In 2024, we laid the foundation for many of the initiatives currently in progress for managing our negative impact and risks associated with failing to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and ensuring FPIC in our own operations. We began by developing a global guidance for social and human rights impact assessments, which will allow us to proactively manage these risks and impacts before the construction of new projects.

Furthermore, we finalised our internal guidelines for free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), a framework designed to ensure respectful and transparent engagement with Indigenous communities. These guidelines guarantee that we secure consent from Indigenous communities before initiating projects that might impact their lands or cultural heritage.

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.