Innergex and Notarius
Innergex Renewable Energy specializes in the development and operation of hydroelectric plants, wind and solar farms, and energy storage facilities throughout America and Europe.
In partnership with the Inuit community of Inukjuak in northern Quebec, Innergex Renewable Energy has also built a small hydroelectric facility so renewable energy can replace diesel usage, in addition to being a tool for community economic development.
“We have offices and plants producing renewable energy in four different countries: Canada, the United States, France and Chile. So obviously, getting signatures from our executive leaders or external parties is much easier if we are using trusted electronic signatures.”
For Caroline Truchet, Innergex archivist, digitally simplifying administrative processes such as collecting signatures is crucial to differentiate ourselves from other countries and help governments meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets. She explains why.
Innergex: at the forefront of a booming market
Innergex’s sector is increasing significantly. The international renewable energy market is projected to reach $1,977.6 billion by 2030, and the Canadian company is well positioned to ride out this impending economic wave.
“At Innergex, people want to make a difference for the benefit of the environment and for the sustainable development of renewable energy.”
In order to drive growth internationally, Caroline first identified some major challenges. These were issues that, in the long-term, could hamper the competitiveness of the organization and its legal compliance criteria.
The administration of document archiving and signature collection had become too cumbersome. Caroline noted that paper increased the level of complexity of international and interdepartmental projects, resulting in delays that were challenging to justify in a world that is hybrid and free from economic borders.
She also highlighted challenges with the ability to have an overview of all the work in progress, the growing number of intermediaries, the pollution from paper processes and, especially, the legal risks associated with non-compliant signatures.
“People try to find circumvention methods that are not fully compliant with our norms and standards. (…) We could have paper-based signatures that were scanned in, or we could even have, on the same document, the image of a signature added to the PDF. It wasn’t the best practice in terms of legal value or compelling evidence.”
Moreover, since the business operates mainly on private property, entering into contracts with multiple people plays a crucial role in moving projects forward. If the need to revise these contracts ever arose, managing legal documents in paper format could quickly turn into a nightmare.
“Optimizing signatures in international contexts greatly facilitates Innergex’s projects and the development of renewable energy projects.”
Caroline looked for alternative solutions, particularly digital document management and contract management tools, seeking one that would optimize the management of signature projects. She quickly found that not all digital signatures on the market were equally effective.
Signing up a specialist as well as a landowner
“During the evaluation, we tested the strength of various popular tools...”
As a firm with many regulated professions and heightened legal requirements due to government partnerships, the electronic signature tool could not cut any corners on identity protection or identity certification.
“We compared ConsignO Cloud to other signature platforms. (…) We tested its strength in every possible way. Many other solutions did not stand up to the security and reliability testing.”
Thus, it was thanks to a pilot project that Caroline integrated the electronic signature tool, quickly realizing that the deployment was going to be very expeditious.
“Yes, the tool meets our safety requirements and our archive formats. But it also meets our expectations with regards to intuitiveness. Everyone is able to use it.”
Supported by ConsignO Cloud experts, Caroline gradually supported 20 employees, then increased to 76. Now, the “SSO integration will add 500 signature users to the platform. This will allow us to eliminate people bypassing or [any] non-compliance.”
For her, the usability makes things very easy both for the organization (because all internal employees can use it) as well as for homeowners, who are often far away and hard to reach.
“This happened with a homeowner who was on vacation overseas. We put the contract on ConsignO Cloud and were were able to get the documents in a matter of minutes. (...) Our partners who were not familiar with tech were able to sign without us explaining how to use it.
Caroline mentioned that since the adoption of ConsignO Cloud, she has definitely seen a reduction in “risk stemming from poor contract management” and a simplification of the “compliance framework.”
“The managers see the current status of projects. They see the signed contracts and those waiting to be signed. Nothing falls between the cracks.”
She mentions that it is no longer just about meeting requirements, but thinking about ways to be more productive and innovative – things that will have an impact on the quality of Innergex’s future projects and its business development. And she has several concrete examples...
Secure electronic signatures: Concentrating on business and innovation
With ConsignO Cloud and its personalization features, Caroline shows that when a supplier has to sign a contract, he sees the company’s logo on the interface and in the signature images, which reinforces the notion of trust. The agent immediately recognizes that document comes from Innergex and not from another tool.
The same thing goes for hiring. A candidate can quickly see that the business is using state-of-the-art technology.
“Our HR department uses ConsignO Cloud for all recruitment contracts and for all documents signed prior to hiring. Since interviews are now held virtually, we are standardizing our digital life cycle.”
Even more importantly, Caroline underlines that helping specialists and managers eliminate the need for follow ups thanks to automated notifications and recall dates “helps them concentrate on more significant tasks like being on the ground.”
Previously, processes got bogged down by a complex paper management system; “now we notify approvers, signatories and people to be notified directly in the project. Everyone is easily made aware and everyone can play their roles.”
These roles also include those of regulated professionals like engineers, who can submit their requirements to their professional colleges through professional digital signatures in ConsignO Cloud.
Ultimately, process optimization makes the company much more versatile and agile when carrying out projects – whether they be in Europe and South America, or in remote desert areas in the United States or northern Canada.
“Process optimization allows our teams to concentrate on renewable energy solutions because they no longer need to worry about administrative follow up. Once everything is in ConsignO Cloud, the process is underway and they know that it will happen without needing to intervene.”
Caroline makes no secret of the fact that the small project she launched which initially only affected approximately twenty people now has a big impact on the entire company and its global development. The firm can now better seize opportunities in the growing renewable energy market, while knowing that the solution will be able to evolve with the organization and its choices regarding future technological integration.
“We started with several dozen documents and now, we produce thousands. I see the potential of this tool to assist in Innergex’s growth.”