Responsible Energy Initiative India: Insight Log 2 | Orientation
This is the second entry in the Responsible Energy Initiative India insight log. We are producing these insight logs at regular intervals as a way of sharing our learning in a timelier manner, being transparent about what we are experimenting with together, and inviting everyone to learn and collaborate with us. We are firm believers that to go far, we have to go together.
Log entry #2 is a reflection on setting off together into our collaborative in India.
1. What’s been happening?
After a buzz of activity around the launch of the Responsible Energy Initiative Call to Action, and a multitude of subsequent conversations exploring collaboration, we set off on our collaborative inquiry into how the renewable energy value chain can contribute to bringing about a responsible energy system, through a just and regenerative approach.
Refer to page 6 of Renewable Energy to Responsible Energy Initiative: A Call to Action.
Our first step was orienting ourselves so that we are aligned on what we are setting out to do together, and what we want to achieve and inquire into over the next year or so. This meant getting to know each other (almost as fun over Zoom as in real life!), and exploring what we all want to learn in order to unlock the sector’s potential role.
2. What have we learnt about moving towards responsible energy recently?
To draw on the parable, it is clear that there are many parts of the responsible energy elephant. With some of us coming from large investors, larger and smaller renewable energy companies, equipment manufacturers, research and advocacy organisations, and industry platforms to name a few, all of us bring different knowledge and perspectives.
Our hypothesis is that, when taken together, we will have a more systemic understanding of what is happening and why, allowing us to be better placed to identify how the sector can best bring about transformation towards a responsible energy system.
We also benefit from the experience of older industries who have already tried various measures. For example, we discussed indices and ratings as something that has not yet been applied to responsible energy, but has multiple cases to learn from in terms of what does and does not affect real, lasting change that is commensurate with the opportunity.
Even from these different perspectives, there are a multitude of common questions and challenges that we all hold or face. We have landed on a long list of ‘inquiry questions’ that we seek to gain insight into over the course of this year and beyond. We know that we may not be able to solve them all, but we are confident that we can make significant headway together.
These questions sit under five overarching inquiry questions:
- Recognising impacts, and taking preventive and restorative action: How can we ensure that any adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts across the value chain are avoided now and in the future and collectively act to address current issues?
- Spheres of influence and control: How can actors at various stages of the value chain play a role and build shared responsibility for preventing adverse impacts and generating just and regenerative outcomes through the life-cycle and value-chain?
- Governance: What public, private and / or civil society governance mechanisms and approaches would enable the transition to responsible energy?
- Incentives and enablers: What accountability mechanisms would enable and incentivise the transition to responsible energy?
- Roles of different actors: What actors do we need to play what roles individually and collectively to enable a rapid and just transition to responsible energy?
We are keen to connect with others who are also exploring similar questions or working in a related area, so do reach out to the programme manager, Saksham Nijhawan at s.nijhawan@forumforthefuture.org.
3. What have we learnt about / on the process?
On deep listening
For all of our different perspectives to add up to a clearer, fuller shared picture of the dynamics enabling and hindering responsible energy, and to build trust that enables us to collaborate moving forward, we need to be able to hear and empathise with the views of our fellow RE Initiative participants.
Otto Scharmer’s four levels of listening helps us do this more consciously. It highlights our tendency to only hear what reconfirms our own views when listening at level one. In level two, we at least hear what sounds different to our existing perspective, but it is only at level three that we find ourselves actively empathising.
This handy short video explains deep listening in a practical way:
We used these techniques lightly in our first Orientation session, but we know this does not happen overnight, and we will continue to try to build our ability to listen more deeply.
On inquiry questions
The idea of an ‘inquiry’ in this form is relatively unfamiliar to many participants. This is not wrong or surprising, given how fast the industry has had to move. It does mean that, perhaps even more than other industries, our participants are naturally keen to start discussing the answers to the inquiry questions, even before they are fully agreed upon.
Experience tells us some will find this process slow, until it starts to prove its worth by uncovering deeper insights on what will really make a difference. We partners are working hard to maintain momentum, set us up to enable system change, and yet not prevent participants from moving forward immediately with low hanging fruit. We are finding this a fine balancing act and we are definitely learning as we go!
Signed,
The Responsible Energy Initiative Team
