Capgemini India offices powered 100% with renewable energy

IT major Capgemini on Wednesday said the company's facilities in India are operating on 100% renewable energy (RE), achieving a new sustainability milestone. This allows the company to avoid over 70,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum. The company transitioned to 100% renewable energy through onsite renewable energy generation, offsite renewable energy purchase through power purchase agreements, and green power purchasing through utility programs, all contributing to 83% of renewable energy. The balance of 17% is sourced from renewable energy certificates.

Capgemini, which began operations in India in 2000, has offices in 13 cities, including Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Noida, and Pune, amongst others. The company has installed 11.5MWp (MegaWatt peak) of on-premises solar plants across all campuses in India. Some campuses have an energy surplus, which they are exporting to their respective state electricity boards. In Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai (MIPL and SIPCOT campuses), the company has been exporting surplus renewable energy back to the state electricity grid using the 'net-metering program.' The company says since the beginning of 2023, 450 MWh (megawatt-hour) of renewable electricity has been exported to the electricity grid from the four offices, making the campuses net positive on energy use in 2023.

As part of its decarbonisation initiative, the company has installed a state-of-the-art 'Battery Energy Storage Solution' (BESS) with a capacity of 2.5 MWh in the Noida campus and 3.5 MWh in the Mumbai campus. "The solution allows Capgemini to store excess renewable energy generated from solar plants during the day and use it during the evening peak hours. This, in turn, significantly reduces the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from peaker power plants and decreases the energy cost, carbon footprint and stress on the grid during the peak hours," says the company.

The BESS solution is equipped with an intelligent Energy Management System (EMS) to orchestrate and manage the electrons from solar, battery storage, utility supply, and load. This, integrated with Capgemini’s Energy Command Center (ECC), enables real-time monitoring and control of energy supply. The EMS is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) analytics for effective management of energy tariffs and utilisation of BESS to store and release energy during the non-peak and peak hours, respectively. This process helps in managing ‘Peak Shaving’ efficiently.

"With the use of innovative technology like Battery Energy Storage Solutions and intelligent Energy Management Systems, we can very clearly see a path towards transforming and decarbonizing the energy industry through technology. We will continue to leverage technology to drive meaningful impact and help nurture a sustainable tomorrow, making our communities future-ready," says Ashwin Yardi, CEO, Capgemini India.

Capgemini claims it was amongst the first companies globally to have its net zero targets validated according to SBTi’s (Science Based Target Initiatives) new net-zero standard in July 2022, including achieving a 90% reduction in all carbon emissions across scope 1, 2, and 3 by 2040.