Energy, Environment & Sustainability (EES) are closely interlinked themes which present opportunities and challenges for governments and businesses alike. To address them effectively, Grant Thornton firmly believes they need to be treated collectively as a single sector, because of the interdependencies between them.
The business models of some organisations in this space are based on delivering solutions; while others face regulatory challenges or need to think hard about their competitiveness in a rapidly changing world.
Energy and other basic resources, together with the environmental impact of CO2 and other waste outputs, remain at the top of the agenda in most countries. These issues are increasingly linked with the critical question of how to economic growth sustainably.
At Grant Thornton we understand the need to contribute to the development of these agendas and over the past 12 months have developed major thought leadership, for example, around the Green Investment Bank, Sustainable Cities and the Green Deal. In the coming months we expect to launch our Sustainable Businesses report which will look closely at whether sustainability is a key element of companies' long term business models. Globally, cleantech is a designated sector for Grant Thornton International and our [third] Global Cleantech report will be launched shortly.
We have created an integrated market-facing sector that enables us to understand the interfaces and complexities within it, because of the work we do with a wide range of stakeholders, including the public sector, utilities and large corporates, entrepreneurial and mid-sized businesses, banks, equity and NGOs. Our 30 or so industry experts in the UK working across service lines are responsive, closely integrated and highly knowledgeable about their chosen markets. We also provide a cohesive international offering comprised of people across all service lines and locations. Our European Cleantech team, for example, combines the renewable energy capability across all of the major countries in Europe.
Our EES sector team provides access to a wide range of services across advisory, tax and assurance to support dynamic organisations looking to build a sustainable and viable future.
Our core capabilities are in the following areas:
- Renewable Energy
- Conventional Energy and Utilities (including Oil and Gas)
- Waste
- Energy efficiency
- Sustainability
Within these market segments we provide a wide range of services, including:
- Debt and equity finance
- M&A services, transaction support and due diligence, valuations and post deal services, flotations and IPOs
- Internal and external audit
- Tax services including corporate tax, capital allowances, other tax credits, VAT and employer solutions
- Sustainability reporting and consultancy
- Business risk services and corporate governance
- Disputes advisory and Investigations
- Pensions advisory
- Restructuring and complex insolvency
We work closely with other designated sectors within Grant Thornton to enable clients in those areas to tackle the EES-related issues that are increasingly part of the corporate landscape.
We support the industry as members of Renewable UK where we participate in a number of committees, Carbon Leapfrog, the technical working group of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, and the International Integrated Reporting Council and we are a pilot company on the IIRC programme.