As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, we assess whether affected communities are aware of and trust the grievance mechanisms available to them through ongoing community engagements. However, our assessments in this area are still a work in progress. While we can evaluate communities’ awareness during engagements, we do not yet have sufficient comprehensive assessments to fully measure their trust in these channels. We are actively working to strengthen our approach to ensure greater transparency regarding affected communities’ grievances. Further to this, it is our aim to ensure that our whistleblower hotline is widely available to affected communities, although we cannot be certain that all affected communities are aware of this channel and know how to access it. However, we ensure individuals who use these grievance mechanisms are protected from retaliation, and that whistleblower reports are handled confidentially, in line with our 'Good business conduct policy' and 'Whistleblower policy'.

We ensure individuals who use these grievance mechanisms are protected from retaliation, and that whistleblower reports are handled confidentially, in line with our 'Good business conduct policy' and 'Whistleblower policy'.

We also plan to pilot a grievance reporting channel for a select supplier to collect workers’ grievances via a digital solution by 2025.

Currently, we have not set time-bound and outcome-oriented targets that meet the criteria for effectively reducing negative impacts, advancing positive impacts, or managing material risks and opportunities related to affected communities. However, we recognize the importance of establishing robust targets to drive meaningful progress in this area. We are working to establish a clear community engagement process that will involve engaging directly with the affected communities, their representatives, or credible proxies. In the meantime, we are focused on gathering data and assessing current practices to ensure that future targets are effective and aligned with stakeholder needs. We are not yet fully able to monitor how effectively our policies and actions address our material sustainability-related impacts, risks, and opportunities for affected communities.

We are working to establish a clear community engagement process that will involve engaging directly with the affected communities, their representatives, or credible proxies. In the meantime, we are focused on gathering data and assessing current practices to ensure that future targets are effective and aligned with stakeholder needs. We are not yet fully able to monitor how effectively our policies and actions address our material sustainability-related impacts, risks, and opportunities for affected communities.

We ensure individuals who use these grievance mechanisms are protected from retaliation, and that whistleblower reports are handled confidentially, in line with our 'Good business conduct policy' and 'Whistleblower policy'.

We are working to establish a clear community engagement process that will involve engaging directly with the affected communities, their representatives, or credible proxies. In the meantime, we are focused on gathering data and assessing current practices to ensure that future targets are effective and aligned with stakeholder needs. We are not yet fully able to monitor how effectively our policies and actions address our material sustainability-related impacts, risks, and opportunities for affected communities. We ensure individuals who use these grievance mechanisms are protected from retaliation, and that whistleblower reports are handled confidentially, in line with our 'Good business conduct policy' and 'Whistleblower policy'.

Overall, our 'Code of conduct for business partners' and policies on human rights and stakeholder engagement describe our approach to:

• respecting Indigenous Peoples, minorities, and other vulnerable groups in line with international law and standards as described in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the principles of FPIC
• respecting land rights of legitimate tenure rights holders as set out in the UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests
• ensuring the safety and protection of defenders of human rights, the environment, or Indigenous Peoples
• mandating that our business partners take measures to protect environmental and human rights defenders and other interested parties who lawfully exercise their freedom of speech.

We engage in early and ongoing dialogue with local communities and Indigenous Peoples by hosting e.g. consultation sessions, attending community meetings, and conducting surveys. This approach helps us gather insights to better understand their external perspectives on our projects and the local impacts. We aim to build an approach based on transparent communication, co-creation of mitigation measures, and on ensuring that feedback is integrated into project planning and execution.

Through our policies, we commit to provide and enable remedies for potential human rights impacts by implementing accessible grievance mechanisms that allow affected individuals and communities to report concerns or violations, ensuring these channels are user-friendly, confidential, and culturally appropriate. Upon receiving a grievance, we must promptly investigate the issue and engage with the affected parties to gather information and consider their perspectives.

If human rights impacts are identified, we strive to take immediate action and provide appropriate remedies, which may include compensation, restoration of rights, or preventive measures. We also invest in training of our employees and business partners to raise awareness of human rights issues, e.g. related to bullying and discrimination.

Our approach to managing our negative impacts on affected communities and our processes for identifying what is needed and appropriate to respond to these impacts help us to avoid, mitigate, and remedy negative impacts while creating lasting positive impacts for these communities.

To effectively remediate material negative impacts, including those that may affect Indigenous rights or disrupt local livelihoods within our value chain or operations, we engage directly with impacted communities, listen to their concerns, and provide appropriate remedies to support their well-being and resilience. We continuously work to strengthen our processes for providing or contributing to appropriate remediation to affected communities where we have identified that we have caused or contributed to a negative impact.

We work closely with materially affected communities to monitor issues raised and addressed while also assessing the effectiveness of these grievance channels. We currently assess the effectiveness of our mechanisms and communication channels through our ongoing dialogue with local stakeholders.

Local people and businesses have a vital role to play in the growth of the renewable energy industry. In the US, we developed a workforce development programme that has provided 335 union workers in New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut with the credentials necessary to work offshore.

The training programme finalised in 2024 and was delivered in part at the National Offshore Wind Training Center (NOWTC), to which we have committed to give a USD 10 million founding grant. The programme includes a three-part medical evaluation, helicopter underwater escape training, and Global Wind Organisation Basic Safety Training, each of which are critical for workers to safely carry out work in the offshore environment.

Providing worker safety training is part of Ørsted’s first-of-its-kind National Offshore Wind Agreement with North America’s Building Trades Unions, and the programme shows our ongoing efforts to equip local workers with key skills to pursue careers in New York’s growing offshore wind industry.

Community benefit funds To create a positive impact in local communities, we support initiatives that generate local employment, provide educational opportunities, and drive enhancements to public infrastructure.