Driving a just, local, and enabling transition

Green energy must work for the many, not the few. To succeed in building a world that runs entirely on green energy, we must lead an energy build-out that benefits people.

To date, global climate action has mainly focused on lowering carbon emissions and developing new green technologies. Yet, climate action also concerns people. It’s about empowering people to take part in shaping a greener tomorrow, and it’s about strengthening the resilience of local communities.

Towards 2030, the energy sector will need a much bigger workforce, supply chains will expand to more parts of the world, and renewable energy structures will become part of many local communities. Unless we drive a build-out that works for people, we won’t be able to source critical skills, accelerate the transformation through our supply chains, or create the shared benefits necessary to forge stronger, more resilient communities. Done right, the build-out of renewable energy can be a force for good, with the power to fundamentally reshape how our societies look and operate.

We understand the impacts of the energy transformation on people

We already have sustainability programmes in place to safeguard the people we work with: Our safety standards are well-developed and remain a key priority for us, we’re adamant about our employees’ health and well-being, and our Responsible Business Partner team does rigorous due diligence to ensure that human rights are respected across our supply chain. Yet, to fulfil our ambitions, we must go further. This year, our Board of Directors and Executive Committee decided to further strengthen our approach to building green energy assets that benefit people across our value chain.

The people we impact

Doing this is complex. It’s about economic fairness and justice, social inclusion, health and well-being, and access to quality education. That’s why we’ve systematically mapped all of the relevant ways in which we, directly or indirectly, impact people across our value chain. This has helped shape our approach to playing a more active role in improving the lives of people – and will, in turn, strengthen our business.

The impact we have on people

Ørsted impacts through: Economic justice and fairness, social inclusion, health and well-being & education and training

Placing people at the heart of the energy transition

For us, delivering a build-out that works for people means driving a green energy transition that is just, local, and enabling: just in the way that we create fair and equitable green jobs, local in the way that we listen to our local communities and are motivated to partner with them, and enabling in the way that we empower people around us to take climate action. These are the guiding principles which inform how we want to work with our employees, the people in our supply chain, and local communities.

Scott works as an oyster fisher in Chesapeake Bay, where we’ll construct Skipjack Wind 2, our first US offshore wind farm.

Read the stories from Maryland

Partnering with local communities

Obviously, there’s a range of social themes that any company must address to even have a license to operate. We’re expanding our operations into new geographies and markets where human rights risks are more prominent. This comes with a great responsibility to further strengthen our due diligence to ensure that rights are respected wherever we and our supply chains operate.

Additionally, there are social themes that we’re keen to address so we can develop trusted and long-term relationships with the local communities where we operate and support a just transition to a green economy. As we expand, we’ll become involved with many more local communities in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific for decades. With this expansion comes an unparalleled opportunity to make the people most disproportionately affected by environmental risks benefit from the green energy transition.

Yet, this is a hyperlocal effort. While we already have significant experience working proactively with local communities, we must strengthen our approach, as we face distinct needs, expectations, and opportunities across each community This takes time and effort, but we’re keen to explore the best ways to create local job opportunities and to leverage our renewable energy projects to support thriving and healthy local communities.

At Ørsted, we aspire to be a catalyst for change and inspire climate action beyond our own company. To limit global warming to 1.5 °C before 2050, the world needs to scale up the green energy build-out, which will require more skilled workers. To succeed, the energy sector must be more involved in up- and reskilling its current workforce, strengthening educational institutions globally, and finding ways to increase the diversity of new talent. We want to take a more active role in developing talents for the green transformation. These talents might choose to come work with us, they might develop innovative green solutions on their own, or they might contribute to building the next generation of green leaders. Ultimately, we want our efforts to enable others to realise a shared vision of creating a world that runs entirely on green energy.

Sustainability report 2021

Green energy for the planet and its people

Discover how Ørsted is making renewables a force for positive change – far beyond delivering zero-emissions energy

Sustainability Report