Melvin Peña
A rebranding —a real one— represents a turning point for a business, which transcends a mere change of the logo.
A change in visual identity is just the new clothing through which the company will seek to highlight the new social value that it will create for its audiences.
But a new narrative —because that is what rebranding is all about— will stage in the weeks and months following the launch of the new identity a sequence of milestones that will aim to reposition the organization over time.
AES Dominicana did a “rebranding by the book” last year, promoted by the global corporation in all its locations. First, it carried out the global launch of a new visual identity, which was only for its internal collaborators, due to the special circumstances that made the year 2020 unforgettable; and then, in 2021, it introduced the brand to the general public, through a corporate streaming show.
Next, it announced a mind-boggling change of direction: it publicly committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 70%, by no later than 2030, as part of a decarbonization strategy that has turned out to be so successful, as initial metrics reveal, that the corporation itself has raised the bar again, less than a year after making the first announcement: by 2040, the new goal of AES is the long-awaited carbon neutrality: zero emissions.
After announcing its decarbonization strategy, the company went from words to actions and began a divestment process in the assets that caused the greatest environmental impact, while also beginning an investment process in assets that generate renewable energy.
As a first milestone and proof that the commitment was serious, it sold its profitable ITABO coal-fired plantand built its first solar energy generation project, the Bayasol Photovoltaic Park in the Peravia province.
Shortly after, it launched new smart products and services, including the Clean Energy Navigator portal, a tool to support its customers in the most efficient use of energy, through the implementation of new technologies.
What we are talking about is the positive impact that AES is having on its priority audiences, both through the reorientation of its own business towards renewables and the Digital Transformation of the power generation group, as well as the transformation of the value chain that continues with its customers.
To put it more lyrically —because poetry also fits into business— it is not that AES is just recreating its narrative, but that it is also promoting what is called a “constellation of narratives,” through the support it provides to others so that they can renew their respective stories. Put another way, in arcane financial jargn, it is achieving a positive impact from “compound interest.”
Just as we learned of these developments, the company announced the construction of its second photovoltaic park, in the community of Santana, also in the Peravia province, and a few months later it brought us a ship full of green natural gas, a milestone for the market that is so new it needs to be explained extensively, but, said in one line, it is carbon-neutral natural gas.
What else is coming? Progress is being made in the creation of a regional liquefied natural gas re-export hub, taking advantage of the facilities of the AES Andres terminal, in Caucedo, and AES Panama, in Colón. New specialized ships will arrive to supply LNG to the Caribbean and Central American markets.
AES plans to inaugurate its second solar energy generation park in 2022, but before that, as recently as a few weeks ago, it has opened a theme park for fun and innovation, because that is what its new offices are in the Robles Corporate Center building on Winston Churchill Avenue. While Apple has to beg its employees to return to in-person work, I suppose that AES Dominicana has had to ask its employees to get back on track.
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Article published by communication consultant Melvin Peña, on his website melvinpena.do, on August 26, 2021, and reproduced with his permission. The investments and divestments referenced are in regard to AES Dominicana.
