Three in a row: Ørsted again ranked world’s most sustainable energy company
Corporate Knights names Ørsted the most sustainable energy company and second-most sustainable company across sectors in the 2021 Global 100 index. The green energy major shares key learnings from its own transformation.
For the third year in a row, renewable energy company Ørsted is ranked the world’s most sustainable company in the Global 100.
Corporate Knights’ 17th annual Global 100 index of the world’s most sustainable companies has ranked Ørsted as the world’s most sustainable energy company. With this third consecutive top ranking, Ørsted stands out as a global frontrunner among green and sustainable companies.
Ørsted’s newly appointed CEO, Mads Nipper, welcomes the company’s high ranking in the prestigious Global 100 index:
“We’re delighted with our continued high ranking in the Global 100, which reflects both our determination in driving a sustainable and profitable business and our commitment to be a catalyst for the global green energy transformation.”
He continues: “The world must halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and as nearly 75% of global carbon emissions come from the use of energy, a fast, global transition to renewables is vital. This requires businesses and politicians alike to dare lean forward and make bold near-term decisions that accelerate the green energy build-out."
Ørsted is today one of the largest renewable energy developers in the world. The company has rapidly transformed its business from fossil fuels to renewable energy and is on track to be carbon neutral in 2025. Mads Nipper believes that Ørsted’s frontrunner position comes with an obligation to share what Ørsted has learned on its transformation journey and help spur a widespread green transformation across all sectors of society:
“Every company must transition to a sustainable business model to contribute to the fight against climate change – and to stay in business. The Ørsted transformation is not a ‘one size fits all’, and our learnings may not be applicable in all companies, but I hope that by sharing our learnings and insights on how we’ve been able to transform and perform at the same time, we can help inspire other companies to engage in a faster green transformation.”
Ørsted executives share key learnings
In a new film about how Ørsted transformed to renewables, Ørsted executives and key employees share the decisions and steps taken to fundamentally change the company. They also share the thinking behind the decisions and what they have learned along the way about sustainable business transformation.
The mini-documentary features insights from former Ørsted CEO, Henrik Poulsen, CFO, Marianne Wiinholt, and CEO of Ørsted Offshore, Martin Neubert, among others.
Also, in Ørsted’s upcoming Sustainability report 2020, the company shares its strategic approach to its work on sustainability. The aim is to support organisations that seek to make sustainability a core part of their strategies and business operations. The report will be available for download on 3 February at orsted.com/sustainability.
Purpose and profit can go hand in hand
Ørsted’s ambitious plan for decarbonising its energy generation and operations is in line with what science says is needed to keep global warming below 1.5°C, and it will make Ørsted the first major energy company in the world to transform from fossil fuels and reach net-zero emissions.
At the same time, the company delivers industry-leading returns to its investors and has more than quadrupled its market capitalisation since its IPO in 2016.
Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights, says: “By showing how a major company could go from black to green energy quickly and profitably, Ørsted has earned its place as the most inspiring and sustainable energy company on the planet.”
Ørsted’s early dedication to renewables has helped shape the energy market and create demand for green energy built at large scale. By driving down the cost of offshore wind farms, power from offshore wind is today cheaper than fossil-fuel based alternatives in many parts of the world. The same is true for onshore wind and solar. This is a breakthrough for the acceleration of the green transformation and has resulted in booming green energy markets in the US, Asia, and Europe.
Ørsted was ranked as the world’s most sustainable energy company in the Global 100 index in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The company’s first place among all companies in the 2020 global ranking also marked the first time an energy company held the overall top spot.
Learn more about Ørsted’s green transformation here and read more about Ørsted’s sustainability targets and rankings here. The transformation film can also be found on YouTube here.
Facts about the 17th Global 100 and Ørsted’s ranking in the index
- Toronto-based Corporate Knights, a publishing and research firm, analysed publicly available data on financial and sustainability indicators of around 8,000 companies with more than USD 1 billion in revenues.
- According to Corporate Knights, Ørsted’s strong performance in the 2021 ranking is highly influenced by the share of company revenue earned from renewable energy. At the same time, carbon and water productivity increased as the company reduced absolute carbon emissions by 47 % and reduced water withdrawals by 16 %.
- Ørsted also outperformed the energy sector on the metric of ‘clean CAPEX’ as the company invests exclusively in green energy. The company also performed well on indicators such as rate of taxes paid, board gender diversity, and paid sick leave for employees.
- The annual Global 100 index of the world’s most sustainable companies is an authoritative and widely respected index of corporate sustainability performance and is announced every year on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
- Corporate Knights says Global 100 companies tend to last longer and deliver higher annualised net investment returns than comparable companies in the MSCI All Country World Index.
Contact
Devapriyo Das, Senior Communication Advisor, Ørsted
dedas@orsted.dk , +459955461
Media kit
Images, a transformation film trailer and stills from the film are available here. Credit: Ørsted.
About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted ranks as the world’s most sustainable energy company in Corporate Knights’ 2021 Global 100 index of the most sustainable corporations and is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,120 people. Ørsted's shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2019, the group's revenue was DKK 67.8 billion (EUR 9.1 billion).
