The modern world is built on the back of outdated, dirty, and all-too-vulnerable technology. Cutting edge companies rely on systems designed and built decades ago. Centralized fossil-fueled power plants, inefficient and challenging to maintain delivery systems, and ageing infrastructure make up the crumbling foundation our economies are built upon. In recent years, severe weather events (including super storms and wildfires), cyber-attacks and maintenance related issues have cost the US alone, billions in lost productivity through power quality and reliability related issues.
One solution to these problems lies in Distributed Energy Systems (DES). The idea is simple; make and store your own energy at or close to where it is needed and you’ll still be up and running the next time a tree falls on the utility’s power lines. While the concept is simple, the reality can be highly complex. From this complex problem VECKTA was created, to empower a distributed energy future in a more simple and accessible way.
VECKTA Vision With Gareth Evans
VECKTA CEO Gareth Evans, in discussion with Digital Insider Magazine put it this way, when we speak to energy users interested in DES they say “I don’t know where to begin. Can solar power provide enough energy? Does my facility have enough land for it? Do I need battery energy storage and if so, how much? Should wind, fuel cells, or combined heat and power be considered? How will the solution be configured and operated to meet your unique needs, how much will it cost and how do I coordinate all the relevant stakeholders to deploy such a solution?”
This hurdle has held back campuses, hospitals, communities, and businesses of all kinds from transitioning to a cheaper, greener, more resilient way. VECKTA’s platform changes all that by dramatically simplifying the process of energy transition. Microgrids & DES are necessarily bespoke, each one custom tailored to the physical space, energy consumption and specific needs of the organization. VECKTA coordinates and chaperones the process from start to finish and makes that customization simple.
“VECKTA makes it easy,” says CEO Evans. “Powered by XENDEE, it’s the only software platform in the world that considers all the essential parameters—technical, economic, and physical—that are needed to truly design, test and optimize a distributed energy system.”
Beyond the design, from inception to operation, VECKTA empowers the co-creation and deployment of systems tailor-made for energy end user. In a cost efficient and user friendly way the platform coordinates all aspects of qualifying an idea through to designing, financing, engineering, and constructing the energy solution, making the process of energy transition seamless and efficient.
“VECKTA provides a space for energy users and the industry to transparently collaborate more confidently through a single interface, and be connected the best tools, processes, data and partners within a marketplace platform,”
The VECKTA platform is much more than a tool to help business cut their emissions or gain energy resiliency, a fact that originates in the company’s core values. With the three-part aim of challenging limits, adapting purposefully, and empowering co-creation, VECKTA’s goal is to accelerate the energy transition and help the world of energy, businesses and communities to thrive and evolve to be stronger, more sustainable and profitable for all.
Written By Gareth Evans
Photo credits: (Peter Gibbons / UNSPLASH) (Diego PH / UNSPLASH)
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Barry Callebaut’s Use Of Sustainable Ingredients
When it comes to sourcing ingredients to produce chocolate on a global scale, prioritizing ethical and sustainable sourcing needs to be enforced and upheld as the industry standard.
Barry Callebaut is transparent about where and how they source everything from packaging materials to the raw ingredients like cane sugar, coconut, and cocoa that go into their products.
In addition, they aren’t afraid to admit where there is room for improvement. For example, palm oil is one of the leading causes of deforestation of our rainforests.
Therefore, Barry Callebaut has been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2011. And recently, they joined the front-running members of the Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) in order to build upon the efforts of RSPO to further advance sustainable palm oil requirements.
Corporate Commitment to Sustainability
It’s one thing to say it, but Barry Callebaut takes action. Their corporate commitment to sustainability runs deep within their policies and codes of conduct, solidifying their values through actionable steps and practices. The entire team at Barry Callebaut upholds these high standards of sustainability and ethically- sourced ingredients.
Sustainability Reporting at Barry Callebaut
A key theme throughout all of Barry Callebaut’s efforts is transparency. Committed to reporting transparency around their sustainability measures, they publish a sustainability report every fiscal year.
The Forever Chocolate Campaign
Forever Chocolate is Barry Callebaut’s campaign to make sustainable chocolate the norm. By 2025, Barry Callebaut hopes to achieve four ambitious targets that address the largest sustainability challenges in the chocolate supply chain: