Illustration: Lu Ting/GT

The use of renewable energy has become more important than ever over recent years as human civilization copes with increasingly severe natural disasters wrought by climate change and ecological degradation. Forward thinking multinational companies have been early to jump on the green bandwagon with huge investments in clean energy designed to manage operating expenses over the long run.

A recent example here comes from Swedish furniture company IKEA, which announced at the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change on April 10, that it had purchased a wind farm with 49 turbines in Hoopeston, Illinois, slated to start operation in the first half of 2015. This marks the latest, not to mention the biggest, investment in renewable energy by IKEA after the home furnishing retailer became one of the largest private commercial users of solar power in the US, where it currently owns 550,000 photovoltaic panels. Reports say that IKEA has invested more than $150 billion in solar panels in the US over the last three years.

But IKEA's wind farm is not meant to generate energy for its North American stores, Rob Olson, chief financial officer for IKEA's US operations, recently told MarketWatch. Instead, the electricity produced by the farm will be sold back to local grid operators. This farm will be added to the wind assets now being run by IKEA in eight countries. IKEA says it plans to look for more wind opportunities in the future.

With investments in wind, solar and geothermal energy, IKEA is getting closer to its goal of being resource and energy independent by 2020 as stated in its sustainability report for 2013. The company has allocated $2 billion on energy projects from 2009 to 2015.

Along with other multinational brands like Intel, IKEA signed a "climate declaration" in coordination with BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy) in April 2013, which recognizes that tackling climate change is "one of the greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century," according to IKEA's sustainability report.

Meanwhile, the Solar Means Business Report identified Wal-Mart as the top commercial solar energy user in the US last year. The retail chain also indicated it wants to produce all of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 by increasing construction of clean energy projects in the US.

In Silicon Valley, Google and Apple have also made big investments in renewable energy. Apple's solar farm in Maiden, North Carolina, provides clean energy for its data centers. For Google, as much as 34 percent of the company's daily operations are now powered by alternative resources, according to a report by CNBC in February, quoting Rick Needham, Google's director of energy and sustainability.

Google needs to look to alternative energy to power its data centers around the world because in the fourth quarter of last year alone, it spent $2.25 billion on infrastructure building, said Needham.

The tech company has invested more than $1 billion in 15 reusable energy projects and has plans to invest more as it looks to lower overall operating costs for the company. The latest move by Google involves the operation of a solar thermal plant in Ivanpah, California, in February, which is reportedly the largest of its kind in the world.

All the big companies mentioned above - IKEA, Wal-Mart, Apple and Google - share a common goal for their facilities to be completely powered by renewable energy in the next five to 10 years. Multinational companies are in a race to produce their own renewable energy because having access to alternative energy lowers operational expenses and keeps retail costs low.

As IKEA's Rob Olson stated at the Bicameral Task Force, "… it makes good financial sense. We invest in our own renewable energy sources so that we can control our exposure to fluctuating electricity costs and continue providing great value to our customers."

Investing more in alternative resources can also promote the brand image of these companies. It sends a clear message to shareholders and customers that they care about the environment and envision for more efficient future.

A study in late 2012 by Calvert Investment, Ceres and the World Wildlife Fund shows many of the world's largest companies realize the importance of clean energy to business. Companies like AT&T and General Motors have made commitments to renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions even after the economic downturn in the US, according to the study.

All these pledges sound good on paper, but whether the lofty goals of these big brands can be realized, and how much value these new energies can bring to companies, remains uncertain. Multinational companies face challenges such as inconsistent government policies in operating new energy assets in different parts of the world. Governments worldwide should recognize the importance of alternative energy and introduce more accommodative policies for businesses.

The author is an editor with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn