Responsible Business Partner Programme

The Responsible Business Partner Programme (RPP) enables Ørsted to collaborate with suppliers and joint venture partners to improve the social, environmental and ethical performance of our supply chain.

Before we enter relationships with other business partners, such as joint venture partners or corporate power purchase agreement clients, we identify the ESG risks of the business partners, and conduct an assessment (including human rights impacts) of high-risk business partners.

Our Code of Conduct for Business Partners is the foundation for our continuous engagement and effective dialogue with our partners.

Our guiding principles for engaging with suppliers

How we work with our suppliers

– a four-step approach

The Responsible Business Partner Programme is integrated into Ørsted’s global procurement system. We have created a four-step process to work with our suppliers to achieve real progress and continuous improvement.

Commitment

Upon entering a contract with Ørsted, suppliers sign and thereby commit to our code of conduct.

Risk screening

Based on country risk, category risk and spend, we prioritise business partners for further engagement.

Assessment

We evaluate whether business partners meet the expectations in our code of conduct by reviewing relevant management systems and practices.

Improvement

If we find gaps, we make an improvement plan with the business partner and have regular contact on implementation. If a business partner intentionally fails or repeatedly neglects the plan, we can end the relationship.

Assessment prior to contract signing

For selected asset projects and high-risk supply chains we screen and assess suppliers during pre-qualification or tender period. The approach is regularly evaluated to align with the risk picture we see, and it is aligned with the HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) Supplier Management team, which evaluates HSE performance - including safety statistics - of our potential suppliers for all markets and projects during pre-qualification and tender period.

Risk based approach and top spend analysis

Our risk based due diligence approach takes into consideration the country risk and the product/service category risk. The country risk data is based on 29 indices from Maplecroft.com. The product/service category risk is based on industry data, NGO reports, media, and our own knowledge.

Based on our annual analysis of suppliers accounting for 80% of our annual spend (based on invoicing countries in 2022), 52% of our suppliers were based in low risk countries. 48% of our suppliers were based in medium risk countries.

Also, through our annual top spend analysis, we ensure that the suppliers accounting for 80% of our annual spend are RPP screened or assessed.

For more information about RPP please contact: responsiblepartners@orsted.com

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Our sustainability efforts

Our sustainability efforts help align our business with climate science, address the potential impacts of the green energy transition, and remain an accountable and responsible business. A number of these efforts relate directly to our suppliers and business partners.

Find out how we’re making our biomass supply chain sustainable.

For more information, see the sustainability statements of our annual report. You can also read more about our sustainability priorities here.

Ørsted Code of Conduct for Business Partners

Our Code of Conduct provides the foundation for our continuous engagement with business partners as we work with them in good faith on their ethical, social and environmental performance. The code forms part of every contract we award. We are fully committed to its principles and expect our suppliers to be too.