The world's energy consumption continues to rise and shows no signs of stopping. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency, consumption will grow approximately 40 percent by 2035.

It's not news that changes in the nation's energy architecture are needed to meet this increasing demand along with energy security needs and increasingly stringent requirements for environmental sustainability.

Executive decision-makers have a difficult job when it comes to determining the best way to meet these demands. Let's face it – in an era of climate change in addition to the scarcity of some of our most precious global resources and the state of the worldwide economy – times are tough. Responding to these often competing goals is challenging and comes with trade-offs.

It is important for executives to understand the core objectives of the energy architecture transition and how they will be affected by these global dynamics.

New research from Accenture and the World Economic Forum recommends the following steps for sorting out these challenges:

1. Understand the trade-offs and economic impacts of the transition, particularly with large legacy systems.

2. Consider internal and regional constraints, including the availability of physical elements such as land and water, as well as the capacity of social elements to enact change.

3. Benchmark and measure progress and performance over time to uncover challenges and provide a basis from which to make policy and investment decisions, as well as prioritize opportunities for improvement.

4. Learn from what others are doing – both their successes and failures.

5. Create collaborative, mutually supportive enabling environments in which to make decisions.