C3 Power system sustainability and environmental performance

C3 Power system sustainability and environmental performance

Purpose

Study Committee C3 facilitates and promotes the principles of sustainable development in the field of power system performance through the global exchange of information and knowledge, generating added value by identifying best practices and developing recommendations in line with global best practices.

The scope of Study Group C3 covers the interactions between the natural and social environments and the end-to-end electricity system. It involves addressing environmental and social impacts such as land use, biodiversity; greenhouse gases; air, soil, and water pollution; natural resource consumption; waste generation; electromagnetic fields; noise or landscape.  It also considers the prominent role and relevance of different stakeholder groups, with a special focus on local communities. 

The role of the power system in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals is also a field of work for SC3.

Main areas of work

Environmental and social impacts of power system development and operation with a life cycle approach 

  • From cradle to grave, from planning to decommissioning
  • Identification, assessment, monitoring, and management of impacts
  • Mitigation and offsetting measures
  • Procedures, methodologies, and tools for quantifying, controlling, and mitigating the environmental impact such as life-cycle assessment, environmental product declarations and global benchmarking
  • Risk assessment

Sustainability – role of the power system, in anticipation to new trends and challenges

  • Impacts of relevant and emerging technologies (renewables, storage systems, hydrogen and new materials)
  • Climate change mitigation (decarbonisation and net zero) and adaptation (risks and opportunities)
  • New sustainability approaches: eco-design, eco-efficiency, circularity, supply chain management 

Stakeholders’ engagement and public acceptance

  • Effective communication and cooperation with the public and regulatory authorities to improve public acceptance of power system infrastructure and decision-making processes
  • Tools and engagement strategies