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Knowledge sharing

Stakeholder consultation is becoming an increasingly important aspect of transferring business solutions to other markets. Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has successfully served as a facilitator in bringing sustainable energy solutions to the United States by sharing 'best practices' from Europe with relevant stakeholders across the Atlantic.

At the Global Business Day during the Bali Climate Change Conference last week, the UNFCCC executive secretary Yvo de Boer called for the active engagement of the international business community in the talks on a future climate change deal. "Your input is indispensable to frame a deal that is not only effective in terms of emission reductions but also makes economic sense". Experts from Roland Berger Strategy Consultants' Utilities Competence Center have committed themselves to fostering the exchange of best practice across continents to actively support finding solutions to the pressing problem of climate change.

By facilitating dialog between companies, regulatory bodies, politicians and energy experts in general, Roland Berger has become a trusted party in the European energy and utilities sector. "We are now taking this established network of experts and satisfied clients to the United States along with cutting-edge research and years of consulting experience on the issues", says Jochem Moerkerken, one of the heads of the initiative. "Our goal is to transfer economically and politically viable strategies on sustainable energy to help regulators and business make the right decisions."

In the mid-Western States, Roland Berger has joined forces with independent organizations like the Institute for Public Utilities in bringing together government and business leaders – the latter from both the US and Europe.

Alternative energies and waste management are the most prominent issues on the US agenda. Organizational topics such as public-private partnerships are equally important to key actors in the US, as these set-ups generally result in highly-efficient solutions, particularly in a high-tech field. Here, American companies can profit from in-depth 'best practice' knowledge from the Netherlands. With the European Union's high regulatory standards, policy-makers are looking to European experts to overcome what has long been seen as the Achilles' heel of environmental policy in the US. "What really counts for investors in the U.S. energy market is to have a stable regulatory framework", says Michael Dergis, Principal at the Roland Berger Detroit office

While the United States have shied away from taking on increased responsibility toward solving the global climate change equation through existing instruments, such as the Kyoto Protocol, a number of individual US states have passed far-reaching emissions guidelines and sustainable energy policies. The differences between the state and federal level need not have an adverse affect on investors looking to pursue alternative energy technologies, however, experts say. "With the number of inhabitants in Michigan at 10 m, in Illinois at 13 m, and California at 37 m, these and other states can be profitable markets for 'green' investments, products and services in and of themselves, irrespective of advances on the federal level," Dergis says.

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