Our material sustainability-related impacts, risks, and opportunities (IROs) across our full value chain include:

• Upstream value chain: Mining of minerals and metals, resource extraction and processing, animal habitats, supply chain workers.

• Own operations: Offshore wind farms, onshore wind farms and onshore renewables construction, energy storage, solar farms, biodiversity restoration, power stations, Ørsted workplaces, employees.

• Downstream value chain: Farm-downs, gas and power sales, society.

Positive impacts include renewable energy deployment and local jobs and educational opportunities. Negative impacts include natural resources exploitation and land-use and freshwater-use change, habitat loss from land degradation, species population size decrease, and extinction risk increase, use and depletion of virgin materials, pollution from mining, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights and livelihoods possibly disrespected or disrupted by suppliers. Sustainability-related risks include climate-related transition risks due to changes in political support, climate-related physical risks, dependence on scarce critical raw materials, increased voluntary turnover, possible supplier misconduct concerning forced labour, local communities’ resistance and concerns, increasing local content and social impact requirements in tender processes, and consent of Indigenous communities. Sustainability-related opportunities include renewable energy deployment and biodiversity restoration, research, and innovation initiatives.

Our 'Stakeholder engagement policy' underscores our commitment to actively listen to and engage with our stakeholders. Through ongoing dialogue, we gain insight into their positions, concerns, and expectations. The insights gained from these dialogues inform our due diligence processes and double materiality assessment. This allows us to align our sustainability priorities, projects, and processes with the interests and views of our stakeholders. Guided by principles of openness, transparency, and integrity, our Stakeholder engagement policy adheres to international norms and codes, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the IFC Performance Standards on Social & Environmental Sustainability.

Key stakeholders include Employees, Suppliers, Local communities, Corporate customers, Investors, Governments, policy-makers, and regulators, Civic and non-profit organisations, and Industry and sustainability associations.

The categories of stakeholders include Employees, Suppliers, Local communities, Corporate customers, Investors, Governments, policy-makers, and regulators, Civic and non-profit organisations, and Industry and sustainability associations.

Engagement with Employees is organized through employment relations, inclusion networks, board members, personal dialogues, surveys, and town halls. Engagement with Suppliers involves interviews, assessments, workshops, and collaborations. Engagement with Local communities includes consultations, direct communication, interviews, and grievance mechanisms. Engagement with Corporate customers involves support inquiries, reviews, and assessments. Engagement with Investors includes ESG ratings, meetings, and calls. Engagement with Governments involves public hearings, consultations, and leadership contributions. Engagement with Civic organisations involves collaboration and research contributions. Engagement with Industry associations involves workshops, initiatives, and consultations.

The purpose of engagements with Employees includes understanding perceptions, raising awareness, contributing to a sustainable workplace, and increasing retention. With Suppliers, it includes ensuring compliance, promoting responsible sourcing, protecting rights, and understanding needs. With Local communities, it involves addressing concerns, building trust, and ensuring community benefits. With Corporate customers, it involves understanding needs, building trust, and enabling renewable energy targets. With Investors, it involves understanding concerns, building trust, and discussing strategic direction. With Governments, it involves ensuring compliance, promoting sustainability, and addressing risks. With Civic organisations, it involves contributing to initiatives and ensuring transparency. With Industry associations, it involves enabling engagement, developing standards, and understanding views.

Examples of outcomes from the engagements include internal policy updates, global initiatives for employee well-being, streamlined supplier expectations, supplier improvement plans, informed procurement decisions, investments in low-carbon solutions, design of community benefits, support of local projects, product or service improvements, adaptation of marketing strategies, action plans to improve ESG performance, increased disclosure to ESG rating agencies, alignment of investment strategy, operational adjustments, informed decisions for renewable energy, informed project planning, and alignment of projects with best practices.

For over a decade, we have been following the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to integrate due diligence into our procurement, operations, and local communities. This work has set a strong foundation for our future ambitions, as we prepare to meet the anticipated requirements of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Guided by these frameworks, we have implemented a risk-based due diligence approach centered around accountability, transparency, collaboration, and proactive engagement with stakeholders across our value chain.

We are in the process of establishing a Human Rights Task Force specifically focused on strengthening our due diligence systems and governance. As we look forward, we are continuously refining our due diligence practices. This includes enhancing pre-contractual screenings to identify potential risks early, especially for complex and large-scale projects, such as offshore wind farms.

We are developing corrective actions and tailored improvement plans together with our suppliers, where necessary. This is an ongoing effort that includes audits, supplier training, and regular follow-ups to address any gaps identified. We are also investing in tools to improve traceability throughout our supply chain. For example, we have conducted a blockchain pilot project to trace origin for key metals in one of our projects, and we are evaluating the application of blockchain opportunities with other suppliers and on other metals as well as exploring steel origin reporting for wind turbines.