Just Transition

What is a just energy transition?

The idea of a just transition first became popular in the 1980s when trade unions looked to protect workers affected by things like new water and air pollution regulations. Today, it’s become tightly linked to the world’s climate goals, with the target of ensuring that all parts of society are included fairly in the transition to a more sustainable future. 

The most critical thing we can do is work closely with communities. That can include actions like assessing how developments could impact local traditions or providing ways for people to raise concerns and get answers. 

We want the communities we work in to experience real, positive change from our presence. We do that by teaming up with local groups that know the area best. That’s the most effective way to create opportunities, tackle challenges, and bring lasting benefits.

Safe and fair working conditions

A just transition wouldn’t be just if the workers across the supply chain weren’t working under circumstances that were safe and fair. We follow international labour rights standards, and we’re committed to the standard that all employees and supply chain workers should have fair pay and safe working conditions. As part of that commitment, we run detailed assessments to prevent human rights risks in our workplace and supply chain. If an action is required based on an assessment, we take it.

Opposing modern slavery

Statkraft strongly opposes the use of forced labour, and we follow up on that in a couple of ways. Firstly, when we procure (buy or source) products or services from companies, we emphasise human and labour rights commitments at each stage of the process. For high-risk products we also seek to avoid sourcing goods that might be produced with forced labour by including specific disclosure requirements for sub-suppliers and traceability / chain-of-custody audit rights for very high-risk products to verify that the supplier adheres to the contract requirements. In addition, we work with industry associations and peers to raise awareness, increase transparency, and improve industry standards through relevant sector initiatives. Examples of associations we work with are the Wind Energy Initiative and the Solar Stewardship Initiative.