Clarity AI: The Divide in Corporate Renewable Energy Use

Today, the 22nd of April 2025, is the 55th Earth Day.

Ever since its inception, Earth Day has always been a moment to pause and reflect the planet’s health.

In the half century since the first Earth Day, climate change has accelerated faster than anyone had anticipated, making the need for climate action more urgent than ever.

New data from Clarity AI, released in conjunction with Earth Day’s 55th anniversary, reveals a sharp divide in global corporate renewable energy use. 

While some countries and sectors have dramatically increased their uptake of clean energy, others—particularly heavy industries—remain stuck in a carbon-intensive past.

Using a huge data set spanning the years from 2020 to 2025, the report evaluates renewable energy usage among MSCI ACWI-listed companies in the top ten countries for renewable generation. 

Though it paints a picture of some considerable global momentum, the findings also highlight major gaps that could threaten efforts to meet the 2030 goal of tripling global renewable generation.

Which countries are using the most renewable energy?

Of all the world’s economies, Clarity AI has found that Brazilian companies are making the most striking gains when it comes to clean energy.

All in all, Brazilian businesses have tripled their share of renewable energy use from 19% in 2020 to 51% in 2024. That 32-point increase places Brazil second overall among countries analysed.

When it comes to absolute usage, though, Spain leads the charge by some distance.

Almost 60% of corporate energy consumption is now renewable in Spain and in the past four years Spanish firms have increased their clean energy usage by an impressive 20%.

The US has seen more modest gains, with companies increasing their renewable share to an overall 29%. 

And while that trajectory is positive, Clarity’s analysis shows that this is insufficient when viewed against the urgency of global decarbonisation goals.

Elsewhere, Chinese companies continue to lag behind.

Whilst China is the world’s largest investor in renewable energy infrastructure, its corporations have grown their renewable energy usage by just 7% since 2020, which is concerning given the sheer scale of the Chinese economy and its emissions footprint.

Which industries and sectors are decarbonising fastest?

When comparing national data, it is clear that some are performing far better than others. 

The divergence is even more pronounced in the sector level data, though.

Firstly, companies in electrifiable industries like IT and financial services are surging ahead when it comes to decarbonisation.

The financial sector jumped from 32% to 53% renewable energy use, while IT and communications rose from 23% to almost 45%.

Simply put, these are huge successes. But Clarity AI’s analysis shows that decarbonisation is a far simpler endeavour for sectors that are already integrated into the electricity grid.

Where electrification is feasible, the shift to clean energy is happening with speed and scale.

By contrast, energy-intensive sectors like fossil fuel production, heavy industry, aviation and real estate have made only sluggish progress. 

The renewable energy usage of the fossil fuels and materials sectors rose from 12% to 18%, while real estate moved from 13% to 20%.

The infrastructure challenge

Generally, the industries that are lagging behind are what is known as ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors, as the steps required to decarbonise are much less intuitive and cost effective.

Whilst they may make marginal improvements in their renewable energy usage, they face a great deal of technical and infrastructural challenges when it comes to decarbonisation, simply because they rely so heavily on direct fuel combustion.

“These industries are structurally more challenging to decarbonise, yet are critical for achieving net zero emissions by 2050, as they account for 75% of global emissions,” says Andrés Olivares, Senior Manager of Product Research and Innovation at Clarity AI.

“Without substantial investment in infrastructure and electrification technologies, the global ambition of a net zero economy will remain out of reach.”

Thankfully, Andrés’s views align with the EU’s plans to streamline corporate decarbonisation, which include a European Grids Plan that would support large-scale electrification across the bloc.

Nevertheless, the road to total renewable energy uptake is still plagued with hurdles.

Electricity currently makes up just a third of Europe’s industrial energy mix and only about 20% in the United States.

“As a global community, we’re progressing, but the data shows we’re only halfway there,” Andrés explains. 

“Generating more clean energy isn't enough if we want to achieve the necessary emissions reductions. 

“We need to develop the infrastructure to use it effectively, especially in the most energy-intensive sectors. 

“Powering the Earth differently is not enough. We must also build it to run differently.”

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