We have adopted a 'Global diversity and inclusion policy' which emphasises equal opportunities for all employees at Ørsted. We specifically call out identities such as ethnic background, race, religion, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, outlook, or social status because these groups have been historically marginalised or disadvantaged (protected characteristics).

We have adopted a 'Global diversity and inclusion policy' which emphasises equal opportunities for all employees at Ørsted. We specifically call out identities such as ethnic background, race, religion, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, outlook, or social status because these groups have been historically marginalised or disadvantaged (protected characteristics). By embedding these principles in the way we do business, we promote an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute to our collective success.

We have a 'Global bullying, harassment, and discrimination policy', supplemented by country-specific guidelines, which often include mandatory training. Furthermore, to support its implementation, we have both a global employee guide and a global people leader guide on how to create an inclusive culture, which outline proactive measures to prevent bullying, discrimination, and harassment. The policy covers a potential situation where an employee feels subject to bullying, discrimination, or harassment from another employee. This policy also covers experiences that an employee has with an external consultant working under Ørsted supervision. The policy describes acts of bullying, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace and incorporates awareness by integrating and monitoring the gender balance of major talent processes, such as promotions, new hires, and redundancies.

Our annual global People Matter survey aims at retrieving employees’ perspectives and opinions on satisfaction and motivation across almost 70 questions. The themes assessed within this anonymous survey include the degree of trust, openness, and transparency felt by our employees with regards to collaboration and the management bodies and the level of satisfaction within several aspects of the employees’ work life and conditions, e.g. job content, physical working conditions, compensation and employment terms, development opportunities, workload, stress, inclusion and diversity, and potential harassment at the workplace. The results are shared with the Group Executive Team for their strategic planning of priorities, activities, and follow-up actions. People leaders use the results within their respective teams to enable dialogues about potential improvement initiatives, ensuring a safe and inclusive working environment where everyone can thrive, perform, and grow. Another activity deployed during 2024 for gathering perspectives of our own workforce has been using pulse surveys, especially within the areas of equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) and well-being. Pulse surveys are initiated by people leaders as a way to ensure that recurring surveys aiming to check how the team is doing in regard to different matters are carried out. Results are used as a springboard for further dialogue on important themes such as physical and mental well-being, workload, harassment in the workplace, trust, transparency, etc. As an example, the Group Executive Team has carried out global surveys during 2024 to check the temperature throughout the organisation during periods with organisational changes and to take the results into account when planning strategies, priorities, and communication going forward. Additionally, we have established an easily accessible site on our company intranet that outlines various options for employee representation on both global and local levels. These include various channels for employees to voice their opinions and engage both with other colleagues and with management. Such options include HR business partners, occupational health and safety representatives, different local works councils, cooperation committees, employment relations representatives, and personal development dialogues. Engagement and employee representation through more formal bodies, such as work councils and employment relations representatives, are generally regulated by local legislation or locally agreed with the respective employee representation body. The frequency of engagement is both regularly recurring meetings and extraordinary ones, summoned to discuss important topics related to the workforce. In addition, we have the Ørsted IN networks (employee resource groups), which collectively create an online hub, supporting an inclusive culture within the organisation. The inclusion networks represent different groups across our organisation, e.g. within race and ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+, age, and disability. They are for anyone who identifies with one of the groups, and who supports the equality and inclusion of that group. Allies are encouraged to join networks to show their support and to expand their knowledge about inclusion of diversity. Moreover, different Viva Engage channels are made available to our employees, serving the purpose of creating global informal dialogues across our organisation on different topics related to our own workforce. Employees can freely comment and ask direct questions to our management via the Viva Engage channels, hosted by different management representatives or by other employees.

To ensure fairness and consistency, we introduced tailored interview guides and businesses cases, aligned with our career framework and assessment standards in 2024. Candidates are evaluated on functional, behavioural, and leadership competences, moving away from subjective impressions. Importantly, we now hire for ‘culture add’ rather than ‘culture fit,’ intentionally seeking to enrich our existing culture with diverse identities who bring new contributions and diverse voices, rather than merely replicating our existing one.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are integral to our culture and the way we do business. To support this, we have adopted two policies, an internal guide to leaders and an internal guide to employees, aimed at the elimination of discrimination and at promoting equal opportunities and a culture of inclusion. Accountability for these policies rests with our Chief HR Officer.

We have a 'Global bullying, harassment, and discrimination policy', supplemented by country-specific guidelines, which often include mandatory training. Furthermore, to support its implementation, we have both a global employee guide and a global people leader guide on how to create an inclusive culture, which outline proactive measures to prevent bullying, discrimination, and harassment.

Our flexible working approach is anchored in our strategic focus to ensure that Ørsted is experienced as a great place to work. The Group Executive Team provides direction and support to work in a flexible and inclusive manner, and people leaders and employees are empowered to successfully manage flexible working plans. Our flexible working conditions are implemented globally in our internal 'Global guidelines on flexible workplace' and supplemented by country-specific guidelines to comply with local requirements and regulation.

Enhanced procedures to prevent discrimination: Our policies include specific commitments related to inclusion. To address the exclusion of historically marginalised groups, our global talent acquisition process was redesigned and launched in 2024, with equity, diversity, and inclusion embedded as key priorities. The redesign of this recruitment process mitigates bias by removing outdated assessments and broadening our hiring criteria to value alternative skills and experiences. This enables us to attract candidates from diverse backgrounds who bring unique perspectives and talent to our organisation.

We track our gender balance targets through a dedicated dashboard, which is available to all employees, with certain business groups integrating gender tracking within their functions. Additionally, we consistently review talent management and talent acquisition processes, such as hiring, promotions, and redundancies, against our gender targets to ensure alignment and progress. These efforts allow us to continuously monitor and advance our gender goals across the organisation.