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  • AI strategies, asset optimization and data quality: the new frontier for oil and gas

    In the latest episode of our Energy Transition Talks, Maida Zahid sits down with CGI experts Mark van Engelen and Curtis Nybo to discuss the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the oil and gas space. Specifically, they look at the evolution of—and need for—generative AI in the industry, the value of an iterative, domain-based approach to implementation and cross-industry AI use cases to advance the energy transition.

    The new frontier for AI in oil and gas: data, demographics and domain-based approaches

    The use of AI to support the asset-heavy oil and gas industry has been in effect for some time, especially for optimizing asset maintenance and predictive maintenance. However, new areas of need are driving the evolving role and growing value of AI within organizations.

    First, Mark mentions, is the need for generative AI to help unlock the vast amounts of data in the oil and gas companies (e.g., on the GIS side, on their land side, upstream, downstream, etc.). This rise of ‘data GTP’ as he calls it, means gaining access to that data in a natural language format to pose questions like, ‘How many barrels did you produce last month?’ without clicking through several layers of reporting.

    Second, as shifting demographics and changing workforces expose a knowledge gap between retiring experts and new professional entrants, generative AI is helping organizations bridge the gap and provide access to legacy knowledge in an efficient manner.

    More crucial than vast amounts of data is the quality of the data. When working on use cases with clients, Curtis says they begin with domains that have decent data quality or supporting data management processes, to maximize ROI and time to completion.

    As he explains, “we take a domain-based approach, where in parallel as you’re working on an AI project in the one domain, you can clean up the data of another domain next on your list,” so you’re not applying AI to the whole company at once; you’re starting with one area or team and expanding throughout the organization.

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  • In part two of our Energy Transition Talks conversation on generative artificial intelligence (AI), CGI experts Diane Gutiw and Peter Warren further explore the implications and applications of AI in the energy and utilities industry. Building upon their discussion in part one, they examine how digital twins, change management and trusted data are shaping the use and performance of AI in energy organizations, ultimately looking to the future of AI as multimodal, human-driven technology solution.

    The key to realizing AI value: integrated solutions and digital twins

    Increasingly, the greatest benefits of generative AI are emerging not in single solutions, but in integrated, multi-model, multimodal ways of pulling in information, producing expert advice and automating certain functions.

    The energy industry, says Diane, is “a great example of a very complex environment with lots of different types of media and data that can be leveraged by these new and upcoming technologies.”

    In her view, AI is headed toward digital twin models and integrated solutions. In the energy industry, this increased data-driven automation can help make both the grid and operations more efficient.

    Peter Warren shares one key use case for digital twins is to help organizations understand other markets better, as they transition their current model. “You might know your existing industry well,” he says, “but as you move from traditional carbon-based energy to something less carbon-based, be it hydrogen or electricity, you may not know those markets; being able to create a digital twin of something you haven’t formally understood is a huge benefit.”

    Diane agrees and suggests that the adoption of a digital twin to represent an organization’s current environment is a great use case, especially where there’s a data-intensive end-to-end workflow. Not only does this provide a robust view of the existing environment, she says, “but also it allows organizations to look at different scenarios and leverage AI to say, for example, ‘What would happen to the grid if this event happened, and how could I automatically adjust?’”

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  • In the latest episode of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, Peter Warren sits down with Vice-President, CGI Global AI Research Lead Diane Gutiw to discuss generative AI and its global impact across industries. In part one of the conversation, they delve into the inevitability of AI in everyday life, the need for a structured, secure approach when using these tools and the use cases that are helping organizations improve efficiency and secure a quick return on their AI investment.

    AI is inevitable (but requires guardrails)

    The burgeoning conversation surrounding generative AI is one of the hottest topics for organizations globally. Questions pertaining to the inherent business opportunities and challenges are emerging at the same rate that organizations strive to define, harness and govern these new technologies.

    According to CGI’s AI expert Diane Gutiw, one thing is not up for debate: “AI is inevitable.”

    She sees the current AI landscape as similar to the adoption of the internet. “I think we're really going to be leveraging AI when we start to forget that it's there and are able to understand, have transparency into its processes and discern what's being delivered to us.”

    However, Diane stresses that AI is not an end in itself. Especially in a business context, she explains, it is a tool developed to serve an intended purpose. “As long as we put the guardrails in place for responsible development, use and build-out of these tools, the power and the opportunities are unlimited.”

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  • In part two of our Energy Transition Talks conversation with Eurelectric’s Secretary General Kristian Ruby, CGI experts Peter Warren and Tom van der Leest dive deeper into key opportunities, challenges and drivers of the energy transition discussed in part one. In this second instalment, they explore the necessity and complexity of regulation, the role of central markets in a decentralized future and the growing importance of electrification, AI and cybersecurity in the evolving energy market.

    Regulation and the role of central markets in a decentralized future

    Ensuring fairness and equal participation in the new energy market requires robust regulations. However, as the level of regulatory complexity increases, customers and policymakers alike are struggling to keep up. For customers, compliance with one regulation may be in direct violation of another, while policymakers face challenges in keeping pace with implementation and reporting as more rules are created.

    As decentralization continues to be a key trend, the question arises: What is the role of central markets and the regulator in a decentralized future?

    Kristian sees this question as critical and believes the local flexibility market will become much more prevalent in the coming years. “We will simply need, for the efficiency of operations and the reliability of operations, to have local flexibility sources and call upon them more frequently with more frequent market signals in order to stabilize an increasingly complex, digitized, complex and centralized grid.”

    The decade of electricity has begun

    Kristian identifies another area of ongoing evolution: the veracity and reliability of clean energy. “We talked about fair, we talked about reliable, but there's also the clean dimension. With green hydrogen, we want to make sure that it is actually green. That’s where all these questions come in about geographical proximity and the timely match of the actual clean electricity production with the electrolyzers. Setting up a digital platform and defining concrete products around that is the next challenge for digital companies and energy providers to determine together how that is going to look.”

    Striking the right balance between environmental integrity and manageable systems is the key challenge at hand, Kristian says, as organizations move from proving their energy is green on an annual basis to hourly or quarterly intervals.

    Kristian has no doubt that a multi-vector future will be the most efficient and cost-effective way forward but stresses that electricity is moving to the center of the energy system. Calling the 2020s “the electric decade,” he shares that the electricity sector is seeing unprecedented growth, expansion and change.

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  • In the latest episode of our Energy Transition Talks, Peter Warren sits down with Eurelectric’s Secretary General Kristian Ruby and CGI’s Tom van der Leest for part one of a discussion on key trends and new business models in the energy market. Specifically, they examine the growing role of everyday individuals in the energy system, how distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) are changing the way utilities view customers and operations, and why the industry needs to define and support fairness for participation in the new energy landscape.

    The energy transition in the utility world has unfolded rapidly over the past decade, with most organizations following similar steps to adapt and prepare. However, as innovative technologies and new opportunities emerge, organizations now are adopting different strategies, giving rise to new trends and creating diversity within the sector.

    Kristian details some of the divergent approaches of individual organizations within this new landscape:

    “Some are focusing on offshore wind and hydrogen production transmission, others are going downstream, focusing on e-mobility, charging infrastructure, onshore renewables, distribution grids. Some are getting out of generation altogether, focusing on distribution and customers. So, you really have a wide variety of ways that companies position themselves within the sector.”

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  • In our latest episode of the Energy Transition Talks series, CGI Vice President Tom van der Leest interviews Nienke Homan, holds several board positions in energy- and industry-related organizations. Nienke and Tom have an in-depth discussion on how hydrogen enables the energy transition, how organizations need to balance the new energy system and how optimized IT systems are a critical piece of this transformation.

    As the energy transition progresses, hydrogen is becoming increasingly important in reducing emissions and meeting climate neutrality targets. The production, transport and offtake of renewable electricity and green hydrogen are adding complexity to the energy system, which requires organizations to transform their internal and external operations.

    Drawing on her rich expertise within the energy sector, Nienke Homan shares her thoughts on the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to green hydrogen, the need to balance the overarching energy system and the growing importance of data and IT systems in achieving a climate neutral energy system.

    Through her role in EDSN, the shared IT service provider for the Dutch energy system, Nienke sees several shifts developing in energy IT and infrastructure. Specifically, she points to flexibility means, the optimization of IT systems and using real-time data.

    ‘’If accelerating the energy transition is the goal, then real-time data and flexible, efficient IT systems are critical’’, says Nienke, suggesting the creation of “an agile system that can find the optimal balance between molecules and electrons, so we can use our energy and its infrastructure in the most efficient way.”

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  • Following the release of CGI’s 2023 Voice of Our Clients global research, Peter Warren sits down with Patrik Mardell to discuss macrotrends and industry insights for the latest episode in our Energy Transition Talks podcast series. Focusing on the data from the 173 energy and utilities executives interviewed, they reveal top business priorities globally and explore the growing importance of quality, timely data and automation in advancing the energy transition.

    This year’s Voice of Our Clients global research revealed that top macrotrends facing organizations include the fight against climate change, investing in technology to accelerate digital transformation and addressing changing social demographics and shifts in the world economic order. Underpinning most executives’ strategies and solutions to address these challenges? Data.

    However, Patrik Mardell highlights, data isn’t new; data has been a key focus in energy and utilities for decades. “You could say that the energy sector has been almost early adopters with data,” he says, “because you could not run energy production without good data. You cannot distribute power in cable and wires without good data.”

    In Patrik’s view, what’s changing is the quality, timeliness and intelligent application of the data.

    Peter Warren agrees: “When we asked where people were going to be investing over the next three years, not surprisingly, data management and governance and data quality were very high.”

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  • In our latest Energy Transition Talks podcast, Andrea Grad of CGI’s Unicorn Academy speaks with energy transition experts Karl Schmalz and Martin Tauer. Looking at Europe, and within Germany in particular, they discuss net-zero targets, reporting challenges and the role of innovation and data in accelerating progress.

    Approaches vary by region and infrastructure

    While the global target for net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is 2050, some countries have more ambitious goals. For example, Germany’s target is 2045, and some of its regions and cities have even earlier dates.

    Sustainable energy is already a hot topic. However, not all regions or organizations are equipped with the same tools or environment to transition as quickly or seamlessly as others. As Martin shares, this contributes to varying targets, approaches, and success factors.

    The City of Bremen, for example, aims to achieve net-zero by 2038, 7 years earlier than the German national goal. Bremen benefits from climate-relevant infrastructure such as seaports, logistics, handling, and cruise terminals. As a leading industrial hub, the City’s focus for the energy transition is on their prominent metal industry.

    Specifically, they plan to produce green steel by incorporating hydrogen into the production process. As Martin explains, “This is a very urgent topic and a very high priority project, because the failure in this one goal would completely compromise the ambitions for the City’s climate neutrality by 2038.”

    Karl agrees that green hydrogen, in particular, is increasingly vital to achieving net-zero. However, the approach and policy are integral to a successful transition. Something he sees working well in the “active” transition in Germany is the integration and adaptation of photovoltaic production. “I personally see it as a good way to stabilize the grid with large numbers of installations in private households, whereas the wind energy will serve to stabilize the larger consumers in the industry,” he comments.

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  • In our latest Energy Transition Talks podcast, Peter Warren continues the discussion in part two of our series with energy transition and decarbonization expert Pedro Carmo. Building on the previous episode, they discuss the state of the energy market, the role consolidation is playing in accelerating the race to net-zero and how a gradual, step-by-step approach is key to achieving decarbonization targets.

    As Peter Warren and Pedro Carmo discussed in part one of this series, a net-zero future will involve divergent paths and speeds. However, opportunities to accelerate decarbonization activities exist across the industry, regardless of where organizations are on their respective journeys.

    Emerging market trends such as consolidation and asset rotation are helping organizations to speed up their energy transformation, while also creating new opportunities for cross-industry innovation. What do these trends mean for the industry and net-zero targets? How do organizations address business and IT challenges that come with consolidation? And what does the future of the grid look like?

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  • In our latest Energy Transition Talks podcast, Peter Warren kicks off the first of two episodes with energy transition and decarbonization expert Pedro Carmo, exploring challenges, strategies and solutions for the journey to net-zero. Focusing on hard-to-abate industries, they discuss approaches to decarbonization, success stories and the vital role real-time data plays in driving returns on investments.

    Ambitious net-zero targets and sociopolitical context are driving momentum for the energy transition across all sectors. However, not all industries are readily adaptable to these targets, and a net-zero future will involve divergent paths and speeds. Hard-to-abate industries, like mining, fertilizers, steel, aluminum, industrial transportation and aviation, present complex decarbonization challenges. But, as Pedro Carmo points out, net-zero will only be possible if we also decarbonize industries like mining, steel and fertilizers, which are heavy producers of CO2.

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  • Net-zero and green economy goals increasingly require organizations to disclose transparently the financial risks posed by climate change. In this episode of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, CGI experts Rich Hampshire, Matthew Ayearst and Peter Warren discuss the future of the energy market and the role of Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), data and collaboration in advancing sustainable finance and the energy transition.

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  • For decades, energy and utilities companies have invested in infrastructure to collect, store, analyze and use data. Today, savvy digital consumers and advanced cloud technologies are driving demand for timely, cost-effective data that stakeholders can access and act on. As a result, data governance is moving away from IT-centric conversations, toward business-ownership models. In this climate, what role does data governance play, who is responsible for it and how is it helping energy and utilities operations? In our latest Energy Transition Talks podcast, Peter Warren explores these questions with data and analytics experts Diane Gutiw and Paul Kulpas .

    There is no lack of data in energy and utilities. The challenge is knowing where the data is, getting it quickly, making sure it's accurate and using it to drive decisions.

    Several factors are driving greater demand for data in the industry, including consumer expectations, cost-effective technology and decades of investment in data collection. According to Diane Gutiw, this creates a “perfect storm for data and analytics to be the future” of the industry.

    Digital consumers expect their power providers to personalize their services and offer options for smarter, greener and lower-cost energy. The cloud is another data accelerator, because it makes it easier and quicker to pull information together and present it to different stakeholders. These drivers shape and normalize stakeholders’ expectations for data that they can easily access, quickly understand and readily trust to inform their decisions and actions.

    Data ownership moves from IT to business

    Traditionally, data and the tools used to extract it belonged to IT. Now, business analysts and leaders are taking more ownership of data because of its business value. Energy and utility organizations are making several changes as a result. For example, they are spinning off new departments, branches and expertise (e.g., power users) focused on digitization and analytics, whereas IT now provides more of a stabilization platform and support.

    Energy companies and utilities also are creating more interactive dashboards to allow executives to follow the data story and see cause-and-effect. “That's the real shift that all the technology platforms are moving towards,” notes Gutiw, “and cloud is making it faster and faster to do that.” She adds that the key is self-service, regardless of role (e.g., data scientist, business analyst, executive, etc.).

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  • Our latest Energy Transition Talks podcast explores the future scenarios that Fingrid (Finland’s state-owned transmission network operator) develops to improve their strategic planning and keep them on course to meet Finland’s net-zero targets. Fingrid executives Mikko Heikkilä, head of strategic grid planning, and Risto Kuusi, senior expert in strategic planning, speak with our CGI energy industry lead in Finland about the goals and benefits of their scenario planning approach.

    Future scenarios all meet carbon neutrality targets

    Fingrid’s future scenarios are a novel, efficient way to project the future using a probabilistic approach of what might happen and how to prepare. The scenarios have implications for Finnish energy markets as well as in the Nordics and more broadly in Europe.

    As part of their every-second-year planning cycle for their main grid, Fingrid drafted four scenarios for the future to ensure the grid will serve its purpose. A common driver for all scenarios is meeting Finland’s target to become carbon neutral by 2035.

    The four scenarios are:

    1. Power to products, which assumes that Finland becomes a major industrial hub for power to products like fuels, materials and chemicals.

    2. Hydrogen from wind, which assumes that Finland becomes a major exporter of green hydrogen.

    3. Windy Seas, which looks at large-scale expansion of offshore wind compared to onshore wind in the other scenarios.

    4. Local power, which looks at distributed solar, distributed batteries and even small modular nuclear power in Finland in 2035.

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  • Effectively managing growing distributed energy resources (DERs) is at the heart of successfully navigating the energy transition and supporting decarbonization. In this episode of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, CGI experts Matt Marrow and Vincent Dufresne discuss the importance of being prepared for the impending uptake of DERs and electrification, and the role of enterprise-caliber distributed energy resource management systems (DERMs) to enable a stable, resilient and decarbonized future grid.

    The high penetration of variable new renewables such as large solar and wind farms calls for transforming traditional distribution systems operating models. Distributed energy resources, including building-integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, back-up generators and energy storage devices (often located behind the meter), as well as demand response resources. "All of these DERs support the increasing penetration of clean variable renewables, which have become very affordable," states Vincent.

    However, with potentially millions of DER endpoints connecting to the grid, gaining visibility and control over them is an increasingly complex task. Vincent says DERMS can play a pivotal role in monitoring, controlling and operating all types of DERs. "What a DERMS does, ultimately, is that it enables utilities to control all of those resources and make them more valuable to everyone, and to contribute to the energy transition."

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  • In this episode of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, Frederic Lesieur and Peter Warren discuss insights from CGI Voice of Our Clients (VOC) interviews with 167 energy and utilities executives this year. They explore a variety of topics, including the energy transition and the impact of macro trends such as climate change, as well as the importance of cybersecurity, change management and innovation.

    Climate change is evident, and energy and utilities organizations are key actors in achieving net-zero objectives. Embracing a culture of sustainability is critical to their own success and to their ability to serve customers who are demanding greener energy. According to Frederic Lesieur, this is the first element of the energy transition.

    The second element he says is how we consume energy. Today, customers increasingly want to be part of the solution and are looking for ways to be more energy efficient . "I think it needs to be top of mind for C-level executives in the industry that they may engage their customers in this journey," suggests Lesieur.

    This year in our VOC interviews, the highest number of executives who view sustainability as highly core to creating future value are in oil and gas (77%), followed by transportation (75%), utilities (63%) and manufacturing (74%).

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  • As Europe advances its vision of a hydrogen economy, what are some lessons learned for North America? In episode 10 of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, CGI experts Frank Sent and Mark van Engelen discuss the foundational aspects of unlocking the potential of hydrogen, from regulations and funding to collaboration and innovation.

    Europe is making significant strides in exploring hydrogen's potential to meet ambitious net-zero emissions targets, through a mix of funding, innovation, ecosystem collaboration and strategies.

    For instance, there are about 35 hydrogen valleys worldwide, of which 24 are in Europe, says Frank. These projects simulate a hydrogen ecosystem, from production and storage to transportation and consumption, to learn about the technology needed and how the value chain could work. "I think this could also be applied in North America as well,” says Frank.

    Another example is the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative focused on a dedicated hydrogen transport infrastructure across Europe. "There are 31 transport service operators (TSOs) in Europe working on how to transport hydrogen from different suppliers to the industries, which have the biggest need for hydrogen," says Frank. He adds that the war in Ukraine war has accelerated efforts to expand the hydrogen pipeline infrastructure from previously set targets.

    Driving forward data-driven decision-making

    As data becomes increasingly important, Mark notes North America has invested in data lakes to understand asset performance and build automation on top of those data sets. "These technology and data advances can help make hydrogen technology even more efficient than a couple of years ago," he says.

    In this regard, sector coupling will become relevant to understanding what is happening across electricity, gas and hydrogen grids. Frank says data is essential to decide when to produce hydrogen or inject electricity or hydrogen into the grid.

    Moreover, Frank foresees data lakes becoming more popular. "You have to consider many attributes like the weather forecast, market price, stock market price, demand and supply of hydrogen and other energy sources. You need to work with the data in real-time, and the energy and utilities sector will see a drastic increase in machine learning and data scientists in this area," he says.

    In North America, Mark shares that some organizations have been focused on automation for several years to leverage AI and machine learning on their data sets and provide streaming data to operations. "We're also seeing an increase in satellite information to ensure the safety and integrity of pipelines," adding that he expects to see the same trajectory for hydrogen, which will be treated as a new asset.



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  • Industry 5.0 objectives of human awareness and sustainability require a complete rethink of manufacturing operations. In part 9 of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, CGI expert Helena Jochberger shares with Peter Warren how the energy transition is fueling this transformation and the role of digital technologies, data and ecosystem collaboration in supporting a green future in manufacturing.

    "Manufacturing is at a turning point," says Helena. In the last decade, the industry has focused on Industry 4.0 objectives of digitizing processes, achieving operational excellence and making the business more agile. Due to the accelerating climate crisis, sustainability has become a key factor that manufacturers need to consider, which complements the European Commission's definition of Industry 5.0 and its focus on human awareness and sustainability.

    Technology as an enabler to drive sustainability

    Governments and legislation are pushing organizations to meet 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. At the same time, the long-term effects of the pandemic continue to plague the industry. "We live in such a volatile or VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world" says Helena. The energy life cycle has become very complex. "There are multiple benchmarks, including technical, social, economic, and environmental aspects," she adds. Technology can be an enabler and accelerator of environmental sustainability within manufacturing. "Especially data analytics can support multi-criteria decision-making in real-time for energy planning, optimization and consumption."

    On the one hand, digital factories or smart factories are poised to realize Industry 4.0 objectives while striving for true sustainability and human-centricity. On the other hand, technologies like digital twins that offer granularity at the machine level can help achieve energy-saving targets. "A digital twin of the value chain is a good example of how manufacturers can get a clear picture of actual performance and improve their situational awareness and operational flexibility," Helena comments.

    Investing in clean energy infrastructure

    She also notes that players in the European aviation industry have been looking at alternative propulsion technologies for a few years now. These explorations are around electric options for short-haul flights, with hydrogen likely winning out for long-haul journeys. "There's really a revolution going on, though not immediately, because you have long development cycles, especially in aerospace," she says, adding that this transformation will include huge process and system design changes.

    However, this shift will also require supporting infrastructure. With many companies committing to 2050 as their climate-neutral targets, Helena says it will be interesting to see how fast the industry evolves to meet them: "I think infrastructural changes need to be accompanied by governmental policies and structures to speed up the process."

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  • Investments in clean energy and supporting infrastructure are crucial to realizing a low-carbon future. In Part 7 of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, CGI experts Andy Schmidt and Peter Warren discuss how the financial services industry is influencing the energy transition and its role beyond that of a "gatekeeper" in driving sustainability and mitigating climate change.

    For years, the financial services industry has supported energy and utilities customers with traditional products like loans, lines of credit, insurance policies, and investment portfolio management. Of late, the industry is taking a more discerning look at sustainable investment opportunities within energy and utilities to help all of its customers become more sustainable.

    This interest, says Andy, is fueled primarily by regulatory, customer, and board-level sentiment about the energy and utilities industry's impact on climate change. It also is driven by the opportunity to move beyond the role of "gatekeeper" to that of an effective industry partner.

    There's a realization, he says, that the financial services industry has a specific role to play in helping businesses of all types drive sustainability and mitigate the effects of climate change. "At Sibos last fall, banking leaders were very clear that their goal is to incent, partner, and find a common path forward to become greener, more sustainable, and more climate-friendly in terms of how business is delivered."

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  • In the second part of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series on environmental sustainability, CGI experts Nicole Zethelius, Rich Hampshire and Peter Warren discuss energy and utility companies’ need to invest in collecting relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) data to ensure accountability, transparency and auditability and deliver business growth. This article provides a summary of the discussion.

    Data is a key enabler to trace and measure environmental sustainability-related factors across Scopes 1 through 3 as defined by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, from energy and resource use to GHG to supply chain performance. However, while energy companies and utilities are rich in data, they aren't necessarily tracking the relevant ESG data throughout their digital value chains to take measurable, transparent and traceable actions.

    The imperative to reduce Scope 3 emissions

    The three scopes defined by the GHG Protocol are:

    · Scope 1: Direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources, which include a company's headquarters and purchased vehicles used to get to and from office premises.

    · Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

    · Scope 3: All other indirect emissions from activities not owned or controlled.

    The importance of Scope 3 emissions is growing. Nicole explains that such emissions account for anywhere between 70-90% of a business's operations. "It's their supply chain, lease assets, investments and logistics. It's everything that is relevant to what's driving ESG and what's driving negative environmental impact," she says.

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  • Energy and utilities companies increasingly recognize that environmental sustainability is both a business imperative and competitive differentiator. In this two-part episode of our Energy Transition Talks podcast series, CGI experts Nicole Zethelius, Rich Hampshire and Peter Warren discuss the need for relevant and actionable data to advance the energy transition.

    With a long-term focus on improving operational efficiency, energy companies and utilities often reduced environmental impacts as well. But today, there is a pressing demand for them to push forward their environmental, social and governance (ESG) agendas. In the 2021 CGI Voice of Our Clients findings, 70% of oil, gas and utilities executives feel strongly that sustainability is core to their ability to create value for customers.

    Making informed energy choices with relevant data

    The energy and utilities sector is an essential piece of a highly complex sustainability puzzle. One challenge is that definitions and terms differ significantly across cultures and geographies. Nicole notes that overcoming this challenge requires a "clear common denominator of information for consumers and businesses on the best practices and best solutions around energy." Measurable, quantifiable, qualitative and quantitative information is needed to assess the entire life cycle of energy sources to make informed decisions about sustainability.

    Rather than viewing an energy source simply as "green" or "not green," Nicole suggests the focus be on gauging how mature and prepared the energy type is to meet future fundamental shifts in society or the environment. "We need newer and different types of data to assess [an energy source] and look at it from a much longer-term perspective," she says.

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