We have identified key materials fundamental to the construction of our global portfolio of renewable energy projects across offshore and onshore wind, solar, and battery energy storage systems (BESS). To enhance our understanding and management of resource inflows, we are actively working with suppliers to explore lower-emissions alternatives and aim to establish closer collaboration for obtaining data on the composition of their products, including the percentage of reused or recycled materials. Steel is a primary focus at this stage, given its significant role in renewable energy infrastructure and its high potential for recyclability. The use of scrap steel is a norm in steel production, with its content varying across geographies and reflecting established industry practices. Approximately 80% of the steel we source used in the production of steel plates for foundations comes from Europe, where supplier data indicates that, on average, 35% of the material used in these plates derive from scrap. While we account for geographic variability in our presentation, reflected in a range of 20 - 35%, our current estimates place us at the upper end. Lower-emissions steel offers a dual benefit: It minimises greenhouse gas emissions and, depending on the production method, can reduce reliance on virgin iron ore. Steel produced via electric arc furnaces (EAFs), which use scrap steel as feedstock, significantly lowers the need for virgin iron ore compared to traditional blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) methods that rely heavily on it. Even though recycled content is widely used in steel production, low-emissions steel still has a limited market availability. Closing this gap is key to cutting emissions, reducing reliance on virgin materials, and advancing a more circular steel industry. Thus, our focus is on sourcing lower-emissions steel, as it represents the most impactful opportunity to drive meaningful progress in reducing the environmental footprint of steel production. In addition to steel, critical raw materials, such as copper, aluminium, and rare earth elements (REEs), are essential for renewable energy technologies but present negative impacts and risks related to the depletion of virgin materials and the scarcity of supply. Improving the recyclability of materials such as plastics and glass fibres, including composites used in wind turbine blades, is a priority to reduce reliance on finite resources and ensure sustainable materials.

In alignment with our resource management policy objective, we continuously work to reduce, reuse, and recycle resources for our assets. As we have a large portfolio of offshore wind farms in operation, our ability to increase the reuse and refurbishment of spare parts during the lifetime of the assets can both lower our use of virgin materials, extend the lifetime of the assets, and reduce our operational costs.