + Today, the Council reached agreement (general approach) on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) regulation, which is one of the key elements of the European Union’s ‘Fit for 55’ package.

The main objective of this environmental measure is to avoid carbon leakage. It will also encourage partner countries to establish carbon pricing policies to fight climate change.

For that purpose, CBAM targets imports of carbon-intensive products, in full compliance with international trade rules, to prevent offsetting the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts through imports of products manufactured in non-EU countries, where climate change policies are less ambitious than in the European Union. It will also help prevent the relocation of the production or the import of carbon-intensive products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMR Additional Notes:

• Grid, Microgrids, DERs and DERM’s:
  • The power grid is a network for delivering electricity to consumers. The power grid includes generator stations, transmission lines and towers, and individual consumer distribution lines.
  • The grid constantly balances the supply and demand for the energy that powers everything from industry to household appliances.
  • Electric grids perform three major functions: power generation, transmission, and distribution.
  • A microgrid is a small-scale power grid that can operate independently or collaboratively with other small power grids. The practice of using microgrids is known as distributed, dispersed, decentralized, district or embedded energy production.
  • Smart Grid is any electrical grid + IT at all levels . Micro Grid is a group of interconnected loads and DERs (Distributed energy resources) within a clearly defined electrical and geographical boundaries witch acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the main grid.
  • Distributed energy resources (DERs) are small-scale electricity supply (typically in the range of 3 kW to 50 MW) or demand resources that are interconnected to the electric grid. They are power generation resources and are usually located close to load centers, and can be used individually or in aggregate to provide value to the grid.
  • Common examples of DERs include rooftop solar PV units, natural gas turbines, microturbines, wind turbines, biomass generators, fuel cells, tri-generation units, battery storage, electric vehicles (EV) and EV chargers, and demand response applications.
  • Distributed energy resources management systems (DERMS) are platforms which helps mostly distribution system operators (DSO) manage their grids that are mainly based on distributed energy resources (DER).
  • DERMS are used by utilities and other energy companies to aggregate a large energy load for participation in the demand response market. DERMS can be defined in many ways, depending on the use case and underlying energy asset.

 

 

• ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance):
  • Refers to the three key factors when measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a business or company. Most socially responsible investors check companies out using ESG criteria to screen investments.
  • ESG metrics are not commonly part of mandatory financial reporting, though companies are increasingly making disclosures in their annual report or in a standalone sustainability report.
  • There is not a standardized approach to the calculation or presentation of different ESG metrics.
    • Environmental: Conservation of the natural world
      • Climate change and carbon emissions
      • Air and water pollution
      • Biodiversity
      • Deforestation
      • Energy efficiency
      • Waste management
      • Water scarcity
      • …
    • Social: Consideration of people & relationships
      • Customer satisfaction
      • Data protection and privacy
      • Gender and diversity
      • Employee engagement
      • Community relations
      • Human rights
      • Labor standards
      • …
    • Governance: Standards for running a company
      • Board composition
      • Audit committee structure
      • Bribery and corruption
      • Executive compensation
      • Lobbying
      • Political contributions
      • Whistleblower schemes
      • …
  • Criteria are of increasing interest to companies, their investors and other stakeholders. With growing concern about he ethical status of quoted companies, these standards are the central factors that measure the ethical impact and sustainability of investment in a company.
  • Consequently, ESG analysis considers how companies serve society and how this impacts their current and future performance.
• CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility):
  • Framework or business model that helps a company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public.
  • The purpose of CSR is to give back to the community, take part in philanthropic causes, and provide positive social value. Businesses are increasingly turning to CSR to make a difference and build a positive brand around their company.
  • CSR tends to target opinion formers – politicians, pressure groups, media. Sustainability targets here the whole value chain – from suppliers to operations to partners to end-consumers.
• CSR vs. ESG:
  • CSR is a company’s framework of sustainability plans and responsible cultural influence, whereas ESG is the assessable outcome concerning a company’s overall sustainability performance.
  • The major difference between them is that CSR is a business model used by individual companies, while ESG is a criteria that investors use to assess a company and determine if they are worth investing in.

 

 

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA):
  • One of the most common methodologies for quantifying sustainability is life cycle assessment (LCA). An LCA is a systematic analysis of environmental impact over the course of the entire life cycle of a product, material, process, or other measurable activity.
  • LCA aims to quantify the environmental impacts that arise from material inputs and outputs, such as energy use or air emissions, over a product’s entire life cycle to assist consumers in making decisions that will benefit the environment.
  • Companies use LCA to demonstrate transparency and corporate credibility to stakeholders and customers. LCA is also used in new product research and development, when environmental footprint is important to the future marketing or cost structure of a product.