Danish firm Ørsted becomes first to clear WTW’s CTP accreditation

Danish clean energy firm Ørsted has become the first organisation to receive full accreditation through  WTW's Climate Transition Pathway (CTP) accreditation framework.

CTP is an industry-agnostic accreditation framework, being developed by WTW as an insurance standard to address the need for a consistent way of identifying and supporting organisations committed to low-carbon transition.

Ørsted said it was able to demonstrate the alignment of its low-carbon transition plan to the goals of the Paris agreement through their previous assessment using Assessing low-Carbon Transition (ACT) Electric Utilities methodology. Their ACT score topped the World Benchmarking Alliance’s 2021 Electric Utilities Benchmark and in doing so Ørsted sufficiently met the thresholds for all five CTP principles, resulting in their full accreditation.

Ørsted says it is the first energy company in the world with an approved science-based net-zero target.

Since 2006, it has reduced emissions intensity in its operations and energy production (scope 1 and 2) by more than 87 %, and it has now moved into the “next frontier” of decarbonisation–the supply chain–in line with its 2040 net-zero target.

Ørsted is recognised by CDP, which runs the global disclosure system for managing environmental impacts, as a global leader on climate change and is ranked as the world’s most sustainable energy company in the Corporate Knights Global 100 index.

Adam Garrard, global head of risk & broking, WTW, said: “We are delighted to see the first organisation demonstrating their commitment to a low carbon economy passing all the accreditation processes to achieve CTP recognition. This is a significant step forward in the development of the CTP and we are proud to support low-carbon companies such as Ørsted in the journey towards creating a greener and more sustainable business environment. Today’s announcement reinforces the position that insurance and risk can play in being a force for good.”

Ida Krabek, director and head of global sustainability at Ørsted, added: “Delivering a 1.5 °C world requires business model transition and decarbonisation across the economy, which helps reduce climate risks in the process. We encourage all companies to place emission reductions–in line with science–at the heart of their climate strategies.”