Putting a label on the wind

January 18, 2011

Abu Dhabi - In a direct response to increasing consumer
demand for sustainable products, some of the world’s leading
corporations and non-profit organizations announced today their
support for the development the first global consumer label
identifying corporations and products made with wind energy.

“Governments are dragging their feet, but consumers want to see
change now. The private sector needs to step up to provide the
solutions we need to respond to the global energy and climate
crises. With WindMade, we want to facilitate the change that the
public demands,” said Steve Sawyer, Secretary General of the Global
Wind Energy Council, and interim CEO of WindMade.

Led by wind energy giant VESTAS, the WindMade initiative is the
brainchild of Morten Albaek, a philosopher turned corporate
marketer, who  recruited Bloomberg, the WWF, and the UN
to support his scheme. “I want to surprise the world by
creating something that has never been created before, something
unique enough to inspire people to think, innovate, act, and react
differently,” he is quoted in a href=”http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/152/tilting-at-windmills.html”
target=”_blank”>Fast & Company article by Jeff Chu.

A global survey  of more than 25,000 consumers across 20
markets shows that 92 percent of respondents believe that renewable
energy is a good solution to mitigating climate change, and that if
presented with a choice, most of them would prefer products made
with wind energy, even at a premium.

However, while many companies have already made bold statements
about their commitment to renewable energy, consumers have to date
no way of verifying the source of the energy used. WindMade will
offer them the transparency they require for making informed
choices.

“We want to build a bridge between consumers and companies
committed to clean energy, and give consumers the option to choose
more sustainable products. We hope that this will create a strong
element of consumer pull which will accelerate the pace of wind
energy development globally”, said Ditlev Engel, CEO and President
for Vestas Wind Systems who pioneered the WindMade initiative.

The WindMade consortium hopes to attract leading consumer brands
as members. To use the WindMade label for their communications or
products, WindMade members will undergo a certification process to
verify their wind energy procurement.

The standard for certification is currently being developed by a
technical expert group. The aim will be to drive the development of
new wind power plants, over and above what would be developed
anyway.

“”It is crucial that the WindMade criteria live up to the high
standards necessary for the label to serve consumers’ desire to
make tangible impact and boost clean renewables,” said James Leape,
Director General of WWF.

“We believe that voluntary certification is one key to raising
the bar for mainstream performance. We hope to see WindMade develop
into a good example of a standard for corporations to close the gap
between ambition and reality in the important area of renewable
energy,” he added.

This is the first time we can connect to consumers, something
we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said Georg Kell, Executive
Director of UN Global Compact. “As a market-based solution
supportive of the Global Compact’s mission, WindMade has the
potential to be a strong force in advancing the use of renewable
energy by business everywhere.”

The WindMade initiative will be presented in more detail at a
high-level gathering of the founding partners during the World
Economic Forum in Davos on 28 January. This event will be attended
by senior executives of leading brands, as well as other interested
parties. A public consultation will be held from March 2011 to
inform the development of the certification standard.

For more information visit target=”_blank”>http://www.windmade.org/.