Energize Weekly, January 15, 2020
Vestas, the world’s top wind turbine manufacturer, has set a target of becoming carbon neutral in its operations by 2030 and to push for carbon reduction across its supply chain.
Aarhus, Denmark-based Vestas said that it will reduce its carbon footprint by 55 percent by 2025 and 100 percent by 2030. The company said that this would be direct emission cuts and that it would not use carbon offsets.
Among the first steps will be to replace its 1,000 company cars to electric vehicles and to replace its global vehicle fleet with renewable-fuel vehicles.
The company said it is exploring steps to reduce heating- and transport-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its operations. Vestas’ factories and offices have been powered by 100 percent renewable electricity since 2013.
Vestas is also seeking to reduce the CO2 emissions from its supply chain by 45 percent a megawatt-hour generated by 2030. The turbine maker said it chose that metric because it “incentivizes sustainability partnerships with suppliers that both reduce CO2 emissions and allows for the continued growth of the global renewable energy sector.”
“Becoming carbon-neutral in our own operations and reducing CO2 emissions in our supply chain is the next phase of our journey to ensure a more sustainable planet for future generations,” Lisa Malmquist Ekstrand, Vestas’ head of sustainability, said in a statement. “Going beyond our promise to continue developing energy solutions that reduce CO2 emissions, we are now making sustainability part of everything we do”.
The carbon-reduction goals were developed based on recommendations from the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), a program developed by the Carbon Disclosure Project, the World Wildlife Fund, the World Resources Institute and the United Nations Global Compact.
Vestas joins about 730 other companies that have already committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions under the umbrella of the SBTi.
