Project Highlights
- Collaborate with peers and subject matter experts to evaluate biodiversity leading practices
- Inform the development of a biodiversity maturity framework
- Assess your company’s current biodiversity-related efforts and identify opportunities to make progress
Background, Objectives, and New Learnings
Biodiversity has become an increasingly relevant topic for energy utilities in recent years who are experiencing growing pressure from investors, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders to consider how their operations impact the natural landscapes and species that exist within their service territories. Interactions between companies and the natural environment have historically involved project permitting and regulation-driven compliance, but increased interest in biodiversity conservation across stakeholders has led companies to begin to programmatically identify metrics, set goals, and track progress on their biodiversity-related efforts.
The objective of this research is to support the evaluation and continued development of energy utility biodiversity efforts through a two-phase process. The first phase will focus on developing a framework that identifies key elements of a comprehensive biodiversity program across a spectrum of maturity, while the second phase applies the framework with funding companies to determine maturity on the previously identified key elements and outlines opportunities that may be implemented to further evolve their activities and biodiversity-related goals.
This work can ultimately provide valuable information on how energy utilities understand, pursue, and enhance biodiversity conservation practices, and how those actions can help drive a comprehensive biodiversity strategy that aligns with corporate objectives.
Benefits
Energy utilities can benefit from this project in multiple ways. During the first phase companies will collaborate to inform the development of a Biodiversity Maturity Framework, which will allow peers to learn from each other and from subject matter experts (SMEs) engaged during the development phase. Funders will also have access to the final framework for application in their own analysis of their biodiversity effort maturity. In the second phase, the company assessment, funders can holistically evaluate their current biodiversity-related efforts and interact with key internal stakeholders to identify opportunities that lead to program maturation, which could support risk reduction and value creation. This work may also have a public benefit in that it can support the enhancement of biodiversity health in or adjacent to public spaces.
Project Approach and Summary
This project will happen in two phases:
- Framework Development: This first phase focuses on developing a framework of key characteristics that are foundational to an energy utility’s biodiversity efforts. The framework is intended to be developed through a literature review, interviews with participating companies, interviews with additional peers and potentially with other relevant organizations, and discussions with EPRI SMEs.
- Company Assessment: The second phase focuses on conducting a gap analysis with funders, providing an opportunity to immediately apply the learnings and obtain value from the process. The project launch and a final project recap and aggregated learnings webinar that includes all participating companies can allow for efficiency and shared learnings, while each company will be individually engaged via separate project calls throughout the process as their efforts and opportunities are assessed.
Deliverables
The following will be the final deliverables for each phase of the project:
Framework Development
- Biodiversity Maturity Framework and learnings report
Company Assessment
- Company-confidential Biodiversity Assessment technical report and final briefing presentation
- Report with aggregated results, learnings, and framework updates
Price of Project
This project will be divided into two funding tiers as follows:
- Framework Development: Funders will collaborate with peers to inform the development of the Biodiversity Maturity Framework: $20,000.
- Framework Development and Company Assessment: Funders will participate in the framework development, plus an EPRI-facilitated application of the framework through a company-specific biodiversity assessment: $55,000.
A maximum of 3 companies will be selected to complete the assessment immediately following the framework development.
This project is SDF eligible.
Project Status and Schedule
This project is expected to start in January 2025 and needs five companies to begin work on the framework development. The framework development will take approximately one year to complete. The company assessments will be completed in 2026 and take 6 - 8 months.
Who Should Join
Companies that are interested in supporting the development of an energy utility biodiversity maturity framework and evaluating gaps and opportunities in their biodiversity-related efforts.
Contact Information
For more information, contact the EPRI Customer Assistance Center at 800.313.3774 (askepri@epri.com).
Technical Contacts
Norman Shafto at 704.595.2729, nshafto@epri.com
Katie Surrey at 413.334.1477, ksurrey@epri.com