Que: Tell Energetica India Magazine readers in brief about EnKing International including its vision, achievements in the clean energy space?

Ans: EnKing International was founded on August 10, 2008, as a sole proprietorship firm in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Now, EKI Energy Services Limited (popularly known by the brand name EnKing International) is a global premier brand listed at the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company has been working in the realm of ‘climate change, carbon offsets and sustainability solutions for more than a decade. Its objective is to rehabilitate the Earth to low carbon and the climate-resilient global economy in short term through various carbon offset standards like CDM, VCS, Gold Standard (GS), GCC, IREC, TIGR, GES, etc and nature-based solutions in the long run. The company has been a leading player in the carbon market globally for developing and supplying carbon offsets. It has traded more than 100 million offsets to date.

EnKing International has been rendering strategic solutions to businesses and organisations to achieve their climate ambition. It has 2,000+ satisfied clients from a diverse range of projects spread across the globe. The company has bagged multiple national and international recognitions for its exceptional business activities like the winner of Environmental Finance Annual Market Rankings 2020 and many more.

With a vision, “To be the most client-centric service (energy, climate change & business excellence sector) company of the 21st century, where the clients can get World-Class Services (advisory, audits, trading and training) to become more profitable and sustainable”, EKI Energy Services Limited is delivering its wide range of services, in the categories of training, consulting, energy conservation, carbon credit trading, CDM and electrical safety audit, carbon footprint measurement and management, and many more sustainability services.

Que: How do you evaluate your journey so far since the inception of EnKing?

Ans: EnKing started 13 yrs ago and has survived the all-time low of the carbon markets when most companies exited the market. Started with 20 employees and currently, we have more than 140 employees in more than 16 countries. As of August 26, 2021, the market capitalisation of the company crossed Rs 1,400 crore at BSE. With time, EnKing has emerged as a market leader.

Que: What are the various service offerings of EnKing International for clean energy?

Ans: The various service offerings of EKI Energy Services Limited for clean energy include:

• Carbon Offset standards
• Renewable Energy Attributes
• Carbon Footprinting and neutrality
• Sustainability reporting
• Carbon Offsetting

Que: Who are your target customers and industries?

Ans: We mainly focused on various industries including Independent Power Producers (IPPs), micro-scale investors, corporate, etc. We have served more than 2,000 clients so far including The World Bank, Indian Oil, Fortum, NTPC, SB Energy, Indian Railways, NHPC, Airports Authority of India, etc.

Que: Shed some light on your educational background, achievements and experiences across sectors?

Ans: I have completed Graduation (B.E) in Electrical & Electronics stream, and Post Graduation (M.Tech) in Energy Management. Before the formation of EKI Energy Services Ltd in 2008, I have worked in various organisations in different positions including the Society for Enhancing Sustainability & Value of Organisation, SGS India Pvt Ltd, Rayon Applied Engineering.

The awards which I had won includes –

• ‘Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award 2014’ & Certificate of Excellence for outstanding achievements in business ‘Climate Change – International Industry’ by Indian Solidarity Council, New Delhi.

• Award for ‘maximum exports’ in central India during FY 2020-21 by Association of Industries, Madhya Pradesh.

Que: EnKing International’s footprints across the globe? Are there any further expansion plans as well?

Ans: The company is expanding its footprint globally and has its presence in approx 15 countries as of now. It does wish to have a presence in all the developing countries in the next 1-2 years. This will facilitate the sourcing of new projects, clients, etc. Additionally, the company is in the process of developing its nature-based as well as community-based projects to originate high-quality carbon credits.

Que: Is there any behavioral change you found in customers with the change of time? Can you share some experiences?

Ans: Yes, there is significant behavioral change in our customers from both the demand and supply side of the market. With increasing scrutiny from stakeholders on their environmental and social impact, increasing peer pressure to adopt climate impacts related goals like RE100, Carbon Neutrality, SBTi and Net Zero emissions, the demand and willingness to pay more for high integrity credits has increased in the market. Simultaneously when these sentiments pass through the market, the supply side (project proponents or owners) are also now more optimistic and willing to spend time and resources to go through the rigorous process of Validation & Verification to get their carbon offsets and monetize them.

Que: How has been the Q1 FY22 for EnKing International?

Ans: During Q1 FY2022, we continued to build upon the strong growth momentum of the previous year and delivered another quarter of stellar performance. These strong numbers are driven by increasing market awareness for net-zero emissions, increased demand from major markets especially from America and European countries and improved pricing of carbon credits. During the quarter we delivered robust growth across segments. Our major business segment Climate Change & Sustainability Advisory and Carbon Offsetting reported a revenue of Rs 193 crore in Q1 FY2022 as compared to Rs 190 crore in full-year FY2021. The growth has been supported by significantly improved margin levels. The company has reported an EBITDA margin of 24.7 per cent while PAT margins also improved to 18.5 per cent.

As part of our ongoing business expansion and entering into new geographies, during the quarter EKI Energy has entered into a non-binding agreement to acquire a 51 per cent stake in SustainPlus Rise. This company is a Pune-based multi-disciplinary advisory and consultancy firm specialized in climate resilience services. The acquisition will strengthen EKI Energy’s operations with forward integration into the area of sustainability reporting for exchange-listed companies.

Que: What is your industry outlook for the carbon markets?

Ans: We are seeing near-record volumes being transacted in the voluntary carbon markets, despite the global Covid-19 pandemic. McKinsey estimates that annual global demand for carbon credits could reach up to 1.5 to 2.0 gigatons of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) by 2030 and up to 7 to 13 GtCO2 by 2050 (Exhibit 2). Depending on different price scenarios and their underlying drivers, the market size in 2030 could be between $5 billion and $30 billion at the low end and more than $50 billion at the high end.