How will corporation tax change under Making Tax Digital?

As part of ‘Making Tax Digital’, an initiative to make tax administration more effective, the UK government is opening a consultation for the design of a digital platform for filing corporation tax

Social Impact: Embedding social impact into the heart of business

By partnering with social enterprises, businesses can accelerate growth and ensure their operations include a positive humanitarian and environmental impact

Climate change: Managing the ‘Green Line’ to address climate action

Traditionally, the top and bottom lines of a business are its most important metrics. But companies need to start treating their “green line” – the measurement of their environmental efforts – with just as much importance

The circular economy: Enabling the transformation to circular business

The circular economy could unlock $4.5trn in economic growth. To capture this growth, transparency and collaboration within business are crucial

Total accelerates green energy drive with Eren and GreenFlex partnerships

Total has purchased stakes in renewable energy company Eren and energy efficiency company GreenFlex as falling costs make renewable energy alternatives more appealing

Total's stake in Eren signals a new strategic focus on environmentally friendly sources of energy

On September 19, French oil firm Total announced the purchase of a 23 percent stake in renewable energy company Eren, enhancing its position in the green energy sector. The deal is valued at €237.5m ($284.7m) and gives Total the opportunity to takeover Eren after a period of five years.

The purchase highlights Total’s acceptance of emerging environmentally friendly sources of energy. Although fossil fuels have dominated power generation for decades, the falling costs of solar, wind and hydroelectric energy have granted the green energy market a chance to compete with fossil fuels.

Eren, which will be renamed Total Eren after the transaction is complete, aims to possess a global installed energy capacity of more than 3GW by 2022. Speaking about the purchase, Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the partnership would have strategic rewards for both companies.

Eren, which will be renamed Total Eren after the transaction is complete, aims to possess a global installed energy capacity of more than 3GW by 2022

“Total integrates climate challenge into its strategy and is pursuing steady growth in low-carbon businesses, in particular in renewable energy,” Pouyanné explained. “By partnering with Eren, we are leveraging a team that has a proven track record in renewable power production, and we are investing in an additional asset to accelerate our profitable growth in this segment, in line with our ambition to become the responsible energy major.”

In further efforts to project a more conscientious image, Total has also committed to taking over energy efficiency firm GreenFlex, a global leader in the use of data science to manage energy consumption. Although the value of the deal remains unknown, GreenFlex currently boasts annual revenues in excess of €350m ($419.6m).

Evidently, Total is keeping up efforts to diversify its energy portfolio at a time when oil prices are depressed and environmental concerns are gathering pace. However, the company has not given up on its core offering and announced the $7.55bn purchase of oil production assets from Danish firm AP Moller-Maersk back in August.