Vestas

Vestas Wind Systems is one if the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines. The company manufacturers both onshore and offshore wind turbines.It also provides operation and maintenance services for wind power parks

Objective

Understand Vestas’ policies and approach for managing biodiversity.

Background/issue

In early 2022, following our analysis that identified the company as having an elevated level of exposure to potential biodiversity impacts,¹ we contacted Vestas hoping to discuss the company’s approach to managing this issue

Actions

Specifically, we highlighted the impacts associated with onshore and offshore wind park developments. After some chasing, Vestas responded to acknowledge the importance of biodiversity but stated that it was prioritising carbon reductions and product circularity for the time being. Nonetheless, the company did mention that it was planning on launching a biodiversity strategy which it hoped to have available nearer the end of the year. We followed up with Vestas in late 2022 to check on the progress made against setting a biodiversity strategy.

Outcomes

Partially successful/Milestone 1. The company did not have an update for us at this stage but did mention that there would be an update within the annual reporting package. Vestas also reiterated that the focus of its sustainability strategy was elsewhere, as it believes a bigger impact can be made by working on carbon reductions. Whilst it is positive that Vestas acknowledged the importance of biodiversity, it is yet to provide any concrete information concerning a policy, targets or a strategy. We believe that this makes the company a good candidate for escalation and we are preparing to do this in 2023.