1. Home
  2. About Ørsted

Join the world’s most sustainable energy company in taking climate action


At Ørsted, we’ve been ranked the world’s most sustainable energy company in the Corporate Knights Global 100 Index since 2019. 


We’ve been working hard to do our part in limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C. And we want to support governments and businesses in their journey to reduce carbon emissions.

There are no excuses for delaying climate action. The technologies for a global, cost-effective green transformation are there. Climate leaders – governments and businesses – now need to take decisive steps to reduce emissions.  

At Ørsted, we’re aiming for net-zero emissions across our entire value chain by 2040. We want to empower others to make big changes too, so that together we can build a promising future.  

Here’s some advice from the world’s most sustainable energy company on how to supercharge your climate action in 2022. 

Go to action plan


From our transformation to yours  

Science tells us that we need to at least halve global carbon emissions by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe, yet emissions continue to rise year on year.  

As energy accounts for 73 % of all emissions, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy is the main lever to combat climate change. 

In less than a decade, we’ve transformed from one of the most carbon-intensive energy companies in Europe to being ranked the most sustainable energy company in the world. Now, we want to help you, governments and businesses, with your action plans. 

Our vision: to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. 

Become a global climate leader


Real climate action requires immediate emissions reductions from governments and businesses. 

Check out our video with CEO Mads Nipper and read our list of concrete actions that must be taken immediately. 

Go to action plan

Your partner in fighting climate change


At Ørsted, we strive every day to go further, do better, for our planet.  

We’re on track to be carbon-neutral in energy generation and operations by 2025, and our next goal is to decarbonise our supply chain.  

We’re the first energy company in the world to have a validated science-based net-zero target that covers our entire value chain.  

And we’re committed to delivering a net-positive biodiversity impact from all new renewable energy projects we commission from 2030 – at the latest.  

As the global leader in offshore wind, we're pioneering new renewable energy solutions in different locations around the world, and we’re proud to have been ranked the world’s most sustainable energy company since 2019. 

Urgent climate action is always at the top of our to-do list. We hope it’s at the top of yours too.

FAQ
  • What makes Ørsted the most sustainable energy company in the world?  

    Ørsted has been ranked the world’s most sustainable energy company in the Global 100 index in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

    This year, we ranked the seventh-most sustainable company in the world overall. In 2020, we were ranked the most sustainable company in the world. 

    According to Corporate Knights, our strong performance in the 2022 ranking is influenced by*: 

    • the high percentage of our revenue (69 %) earned from renewable energy 
    • our continued high climate performance, where we’ve reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity (gCO2e/kWh) by 11 %
    • our investments, made exclusively in green energy: Ørsted has a DKK 350 billion renewable energy investment programme for 2020-2027 
    • our good performance in terms of rate of taxes paid, linking sustainability performance to executive remuneration, paid sick leave for employees, and overall safety performance. 

    *Corporate Knights base this on our 2020 data set

  • Who are Corporate Knights?

    Corporate Knights Inc. is a Toronto-based publishing and research firm, comprising a quarterly sustainable business magazine and a research division that produces rankings and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance. Since 2005, Corporate Knights has produced the annual Global 100 index of the world’s most sustainable companies – an authoritative and widely-respected index of corporate sustainability performance. The Global 100 index is announced every year on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

    As the world’s largest circulating magazine focused on sustainability and responsible business, Corporate Knights is also a prominent brand in the clean capitalism media space. Their vision is to provide information empowering markets to foster a better world. 

  • What methodology does Corporate Knights use for the Global 100 index? 

    Corporate Knights ranks the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world. These represent the top 1 % in the world on corporate sustainability performance. The ranking is cross-sectoral, including the industrial, financial, IT, consumer, and healthcare sectors. 

    For the 2022 Global 100 index, Corporate Knights rigorously assessed more than 6,900 companies with more than USD 1 billion in revenues on parameters such as carbon and water productivity, emissions performance, rates of taxes paid, and board gender diversity. 

    The analysis compared the financial performance and corporate longevity of the Global 100 companies, which represent just over 1 % of assessed companies, against the MSCI All Country World Index. 

    According to Corporate Knights, the Global 100 index supports “the mounting case that sustainable corporate performance is consistent with equal or better returns for investors and greater corporate longevity”. They add that Global 100 companies consistently outperform MSCI ACWI companies on CEO-to-average-worker pay ratio, board gender diversity, paying their fair share of taxes, and on various other specific metrics that factor into the ranking.

  • What is the importance of sustainability in business?

    Corporate sustainability and climate action are emerging as global demands driven by activist movements, ambitious politicians, and bold business leaders. Moving forward, these demands will continue to guide consumer sentiment and loyalty.

    Faced with the existential threat of the global climate emergency, companies all over the world are beginning to explore more sustainable ways of doing business. They’re considering their long-term impact on the local environment, society, and the economy and asking whether their business makes a measurable, positive contribution.

    Business sustainability is both a moral obligation and good business practice. Going green is also a competitive differentiator, and one that will be key for companies to stay in business. Those companies that embed carbon reduction across their strategy are likely to be more profitable and sustainable over time. They’re also more likely to be attractive to investors who’re increasingly keen to know the climate impacts of the companies in which they invest.

    While there may be costs associated with transforming business models to align with science, the cost of not taking action is considerably higher. The world needs to act now on climate, and companies will play a transformational role.

    “We firmly believe that there is no long-term trade-off between sustainability and financial value creation” – Mads Nipper, CEO

    View Ørsted’s sustainability ratings and reporting.

You might also be interested in ...