WindMade launches technical standard for first global consumer label for companies, organizations to buy wind power and other clean renewable energy; label backed by UN Global Compact, WWF, Vestas, Global Wind Energy Council, Bloomberg, PwC

Rachel Carter

RANDERS, Denmark , October 14, 2011 (press release) – Today, WindMade launched the technical standard for the first global consumer label for companies and organisations to buy wind power and other clean renewable energy. The label is backed by the UN Global Compact, WWF, Vestas Wind Systems, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the LEGO Group, Bloomberg and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Effective immediately, the WindMade standard allows interested entities to apply for use of the label to communicate the share of wind power and other renewable sources in their overall power consumption demand.

“WindMade is the first eco-label supported by the UN Global Compact,” said Georg Kell, Executive Director of UN Global Compact. ”It is fully aligned with our mission to promote greater corporate sustainability as the critical business contribution to sustainable development. As a tangible and meaningful consumer label, WindMade can go a long way in advancing the use of renewable energy around the globe.”

The WindMade Standard specifies the requirements for the use of the WindMade label, requiring participating companies to source a minimum of 25 percent of their electricity consumption from wind power. The wind energy share can be procured through a company-owned wind power generation facility, a long-term Power Purchase Agreement for wind power, or the purchase of high quality Renewable Energy Certificates approved by WindMade. The exact percentage of the wind energy share will be stated on the label.

“The criteria set out by the standard will ensure that companies using the WindMade label will contribute to more investment in renewables over and above what would be built anyway and hence boost clean power,” said Samantha Smith, Director of the WWF Global Energy and Climate Network Initiative, who were closely involved in formulating the standard. “We believe that the industrial take-up of the ambitious WindMade standard is a perfect market contribution to the needed strong governmental renewable energy targets for 2030. This will drive the development of new wind power generation.”

“Today we release the technical standard for a new and unique label for companies that consume clean energy,” says Morten Albæk, SVP Global Marketing and Customer Insight at Vestas, the company spearheading the WindMade initiative. “But this is only the beginning – together with the growing membership of WindMade we must continue to evolve and improve the standard – starting with the development of the product standard which is already underway.”

“The interest in the WindMade label has been considerable,” said Henrik Kuffner, WindMade’s CEO. “Already now, many companies are committed to switching to green power, driven by strong consumer demand for sustainable and responsible corporations. However, to date, these forward-looking companies did not have the possibility of receiving an independent global certification for their power procurement. WindMade will now fill this gap, and provide consumers with the transparency they require to make informed choices.”

The UN Global Compact will host a global launch event in New York on November 18th where WindMade will unveil the first companies and brands to become WindMade certified.

This WindMade standard for companies and organisations was developed by a highlevel technical advisory committee and underwent both a review by potential WindMade members and an eight-week public consultation.

This is the first of two standards to be introduced by WindMade. In early 2012, the organisation will present the standard for WindMade products.

The full standard for companies and organizations as well as the executive summary and a media kit are available on www.windmade.org.

WindMade

The label is managed by the WindMade non-profit organisation, dedicated to accelerating the adoption of renewable energy by improving companies’ ability to communicate their wind energy investments to their stakeholders. WindMade will strive to achieve this by increasing transparency of corporate investments in wind energy, by educating citizens on the implications of using different energy sources, and by empowering consumers to favour corporations who make a real contribution to delivering new wind energy.
www.windmade.org.

WWF

WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
www.wwf.org

United Nations Global Compact

Launched in 2000, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies around the world to align their strategies and operations with ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of broader UN goals. Through the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible corporate policies and practices, business can help ensure that markets advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere. With more than 6,300 business participants in over 135 countries, the Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.
www.unglobalcompact.org

Vestas – Lead sponsor of WindMade

Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the prevention of climate change. Wind power from Vestas' more than 40,000 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by more than 40 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence. Today, Vestas operates in 65 countries, providing jobs for over 20,000 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world. Vestas is the Lead Sponsor of WindMade.

The Global Wind Energy Council

GWEC is the global wind industry trade association, providing a representative forum for the entire wind energy sector at the international level. GWEC’s mission is to ensure that wind power establishes itself as one of the world’s leading energy sources, providing substantial environmental and economic benefits.
www.gwec.net

The LEGO Group

Founded in 1932, the LEGO Group is one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. LEGO® products are sold all over the globe. The LEGO Group is committed to supporting the improvement of issues that concern its stakeholders and has set ambitious renewable energy targets as part of its ‘Environment, Social and Governance’ agenda.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

PwC is one of the world’s largest providers of assurance, tax, and business consulting services. Every day, 161,000 PwC people in 154 countries work hard to build strong relationships with others and understand the issues and aspirations that drive them. PwC measures success by an ability to create the value that clients, people and the wider investing public are looking for. PwC is the Official Verification Partner to WindMade.

Bloomberg

In 1981 Bloomberg started out with one core belief: that bringing transparency to capital markets through access to information could increase capital flows, produce economic growth and jobs, and significantly reduce the cost of doing business. Today’s Bloomberg builds on that foundation - everything Bloomberg does connects decision makers in business, finance and government to a broad and dynamic network of information, news, people and ideas that enables faster, more effective decisions. Bloomberg is the Official Data Provider to WindMade.

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