Driving corporate climate action
Ørsted CEO Mads Nipper explains why the initiative matters and how Ørsted hopes to be a catalyst for rapid, large-scale green transformation.
22.04.2021
With a 1.5°C-aligned business model, Ørsted joins forces with the UN Global Compact to help other companies take ambitious climate action. We’re a patron sponsor of the UN Global Compact's new initiative.
Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. As a global society, we have less than ten years to halve our carbon emissions and stay below the critical 1.5°C threshold of global warming. Getting there is entirely possible, but it requires companies to urgently transform the ways in which they do business.
A global initiative for ambitious corporate climate action
At Ørsted, we know that radical green transformation is possible. We’ve fundamentally transitioned in just 10 years from one of Europe’s most carbon-intensive fossil-fuel based energy companies to become the world’s most sustainable energy company. That’s why we are honoured to be a patron sponsor of the UN Global Compact’s Climate Ambition Accelerator, helping other companies align with the 1.5°C pathway.
The initiative will help companies take climate action by setting and meeting ambitious, science-based carbon reduction targets. It will also support companies to drive climate advocacy at a country level, from shaping green legislation to pressing for private sector incentives to reduce emissions.
Ørsted’s role as a Climate Ambition Accelerator patron sponsor
Green transformation is a daunting task for most companies. It’s not easy to record all your emissions, set time-bound commitments, and take real action that you follow up on. Having created a 1.5°C-aligned business model approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), that’s precisely where we hope to help.
We are choosing to support the Climate Ambition Accelerator to inspire other companies to do their part. We will support the initiative’s design, development and management, and share knowledge from our own green transformation to enable other businesses to adopt a sustainable approach.
Resources from the UN Global Compact’s Climate Ambition Accelerator
The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest sustainability initiative, bringing together 12,765 companies across the world to adopt more sustainable and socially responsible policies and practices. The Climate Ambition Accelerator is one of five new Global Impact Initiatives which seek to scale corporate progress towards the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will challenge and support companies to set bolder climate goals, primarily by setting and meeting Science-Based Targets for reducing their carbon emissions, and advocate for more ambitious climate action at a country level. Ørsted joins Natura & Co and En+ Group in sponsoring the initiative, as three market-leading companies with strong climate performance and targets aligned with climate science.
Please check in for updates
Here, you will on an ongoing basis find information about the initiative. Please check in for updates.
Accelerating sustainable business transformation
At Ørsted, we want to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. In the space of a decade, we completely transformed our business from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We have since been ranked the ranked one of the world’s most sustainable company and are on track to become net-zero in our energy generation and operations by 2025 – decades ahead of what climate science requires.
Our transformation wasn’t easy. It’s a story of technological innovation, steep learning curves, and difficult strategic choices. But embedding carbon reduction in our strategy has helped us unlock a competitive advantage in the renewable energy industry. We want to share what we’ve learnt from building a truly green business – and the benefits and opportunities it's created for us.
Our green transformation
Could our green energy transformation inspire yours? This film tells the story of our transformation, and what we learned along the way.
Ørsted’s science-based carbon reduction targets
- Phase out coal completely by 2023*
- Carbon-neutral by 2025 in energy generation and operations
- Cut emissions by 50% by 2032 in wholesale buying and selling of natural gas and in the supply chain, from a 2018 baseline
- Achieve a net-zero carbon footprint by 2040
* Our target is to phase out coal before 2025. The Danish authorities have ordered us to continue and resume the operation of three of our power station units which use coal and oil until 31 August 2024.
