Corporate Collaboration for a Clean and Equitable Energy Future
David Stone Eady is Director of Industry Engagement at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business in the Scheller College of Business at Georgia Institute of Technology and Drawdown Georgia Business Compact.
David leverages 30+ years of experience and expertise in sustainability management, stakeholder engagement and community development to accelerate the deployment of sustainable solutions across various sectors and industries.
Katie Ottenweller joined Google in June 2023, where she leads efforts to achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy in the Southeast. Previously, she served as Southeast Policy Director at the Energy Foundation, supporting equitable decarbonization across 13 states. With a passion for sustainability, Katie contributes to Google's mission of making information universally accessible and useful, impacting billions through platforms like Search, Gmail, Android, and YouTube.
In this session panelists explored how business coalitions, innovation and equity-focused investment are driving momentum toward a carbon-free power system in Georgia and beyond. Moderated by David Stone Eady of the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact and joined by Katie Ottenweller from Google, the conversation unpacked how companies are not only influencing utilities and policy but also shaping the energy technologies of tomorrow. The Southeast’s surging demand for electricity underscores the need for urgent, collective action—and a model where business growth aligns with sustainability and community benefit.
Corporate Leadership as a Catalyst for Clean Power
A panelist introduced the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, a coalition of over 70 companies working together to scale climate solutions grounded in research. This partnership with a major academic institution fosters alignment between the private sector and academic insight to drive regional decarbonization. Panelists stressed that when businesses act collectively, they can influence utilities and regulators more effectively than through isolated efforts. Among the clean energy solutions, utility-scale solar was repeatedly cited as the region’s highest-potential near-term asset. Yet, solar alone won’t be sufficient for a resilient grid, highlighting the importance of both collaboration and technology diversification.
Tech Sector Ambitions Pushing the Envelope
Google is pursuing 24/7 carbon-free energy across all operations by 2030, aiming not just to consume renewable electricity, but to match clean generation to every hour of energy demand in every grid it operates.
Since launching this goal in 2020, Google has achieved 64% hourly carbon-free coverage and invested in more than 14 gigawatts of clean energy globally.
The company’s innovation in data center energy efficiency was also spotlighted—enabling dramatic increases in compute output per kilowatt consumed. These efforts demonstrate how voluntary corporate commitments can accelerate market shifts even ahead of regulation.
Scaling Clean Energy to Match Explosive Demand
Georgia is facing unprecedented electricity demand growth—estimated at 36.5 gigawatts over the next decade. This massive increase, equivalent to dozens of large power plants, makes it clear that decarbonization must scale in tandem with economic expansion. Companies within the Drawdown Georgia Compact alone are seeking over 400 megawatts of clean energy today, and that number continues to rise. As panelists noted, the challenge isn’t just cleaning up current usage but powering future industrial growth with sustainable energy from the start. Corporate buyers, especially in energy-intensive sectors, have a critical role to play in co-developing clean energy supply pathways rather than waiting for utility solutions to appear.
Beyond solar and wind, the panel emphasized the need to invest in firm, zero-carbon technologies that can provide round-the-clock power. These include advanced geothermal systems, long-duration battery storage and small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). One tech company has signed pioneering power purchase agreements to help commercialize some of these technologies and, in partnership with other corporations, issued an advanced market commitment for 50 megawatts or more of firm carbon-free capacity. These moves send critical signals to developers and utilities that demand for these technologies is real—and growing.
Rethinking Utility Partnerships and Policy
Panelists also called for a reimagining of how corporate clean energy buyers interact with utilities. Traditional solar subscription programs and renewable energy credit structures are limited in their ability to meet firm capacity needs. To meet ambitious decarbonization goals, businesses need to be active participants in project development, not just customers of utility-led programs. Utility regulators must create flexible policy mechanisms that allow companies to bring forward their own solutions, particularly as transmission and interconnection delays continue to hinder progress. Aligning utility priorities with those of forward-leaning corporate actors will be essential to unlocking regional decarbonization at scale.
Equity as a Cornerstone of the Energy Transition
The panel concluded with a strong focus on ensuring the clean energy transition benefits all communities. One speaker emphasized that success is not just measured in data center efficiency or gigawatts of solar—it’s about ensuring low-income households aren’t excluded from progress. Their company has launched an initiative that funds critical home repairs for families who don’t qualify for traditional weatherization programs, unlocking access to energy efficiency upgrades. To date, the program has supported $3 million in home repair investments, including a recent $500,000 expansion targeting mobile homes in rural Georgia.
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