Energy and Utilities
Regulatory compliance and energy outsourcing: Navigating the complex energy landscape
The dynamic energy sector of today has seen many changes, from the data revolution and evolving customer expectations to the focus on conservation and sustainability in the energy sector. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solutions have played a pivotal role in this transformation, helping the energy industry harness the power of data, stay agile in the face of evolving market dynamics, implement sustainability initiatives, and achieve compliance assurance.
Compliance assurance in the energy sector
Many regulations govern operations in the energy sector, from the international frameworks guiding sustainable development efforts to national, state, and local regulations focusing on aspects like local ecosystem preservation, operational safety, and zoning. The term “compliance assurance” refers to adherence to these regulations, which is the foundation of any energy project and is essential for the project to succeed.
BPO services often help energy companies streamline compliance assurance by navigating the complexities of different regulations, including:
- Environmental regulations – focusing on the carbon footprint and impact of various energy projects on the ecosystem – including water, air, plants, animals, and other affected elements.
- Safety regulations – focusing on the safeguarding of personnel and property involved in energy projects, including the use of appropriate PPE, worker training, and strict adherence to safety protocols.
- Zoning regulations – focusing on controlling activities in different areas, dictating where energy companies can implement projects – such as solar panels or wind turbines – and relevant regulations for different zones.
- Land-use considerations – focusing on how energy companies can use the land for their projects, ensuring safety, sustainability, and compatibility with the structure and landmarks nearby, and ensuring the safety of people and the environment.
Evolving role of outsourcing in the energy sector
Traditionally, energy and utilities companies have focused on keeping all the operations, including reporting and compliance, in-house to ensure control, reliability, and accountability. However, with the changing technological and evolving energy sector regulations, specialised BPO services have taken over, augmenting the capabilities of energy professionals and helping them keep up with the latest trends and achieving compliance assurance.
Specialised BPO services help ensure energy industry compliance by lending their expertise for:
- Managing various national, state, and local regulations for a streamlined compliance process irrespective of location-related difficulties.
- Implementing effective communication strategies and establishing channels for regular and clear communication to get stakeholders (especially local communities) buy-in.
- Working with subject matter experts to solve any unexpected problems that may arise during the project.
- Tracking and keeping up with the evolving regulatory landscape, especially when it comes to sustainability in the energy sector.
Sourcing suppliers for sustainability in the energy sector
Many factors can affect sustainability in energy initiatives, such as construction practices and materials for the infrastructure, labour practices, buy-in from the local community, and more. One of the key common denominators in all these is the different suppliers the company uses to implement energy projects and sustainability initiatives. Strategic supplier selection can help energy and utilities companies assess compliance assurance from their suppliers, which, in turn, ensures their compliance with the energy sector regulations.
Some of the key criteria to assess compliance assurance of the suppliers include:
- Relevant certifications and accreditations (for example, ISO 50001, ISO 9001, or ISO 14001)
- Financial health and stability
- Previous experience in the energy sector
- Communication strategies
- Reviews from past customers
These criteria, in addition to external audits and a review of the compliance database, can help energy and utilities companies assess whether their suppliers are keeping up with the required practices and ensuring energy industry compliance. Specialised energy BPO services can help you find the right suppliers to not only ensure sustainability in the energy sector but also build a solid reputation in the competitive market.
How can Infosys BPM help promote sustainability in the energy sector?
There is no denying the fact that the energy sector regulations landscape is evolving rapidly as the world focuses more on sustainability in energy initiatives. Specialised BPO services have emerged as the solution to help energy and utility companies keep up with the changing regulations and leverage next-gen technologies like robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and more to streamline the reporting and compliance processes. Infosys BPM offers a comprehensive suite of transformative solutions that can help the energy & utilities business process services to keep up with evolving regulations and embrace renewable energy. With our global reach and local expertise, you can leverage technologies like Gen AI, master data management, GIS data management, advanced analytics, and more to facilitate data-driven decision-making when meeting your sustainability goals and ensure energy industry compliance.