Sustainability

Rebel provides advice on sustainability and contributes to solutions in energy transition, climate adaptation, sustainable water usage, smart waste separation and recycling.

In brief

In 2050, there will be approximately 9 billion people sharing this planet – and standards of living are likely to continue rising rapidly. This will lead to a rising demand for water and energy, resulting in increased waste and emissions. A sustainable, affordable, and dependable supply of energy will require a major shift in the way we think and work. At Rebel, taking a non-traditional approach comes naturally: we like to swim against the tide. Our creativity will become more important than ever as the world moves away from fossil fuels and toward a CO2-neutral energy supply. We develop innovative solutions based on new models for cooperation, business cases, financing structures and alternative revenue models.

 

A sustainable built environment

One of the challenges we face is making the best choices in the heating transition, in collaboration with municipalities, housing corporations, and other stakeholders. We do this by shedding light on the feasibility and practicality of localized and building-specific solutions, both at the level of individual stakeholders and the sustainability project as a whole. We start with optimum long-term solutions and convert these into action plans that can be implemented in the short term.

Generating sustainable energy

Wind, solar, bio, and geothermal energy are the primary renewable sources for future energy production. We help developers prepare business cases and finance projects based on renewable sources – ranging from small-scale wind projects to large-scale geothermal projects. Innovative forms of financing and strong stakeholder engagement always play a role in our sustainability-related projects.

Advice on the circular economy

In the circular economy, there is no such thing as waste, because virtually all waste has the ability to become a valuable resource. However, the sector needs ongoing innovation, cooperation, and sustainability advice to achieve the transition to the circular economy. We also see that the corporate sector plays an important part in this transition as an accelerator of innovation and scaling up new initiatives. Rebel leads the way in the circular movement. It knows the market and speaks the language of both government and industry. Check, for example, the climate impact report we did for Lao PDR, a UNDP project.

By putting the right financial incentives in place, we can strike an effective balance of responsibility between governments, private companies, and the general public. As a result, we will be able to get much more intrinsic value from waste than we currently do. This means that Rebel brings its expertise to bear on circular procurement, accelerating chain collaboration and sustainable investment in circular business cases.

Climate adaptation

Extreme precipitation events, rising sea levels, long periods of extreme drought: our changing climate poses a major challenge, and not only for our existing urban infrastructure and our agricultural sector. The question of how we can make our cities and rural areas – and their inhabitants – more climate resilient is a central concern for many local authorities and organizations. We provide support by understanding this question, analyzing the problem and the risks, and outlining the economic arguments in favor of a range of possible and practical solutions. We also take our analysis one step further, looking at the distribution of costs and benefits for each stakeholder, developing business cases, and devising effective governance structures. In doing so, we help boost the resilience of the Americas – and the rest of the world too.

Markets

Our other focal areas