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Thriving communities

As we build more and more renewable energy projects around the world, we engage with an increasing number of communities.

For it to be a just transition, these communities need to play a part in shaping it, and to share in the benefits it can generate.

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What are we doing?
How are we doing?
Latest updates
Key information

Why do we need a just transition where local communities thrive?


We can only be successful in accelerating the green transition if we have the support and trust of the communities where we work – communities in which we’ll be present for decades to come.

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We aspire to build green energy projects that live up to the demand from customers and communities to shape the build-out together with communities and use it to deliver benefits to them. 


We want to be a trusted partner to our communities. We’re building large infrastructure projects near their homes. Our projects can bring socio-economic opportunities to communities and a positive impact on wellbeing, and we’re keen to make this happen together with our communities.

What are we doing?

To help communities realise the opportunities our projects bring, we’re exploring initiatives within action areas such as:

  • Growing industrial ecosystems. We’re committed to creating local jobs and supply chain opportunities. But beyond this, we want to support the growth of whole industrial ecosystems that can develop local talent, grow local businesses, and promote local innovation. 

  • Including disadvantaged groups. We want the opportunities renewable energy brings to be accessible to marginalised groups in the places where we work. 

  • Designing for coexistence. We want to strengthen communities’ participation and engagement throughout the design of our projects, so that the build-out not only delivers a positive impact for people but is done in collaboration with people.

How are we doing?  


We’re still in the process of developing indicators and targets for this sustainability area that go beyond inputs (e.g. spend) and outputs (e.g. how many jobs we create). We want to find ways to measure and track our socio-economic impact and will be running pilot measurements in 2024 and 2025.

Latest updates


We’re committed to creating a positive impact in local communities by supporting initiatives that generate local employment, provide educational opportunities, and enhance public infrastructure. In 2024, we launched the Hornsea 3 Community Fund, which distributed GBP 249,000 to 21 local organisations in North Norfolk and Suffolk, UK, supporting community facilities, skills development, education, and environmental projects.

For more information, please see our annual report 2024, section ‘S3: Affected communities’.

Key information 

 

Partnerships

We engage in cross-sector collaboration and initiatives to drive industry developments that support our strategic ambitions. Our key partners include:

  • Trade unions (e.g. North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU))
  • NGOs (e.g. Teach First, Stemettes in the UK; Centre for Civic Initiatives in Poland)
  • Universities (e.g. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley in the US; National Changhua University of Education (NCUE) in Taiwan
  • Other non-profits (e.g. GrantScape, an independent non-profit organisation managing our community benefit funds in the UK).
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International frameworks 

We follow and adhere to several international guidelines and principles for respecting and promoting human rights globally, including:

  • Equator Principles
  • Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) Principles
  • IFC Performance Standards
  • International Labour Organization (ILO) Standards
  • OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
  • United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
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Governance 

Accountability lies with our Chief Commercial Officer.


Policies

Our sustainability efforts

Managing human rights 

We’re committed to respecting human rights in everything we do – across our entire value chain.

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