Vestas' Sustainability Report: Green Steel, Scope 3 & GHGs
Vestas is not just a powerhouse in renewable energy but also a pioneer in minimising environmental impact.
It’s championing the push towards sustainability, aiding itself and others in making greener choices.
Its first CSRD-aligned Sustainability Statement for 2024 showcases advancements like the introduction of low-emission steel for turbine towers and innovative recycling methods for wind turbine blades.
“We continue to implement our global sustainability strategy and have made good progress last year,” says Lisa Ekstrand, Vice President and Head of Sustainability at Vestas.
“We are on track to both reduce the CO₂ emission intensity of our value chain and increase the recycling rate of our waste relative to production levels, leading to improved material efficiency.
“Still, there are challenges that we must overcome, as we remain committed to a science-based decarbonisation of our own operations by 2030 without using carbon offsets.
“Thank you to all my colleagues for your dedication, and to our customers and partners for your engagement.”
Decisive impact reduction
Vestas's wind turbines exemplify sustainability in action.
On average, its turbines are projected to circumvent about 50 times the emissions they generate over their lifetime.
By the close of 2024, the entirety of installed turbines by Vestas had the capacity to avoid 239 million tonnes of GHG emissions per year.
Vestas continues to derive 100% of its electricity from renewable sources.
This extends to upgrading factory heating systems to those fuelled by renewable resources.
Vestas says nearly 80% of emissions from its own operations are related to its service business.
To tackle these, the company is shifting its service vehicles to eco-friendlier options through partnerships with global automotive leaders and plans to introduce a hydrogen-powered crew transfer vessel from 2025.
Moreover, it has piloted the use of sustainable aviation fuel.
However, Vestas says it will not meet its 2025 Scope 1 and 2 CO₂e reduction target and will consider this when re-validating its SBTi targets in 2025.
“This is because our target was set before we re-entered offshore wind and our scope of activities therefore has increased,” the company says.
Reducing Scope 3 emissions
The bulk of a wind turbine’s mass stems from steel and iron, accounting for 50% of Vestas’ Scope 3 emissions.
To begin reducing its steel emissions, Vestas has partnered with ArcelorMittal to produce low-emission steel for its towers.
The report explains: “By reusing scrap steel in an electric arc furnace powered entirely by wind energy, we can reduce GHG emissions of heavy steel plates used in turbine towers by up to 66% compared to traditional steelmaking.”
In 2024, Vestas launched these low-emission steel towers as a new product offering.
Plans are set for expanding the range of low-emission materials and transport solutions into 2025 and beyond, cementing its role as a forerunner in the sustainable energy sector.
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