Our Energy Q&A is your source to understand key trends in the current market. Our energy experts share their insights and advice on how to navigate the trends and changes.
Q1
How important is sustainability to a company’s energy strategy?
Sustainability is not just a political and environmental agenda. It is also an opportunity for a fundamental transformation that shapes (and can strengthen) your company’s strategy, operations and market position. For energy managers, this means navigating a complex landscape of tightening EU regulations, such as the Fit for 55 package, the Net-Zero Industry Act, and the Energy Efficiency Directive, all of which require reductions in carbon emissions and increased use of renewable energy.
The growing societal demand for renewable energy and sustainable production creates both challenges and opportunities. Companies investing in renewable energy production from solar, wind and other sustainable sources must also work strategically to document their efforts through ESG reporting. Here, energy purchasing becomes a central parameter because the company’s choice of energy sources and contracts directly affects climate accounting, its ability to achieve its climate goals, and its ESG score. A well-thought-out energy strategy that balances sustainability with price and risk profile to match the company’s strategic ambitions will therefore be a competitive advantage in a market where ESG performance is increasingly scrutinised by both public and private actors.
Specifically, the European Central Bank is introducing a climate risk factor for all corporate loans from Q3 2026. Companies will therefore be faced with higher interest rates if they don’t have climate accounting, climate goals and a funded transition plan in place to achieve them, among other things. This makes sustainable energy procurement via your energy strategy a direct opportunity to improve the company’s loan terms while improving your environmental impact.
Q2
How does energy procurement affect the company’s climate accounting and ESG reporting?
Energy procurement has a direct impact on the climate impact the company must report in its climate accounting. There is significant potential to quickly improve its sustainability profile without extensive operational changes. Through strategic procurement, the company can significantly reduce both direct (Scope 1) emissions from its own operations (including gas consumption) and indirect (Scope 2) emissions from purchased energy covered by electricity.
For example, Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) on power consumption can reduce market-based Scope 2 emissions from electricity by up to 100%. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) offer a more comprehensive solution, with additionality and alignment with the EU taxonomy. This ensures that the energy is not only renewable but also sustainable by current standards.
For companies that want maximum documentation without the long-term commitments of a PPA, a solution like Energy Matching can provide monthly profile matching – meaning that the company’s actual electricity consumption each month is matched with renewable energy production from the same month and the same country. This is 12 times better than the annual match that ensures 0 reporting for Scope 2 emissions for accounting purposes. With Energy Matching, the power the company uses in January is also produced in January, whereas unspecified GoOs can be issued in June and consumed in January. With Energy Matching, GoOs consumption is much closer to real-world production.
Get a future-fit energy strategy
Today, finding the right energy solution is a complex and critical matter for your business. Everything from geopolitical changes and regulatory demands to shifts in weather patterns and new forms of renewables and certificates has turned energy into a strategic imperative, presenting significant opportunities. And risks.
The right energy strategy brings coherence to every aspect of your company’s energy use. It transforms scattered decisions into a single, forward-looking framework that addresses risk, flexibility, sustainability and administration.
Q3
What pillars can a sustainable energy strategy build on?
An ambitious sustainable energy strategy is not a question of ‘either or’ – the greatest impact is achieved by thinking holistically and combining three key pillars.
Increased share of renewable energy
Achieved through self-generation, such as solar panels and wind turbines, or by ensuring that the energy the company purchases from the grid comes from renewable sources. Hourly or monthly match PPAs, GoOs and strategic sourcing play a key role here.
Energy efficiency and optimisation
By analysing consumption patterns and identifying potential, companies can significantly reduce costs. Mind Energy helps review when consumption can be shifted to hours with lower prices and a higher share of renewable energy in the grid, without investing in new buildings or production equipment. For deeper energy audits and ISO certification, we work closely with specialised partners.
Electrification and flexibility
Prioritise electricity from renewable energy sources over fossil fuels and make consumption flexible so that the company can adapt it to times when energy has low carbon emissions. This can be done through Demand Response programmes, participation in frequency reserves (FCR, aFRR, mFRR) and by utilising thermal mass in production processes to shift energy consumption from expensive to cheap hours. In this way, the company actively helps balance production fluctuations from solar and wind, utilising overproduction of renewable energy and reducing the need for fossil-fuel backup.
By considering the three pillars together, companies can create a robust, visionary energy strategy that both promotes the green transition and strengthens their competitiveness.
Q4
How does flexibility support the green transition of the energy supply?
The degree of flexibility is one of the key factors in the successful integration of renewable energy sources into the power system. As production from solar and wind is weather-dependent and therefore fluctuates, there are periods of both overproduction and deficit. Here, the ability of companies to adapt energy consumption, in conjunction with the ability of manufacturers to move production, becomes crucial to maintaining the balance of the grid. By implementing Demand Response solutions, the company’s consumption can be moved to periods of high renewable energy production, while reducing consumption when renewable production is low. This requires prior analysis of production processes to identify where and when consumption can be moved without negatively impacting operations.
Flexibility can also provide new revenue opportunities through participation in frequency reserves and capacity markets, where the company is compensated for making flexibility available to the grid operator. In this way, energy assets that were previously just a cost become a strategic resource that both supports the green transition and creates value for the company. At the same time, the company is improving supply security and helping integrate more renewable energy into the grid.
Q5
How do companies get started with a sustainable energy strategy?
The first step is to understand both the company’s current energy economy and the market potential. Mind Energy can combine an analysis of the consumption profile with in-depth market insights: When does the company consume energy? How does it match with pricing patterns and energy production? Where is the greatest potential for savings through intelligent timing and sourcing? This analysis is typically combined with an energy audit from our partners, who systematically review buildings and production to identify technical efficiency potentials.
With the foundation in place, the company can prioritise efforts in an overall energy strategy that supports a carbon footprint reduction and meets CSRD documentation requirements and other ESG standards.
Elements of the strategy can include, for example:
Short term (within weeks/few months)
- Purchase GoOs for existing consumption. Reduces market-based Scope 2 emissions by up to 100% from day one
- Optimisation of the existing procurement strategy through market analysis and price predictions
- Purchasing biogas instead of fossil-based natural gas reduces reported Scope 1 emissions
Medium term (3-12 months):
- Implement Demand Response and flexibility solutions based on analysing production processes
- Structured forward purchases to reduce price risk
Longer term (1-5+ years):
- PPAs with renewable producers for long-term price certainty and full additionality
- Self-generation from solar panels or wind turbines
- Invest in energy storage or thermal buffer systems"
- Conversion and diversification of energy sources from gas to electricity, etc.
At Mind Energy, we work closely with companies and organisations to develop tailored energy strategies that promote a sustainable transition in energy consumption without compromising on economy and security of supply.
As one of Northern Europe’s largest independent energy trading companies, we have deep market insight, trading expertise, and powerful data-driven analytical tools that enable us to navigate an increasingly complex energy landscape safely. We combine strategic advice with specific market access – from PPA negotiation to real-time price optimisation – to make sustainability an integral and value-adding part of your business.
Let us help you navigate in the green transition with the right energy strategy. Our advisors are ready to discuss your needs and ambitions.
Case
Fastpartner : Strategic energy management for stability and sustainability
For real estate companies and other energy-intensive businesses, energy is a structural driver of operating margins, asset valuation, and long-term financial stability. In volatile energy markets, unpredictability quickly translates into budget uncertainty and balance sheet risk.
In this case, Fastpartner, one of Swedenˇs leading property companies, partnered with Mind Energy to transform energy procurement from a reactive cost centre into a structured financial discipline. The partnership focused on strengthening financial predictability.
Instead of relying on short-term purchasing or fragmented contracts, Fastpartner implemented a forward-looking energy strategy designed to stabilise market exposure and strengthen financial control.