SBTi approves Ørsted’s strengthened pathway to net-zero in 2040

Ørsted was the first energy company to set a science-based net-zero target in 2021. Since then, the company has continued its actions to deliver on its science-based climate strategy. Over a period of only 15 years Ørsted has taken all necessary steps to deliver a green transformation of its business model and meet its industry-leading science-based target to reduce scope 1-2 emissions intensity 98 % from 2006 to 2025 and achieve a 99 % renewable energy share in 2025. 

Now, Ørsted has received SBTi’s formal approval of its 2030 climate targets that were introduced in early 2024 to create an even clearer pathway towards net-zero emissions across scope 1-3 by 2040. Having already made significant progress to reduce its direct emissions (scope 1-2), the main focus of the company’s climate action going forward will be to reduce its supply chain emissions (scope 3). Ørsted is therefore working strategically with its partners to enable supply chain decarbonisation, including tackling emissions from the manufacture, installation, and operations of renewable energy assets. 

Ingrid Reumert, SVP, Global Stakeholder Relations says:
“We’re pleased to have the formal SBTi validation of our updated near-term climate targets, as this assures us that Ørsted’s business model and our immediate actions to reduce emissions are aligned with climate science. While our targets set the direction for our decarbonisation efforts, it’s the actions that really count. In 2024, we partnered with Dillinger on getting first access to their lower emission steel, we took a big step together with Siemens Gamesa on blade circularity by using recycled glass fibres for the turbines at our Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farm, and we closed our last coal-fired plant, saving the atmosphere from approx. 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions yearly. I’m proud that we – together with our partners – continue taking important steps to further bring down emissions in our supply chain.”

The past ten years have been the warmest on record, and 2024 was the warmest ever. Today, energy production causes approx. 75 % of global greenhouse gas emissions, making a change in how we produce energy crucial to fight climate change. Electricity generated from offshore wind today has 99 % lower emissions than coal, and Ørsted continues to expand its renewable energy capacity within solar PV, battery storage, and offshore and onshore wind to decarbonise the global energy systems. Reducing emissions in line with climate science goes hand in hand with a secure and independent energy supply, which is an enabler of stable economies and fundamental to avoid irreversible impacts on natural ecosystems.

In line with climate science, Ørsted has set an intensity target for reducing emissions in the renewable energy value chain, meaning that the company will continue to scale its build-out of renewable energy while decoupling the emission of greenhouse gasses. For natural gas sales, Ørsted has set an absolute target to gradually phase out these emissions. In this way, the company pursues decarbonisation levers to reduce emissions within its own value chain (scope 1-3) prior to initiatives outside the value chain such as carbon credits. This approach is aligned with the mitigation hierarchy, which is the core principle of SBTi’s corporate net-zero standard. The company’s 2030 targets thereby reaffirm its commitment to science-based climate action, with the full suite of targets listed below.

Updated Ørsted 2030 targets validated by SBTi:  

• Reduce scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 96 % per kWh by 2030 from a 2018 base year (to 6 gCO2e/kWh), equivalent to a 99 % reduction per kWh by 2030 from a 2006 base year 
• Reduce scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions (excl. from use of sold products) 77 % per kWh by 2030 from a 2018 base year (to 75 gCO2e/kWh) 
• Reduce scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions from “all sold electricity” 86 % per kWh by 2030 from a 2018 base year 
• Reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from the use of sold products 67 % by 2030 from a 2018 base year (to 8 MtCO2e) 
• Reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions 50 % by 2030 from a 2018 base year 

Fact box
To deliver on its science-based 2040 net-zero target, Ørsted works systematically to also decarbonise its supply chain across the most significant emissions sources, related to steel for foundations and wind turbine towers, fuels used for vessels, and copper used for cables. Industry-leading partnerships with Dillinger on lower-emission heavy plate steel production, ESVAGT on green fuels vessels for offshore wind operations, Vestas on lower-emission steel for wind turbine towers, and NKT for low-carbon copper cables are examples of Ørsted’s commitment to drive demand for and production of low-carbon solutions.  

Read more about our decarbonisation efforts here.

For further information, please contact:

Ørsted Global Media Relations
Kathrine Ejlskov
+45 99 55 10 23
katej@orsted.com

About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuels facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action and was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs approx. 8,400 people. Ørsted's shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2023, the group's revenue was DKK 79.3 billion (EUR 10.6 billion). Visit orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.