The 2021 UN Climate Report made it clear once and for all that climate change is man-made. With global warming on the path to an excessive temperature increase, it is obvious that our carbon emissions must be reduced, and quickly. This also applies to Energinet. Expanding and operating energy infrastructure uses many resources, and Energinet impacts the climate through our many construction activities, transmission losses and greenhouse gas emissions – such as SF6 gas and methane. Energinet’s commitment to sustainable development is therefore rooted in the entire organisation.

In autumn 2021, Energinet took part in COP26 in Glasgow with the global climate on the agenda. International cooperation will be crucial to a sustainable future. It is therefore very meaningful for Energinet to listen, contribute and be present on the global scene. On several occasions, we shared information on the groundbreaking Danish energy island projects, through which large-scale offshore wind power can have a major impact on the transformation of Europe’s energy systems.

In late 2021, we increased our focus on sustainability in our ‘Winds of change’ Group strategy. This sums up a year in which sustainability has become increasingly important at Energinet – both internally and externally. Internally, we have intensified our sustainability efforts on a number of parameters related to the operation of Energinet. Externally, we have seen that new energy infrastructure can be delayed due to environmental and biodiversity considerations.

The strategy assures the world around us that Energinet will prioritise sustainability and integrate it as a key part of the decision basis for construction projects, so we can minimise the climate and environment impacts of new energy infrastructure. We are facing a reality where climate and environment considerations are becoming increasingly important, and must be balanced against the need to transition to a greener, more sustainable energy system at a rapid pace.

In 2021, Energinet became subject to the new EU taxonomy regulation. Its purpose is to create a common language for sustainable investments and a strong foundation for a demand-driven green transition in our society and company value chains. The taxonomy regulation is a classification system for assessing economic activities and services that can be defined as sustainable, by contributing positively to the environment and climate. We have taken this on board, so that the taxonomy supports our other sustainability initiatives. Together with our own Sustainability Programme, it has taken us the next step in relation to measuring, documenting and focusing our efforts. Each Energinet subsidiary has prepared ten-year plans for activities and sub-goals, which aim to help meet Energinet’s ambitious climate targets.

During 2021, our sustainability focus has generally become more holistic. It is not only the global goals and our wish to contribute to the world through our core task of advancing the green transition that drive our efforts. It is also a holistic view of sustainability within our own operations and business. This year, we have had diversity, a flexible workplace, sustainable procurement and new sub-goals for reducing methane emissions from our plants on the agenda. To mention a few.

This is all presented here in the Sustainability Report 2021.