SUSTAINABILITY ASPECTS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATIONS IN ENERGY UTILITY COMPANIES: A CASE STUDY ON TWO MUNICIPAL ENERGY COMPANIES

Abstract: Achieving the balance between the three sustainability aspects i.e., environmental, social, and economic has been a problem for many companies, where many of them still prioritize the economic aspect over the environmental and social aspects. Currently, many companies and energy utilities are going through major changes in their energy systems, and to be able to stay in the market and be competitive, they need to have clear and effective policies and a clear purpose. To examine the challenges that energy utilities are going through and are restraining them from balancing between the three pillars, a qualitative method has been used. Additionally, the solutions to these challenges and which organizations can help were also examined by interviewing two Swedish companies. The findings revealed that the challenges energy utilities were going through were related to knowledge (e.g., customer acceptance, cost, waste reduction, and consuming energy without exhausting the earth's resources). On the other hand, the solutions were knowledge, educating customers, citizens, and companies, getting help from the governments and politicians, such as encouraging the implementation of CSR, laws, and financial incentives. Knowledge has been perceived as the biggest challenge and solution for almost all companies, where increasing awareness and education campaigns would play a big role in solving the problems that companies are going through.