Whitehouse Communications delivered a major research project for Google to assemble an authoritative database of the current state of policy and regulation on a complex area of environmental and energy law across all 28 (then) Member States of the European Union, alongside the recently developed regulatory measures brought forward by the institutions of the European Union.
Based on meticulous source-material research and informal interviews with senior figures in Brussels and around Europe, the resulting report was the most substantial document yet prepared on the issues under examination, and gave Google’s senior management a solid evidence base to inform its analysis and decisions on future infrastructure investment.
The challenge
Google is a world leading digital company. Google commissioned Whitehouse Communications to undertake a major research project: to assemble a comprehensive database of the current state of policy and regulation on a complex area of environmental and energy law across all 28 (then) Member States of the European Union; to consider the regulatory measures on energy and the environment being brought forward by the institutions of the European Union; and to predict future developments in the sector.
The report needed to be authoritative and source-anchored, and substantial enough to give Google’s senior management the evidence base to extrapolate future political, regulatory and legislative developments in the sector. This analysis would enable the senior team to make informed decisions in relation to future infrastructure investment plans.
Our approach
Whitehouse Communications approached the research project methodically and comprehensively, working meticulously from authoritative source material rather than media reports or third-party summaries, to deliver a database and report that could withstand direct executive-level scrutiny at Google.
The work focused on:
- Painstakingly compiling a database of rules, policies and regulations on the relevant area of environmental and energy law in all 28 (then) Member States of the European Union.
- Considering the recently developed regulatory measures on energy and the environment being brought forward by the institutions of the European Union, alongside the Member State-level material.
- Undertaking informal interviews with senior figures in Brussels and around Europe, to capture policy direction and expected future developments beyond what was available in published documentation.
- Compiling an authoritative report of the research, described in the case study as the most substantial document yet prepared on the issues under examination, and presenting it and its conclusions to senior figures within Google.
The outcome
Whitehouse Communications developed and published a comprehensive report, leaving Google with a solid evidence base covering all EU Member States and the institutions of the European Union, from which its senior managers could extrapolate to predict future political, regulatory and legislative developments and inform business decisions on future infrastructure investment.
For Google, the project delivered the kind of source-anchored, systematically compiled European regulatory picture that supports strategic decision-making beyond the reach of media reporting or third-party summaries.
