Partnerships: The key to build tomorrow’s energy market for net zero

The transition to a net-zero future is an enormous challenge. Requiring more than just cutting-edge technology, it demands financial innovation and strategic collaboration across industries. At Redaptive, we have seen firsthand how partnerships can accelerate energy efficiency and sustainability goals, making decarbonization not just an environmental imperative but an economic opportunity.

At the GreenBiz Conference, I had the privilege of joining sustainability leaders from CBRE, PwC, Apollo Global Management and TRIO Advisory to explore how businesses can leverage partnerships to overcome capital constraints, modernize infrastructure and integrate advanced technologies to drive sustainability at scale.

The role of partnerships in decarbonization

One key takeaway from our discussion was that successful decarbonization often requires a multi-stakeholder approach. Many organizations struggle to execute energy efficiency projects due to fragmented decision-making, outdated infrastructure and budgetary limitations. In a short survey of our session attendees, many even said that they work with 10-plus outside partners in working to achieve their goals.

Redaptive’s Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model is designed to eliminate these barriers. By enabling organizations to modernize their infrastructure without upfront capital expenditures, we help businesses unlock energy savings and sustainability improvements at scale. Our partnership with CBRE, for example, allows us to integrate energy efficiency upgrades across vast real estate portfolios, ensuring that sustainability goals align with financial and operational priorities.

“CBRE is the largest real estate company in the world — we’re 40 percent of the problem, so we have a pretty vested reason to be part of the solution!” said CBRE Global Head of Sustainability Solutions & Business Partnerships Rob Behrns. “We use partnerships to help customers accelerate sustainability by simplifying the complexity of that journey.” For example, decoupling capital planning from project execution. “Through our partnership [with Redaptive], rather than waiting for lengthy budget approvals, companies can use flexible financing models to implement energy solutions immediately.”

Beyond efficiency, a comprehensive approach to decarbonization must integrate energy-saving initiatives with renewable energy generation and new technology. This requires coordination. Partnerships can help companies strategically integrate technology and achieve their net-zero ambitions faster and more cost-effectively.

Drew Murphy, CEO of TRIO Advisory, said that his company takes a programmatic approach to partnerships — one that pulls together efficiency measures such as HVAC and lighting controls with on-site renewable generation. He said, “We have deep relationships with on-site solar installers, with off-site project developers, with people who are developing community solar and assets, with companies that are selling RECs or EACs [Renewable Energy Credits or Energy Attribute Certificates]. Those are all partnerships that help us deliver results to our clients. It’s access to capital, it’s access to technology, access to projects, access to particular kinds of renewables that we actually see where we need partners all the time.”

Innovative financing models driving energy transition

A major barrier to large-scale energy efficiency investments has historically been the financing model. Ben Saunders of Apollo Global Management put it this way: “Private equity and infrastructure investors are funding efficiency upgrades off-balance sheet. They do this because it allows businesses to invest in sustainability without diverting capital from core operations.” An EaaS model enables companies to pay for efficiency improvements through operational savings rather than traditional capital expenditures.

AI and machine learning also play a crucial role in optimizing energy use and making the business case for the energy transition. “It’s about cost efficiency,” PwC Managing Director Youssef Mestari said. “Real estate is a top cost center, so also where you can find a pocket of savings with optimization around a set of parameters like HVAC, lighting, etc. We can use AI to understand the patterns of occupancy, then, for example, forecast temperature and correctly deploy janitorial services, saving money.”

A performance-based financing approach reduces financial risk while allowing organizations to scale decarbonization efforts more rapidly. As regulatory and market pressures increase, such financing mechanisms will become essential for companies striving to meet ESG commitments while maintaining financial flexibility.

Addressing organizational challenges to decarbonization

Despite the availability of innovative solutions, many organizations still face internal challenges in advancing sustainability initiatives. CFOs and procurement teams often hesitate to approve energy projects due to concerns over ROI and complex decision-making structures. “There is ownership within companies when it comes to sustainability, but there is no ownership regarding decarbonization,” PwC’s Mestari said. “Who owns decarbonization is usually lost in translation.”

To overcome this, Mestari emphasized the importance of framing sustainability initiatives in financial terms — positioning energy efficiency as a strategy for risk reduction, cost savings and resilience.

Apollo’s Saunders reframed sustainability as not just a compliance issue but a long-term business strategy that enhances brand value, attracts investment and improves operational efficiency. He said, “I think about sustainability partnerships across a handful of dimensions. Do you learn something from it? Can you monetize what it brings to your business? What does the partner have that’s differentiated and hard to replicate? Does it enhance your brand? If your partnership can check these boxes, you’re going to be able to solve a far greater number of individual customer challenges, at scale, with more happy customers.”

Looking ahead: The future of energy partnerships

As the energy market evolves, partnerships will continue to play a pivotal role in driving the transition to a low-carbon economy. Investors are increasingly prioritizing ESG performance, and businesses must align sustainability efforts with financial value creation.

The energy transition is an opportunity, not a regulatory burden. By fostering collaboration among technology providers, financial institutions and service firms, we can accelerate the energy transition and build a more resilient, sustainable future. TRIO’s Murphy summed it up well: “There’s so much opportunity out there, we should be collaborating as much as we can. It’s a huge problem to solve, which will take lots of different solutions, and there’s trillions of dollars available to solve it, so there’s lots of room for us to work together.” The path to net zero is not one that businesses must walk alone. Through strategic partnerships, we can unlock new opportunities, drive meaningful impact and ensure that sustainability goals translate into tangible business outcomes. The time to act is now—by working together, we can build tomorrow’s energy market today.

View the full session from GreenBiz 25 here.