Renewable Energy, Sustainable Business Models, and Decarbonization in the European Union: Comparative Analysis of Corporate Sustainability Reports

Ningshan Hao and Voicu D. Dragomir ()
Additional contact information
Ningshan Hao: Doctoral School of Accounting, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
Voicu D. Dragomir: Department of Accounting and Audit, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-26

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to investigate the development of sustainable business models (SBMs) of renewable energy companies. To assess the degree of alignment with the European Union Taxonomy for sustainable activities (Regulation 2020/852), the European Green Deal, and the Sustainable Development Goals of five renewable energy companies—Ørsted, Engie, Vattenfall, Iberdrola, and Enel—we have used their sustainability reports from 2023. We have analyzed how each company contributes to the EU climate targets and strategy to achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. The results showed the challenges faced by each company in switching from traditional fossil fuel models to renewable models. Due to regulatory constraints and different organizational structures, each company has adopted a specific SBM with respect to power generation and the green transition. The advantages and disadvantages of these SBMs were identified and described comparatively to help regulators, policymakers, and industry associations improve sustainability reporting for the energy sector.

Keywords: sustainable business models (SBMs); renewable energy; EU Taxonomy; European Green Deal; carbon emission reduction; energy transition; sustainability reporting; climate goals; low-carbon economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3646/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3646/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3646-:d:1637065

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().