ROSI™ empowers energy companies across the value chain to decarbonize and create long term value
Energy has been the foundation of global economic growth and development. The global energy sector is rapidly evolving, with growth in global energy demand surging in 2024 to 2.2%, faster than the annual average rate of 1.3% seen between 2013 and 2023. While energy underpins economic activity, the energy sector accounted for 76% of global GHG emissions, hence decarbonization of the energy sector becomes increasingly urgent.
NYU Stern CSB, in collaboration with PwC, applied the Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI™) framework to the energy sector to develop a framework of critical decarbonization strategies and practices that can drive financial value creation and/or value preservation.
The Energy Decarbonization Framework catalogues practices that are used across the sector in the oil and gas, wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear, hydrogen and bioenergy industries. It suggests quantitative methodologies that can be used to build the internal business case for decarbonization for companies within the sector. The application of the framework explored benefits in the value driver categories of risk management, operational efficiency, talent management, sales and marketing, customer loyalty, stakeholder engagement, media coverage, supplier relations and innovation. The good news is that there are numerous actions that companies in the sector can take. Points of caution are that the regulatory environment has a significant impact on the sector, perhaps more than has been seen in other frameworks, but companies should still stay the course.
Through research, CSB identified that the decarbonization practices could be grouped under four categories explained below:
Click below to explore each of the fuel types, including specific practices and monetization tools that can help calculate the financial benefits of sustainability investments.
Thank You to our Company Collaborators and Research Team
The framework was designed with practical knowledge from and interviews with a variety of industry companies, NGOs and independent consultants.
CSB contributors to the project include Tensie Whelan, Chisara Ehiemere, Divya Chandra, and Beverly Teng.
Additional ROSI™ Research
ROSI™ Resources
CSB offers in-depth resources on ROSI™, including a step-by-step overview, research publications, industry case studies, and Excel tools for download.
Healthcare Decarbonization Framework
The Healthcare Delivery Systems Decarbonization Framework identifies 8 decarbonization strategies that healthcare delivery systems can use to make the internal business case for implementing decarbonization practices, develop more resilient organizations and drive financial value.
Food & Agriculture Sustainability Strategies Framework
CSB applied the ROSI™ methodology to the food and agriculture value chain, identifying 12 strategies and creating case studies to demonstrate the practices in action.