Houston's Energy Transition with Salesforce

With the change in US administration, the need for urgent action on climate change has shot straight to the top of the political and economic agenda. This period in history will undoubtedly come to be known as The Great Energy Transition, and traditional O&G heartlands such as Houston need to rise to the challenge of creating a more sustainable future. In this blog, we outline solutions that the Salesforce platform offers to reach sustainability goals.

Biden has laid out his energy transition goals. They are clear and they will be challenging: a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050. To go alongside these groundbreaking targets we are about to see unprecedented investment levels into energy generation innovation.

The challenge is enormous, complex, and urgent, and no one understands this better than ‘The Energy Capital of the World’, Houston. As a leader in energy, the city is responsible for being a leader in this transition. The great news is that Houston has everything in place to do just that.

“Nowhere else in the world is there such a concentration of scientists, engineers, and economists who understand energy systems and can affect the necessary change”.

Bobby Tudor, Chair, Greater Houston Partnership

So, how is it going to happen? Sadly, Endiem is not in a position to give you a full account of exactly how we can solve the most complex and urgent issue of our time. We do know for sure, however, that technology is going to play a crucial contribution in the business rollout of an effective sustainability strategy. The pandemic exposed the performance gap between energy & utility companies that embraced a digital transformation and those that continue to operate on legacy platforms. It is the same data-driven approach that will power the greatest change process yet - the transition to a clean energy future.

The recent Global Executive Survey, conducted by ENGIE Impact, dives into this topic in more depth. After interviewing 200 executives on developing and implementing sustainability strategies in their organizations two main themes emerged.

• Firstly, when it comes to reducing carbon footprint, knowing where you start and where you want to get to is crucial. Being able to track, store, and analyze data will be vital in measuring exactly how far along businesses are in reaching their goals.

• Secondly, moving rapidly requires fluid operations. Modern energy companies need real-time information, accessed instantly, and accurately through secure systems. This is how energy providers and network operators can hone their services to deliver more efficiently and react immediately in case of an incident.

Let’s take a look at how Salesforce supports businesses in these goals.

From the well-established use cases of collaboration and process automation to more modern innovations like AI and IoT, opportunities to employ Salesforce within the energy sector that add the most value include:

• Collaboration with internal and external parties
• Integrated transaction management from field operations to back-office
• Asset monitoring and maintenance
• Analytics-driven decision-making
• Optimized logistics and carrier management
• Contract lifecycle management
• Supply chain management
• Spreadsheet retirement

So clear is the demand from the energy suppliers for digital transformation, Salesforce now offers bespoke solutions explicitly configured to meet the needs of the energy vertical. One example is Salesforce’s Energy and Utility Cloud, a CRM designed for the industry. Using the platform to create a single source of truth by bringing in information from the different outside systems means all team members have access to the same data ( sales, service, financial, field operations, etc.). The result is the ability to drive insight, learning, and understanding of customers and trends in the industry to the point that they can interpret the next move before it happens.

Another product to keep an eye on is Sustainability Cloud. Salesforce has designed the solution to deliver a cleaner energy future, beginning with companies using data to quantify their carbon footprint. The platform allows companies to analyze relevant information concerning energy usage to get a clear picture of where they are, allowing them to create an informed plan to reduce emissions. Companies that already have a plan or are required to report their emissions use Sustainability Cloud to track their progress and quickly and effectively report to governing agencies or C-level executives. 

Technology to deliver rapid change

More than ever, energy and utility companies have to be prepared to digitize to transform. Working from the base of an innovative, agile, and configurable technology platform allows companies to adjust quickly to challenges. Those organizations with the vision required to deliver digital transformation now will be far ahead in the economic and environmental transition to clean energy and storage projects.

With stakeholder buy-in, Salesforce, and Endiem, digital transformation can happen in a matter of months and be in place to support your organization through the greatest chapter yet, as we move to a cleaner, sustainable future. We are here for you Houston, as we shift into our role as the Energy Transition Capital of the World!