The challenges facing the energy sector are well-known. Global demand for energy is constantly growing and needs to be met at the same time as CO2 emissions need to be reduced dramatically. The challenges facing the energy sector are part of a wider challenge concerning how we, as modern societies, use our resources.

We use resources everywhere in a modern society. In energy, transport, food, homes and industry. But when these products are produced, harmful substances are created, for example CO2. And when we no longer need the products, we take them to the tip or incinerate them. The consequence is that the valuable resources, which are often not renewable, disappear.

The way in which we manage resources constitutes an unsustainable drain on global resources. It damages both the environment and the economy. The prices of raw materials have skyrocketed since 2000. A substance such as phosphorus is essential to the production of food, but researchers are warning us that we may run out of it.

We need greater resource efficiency. In 2011, via its climate partnerships, DONG Energy achieved an energy saving equivalent to the energy consumption of a city the size of Aalborg. At the same time, DONG Energy is at the forefront of developments in offshore wind. It is renewable, emits no CO2 and the wind is a free resource.

However, we must also get better at recycling the resources in products that are not renewable. While DONG Energy’s biotechnologies Inbicon and REnescience produce renewable energy, they extract the phosphorus that is bound up in organic waste such as potato peel or paper, so that it can be returned to the soil. We must start to see waste as a  resource.

Wind energy and biotechnologies are two examples of how DONG Energy works on the basis of the conviction that we can turn challenges into opportunities which, while they create value for DONG Energy and our shareholders, also make a positive contribution to the societies of which we are part.

While we expand with renewable energy, we will still need oil and natural gas. However, DONG Energy has set a clear course. In 2040, 85% of our electricity and heat generation will come from renewable energy. Compared with 2006, we now use half as much coal, and, in 2015, we expect to use a third of the volume of coal we used in 2006. We are ahead of our target to halve CO2 emissions by 2020.

On the journey towards more clean and reliable energy, we must find answers to a number of questions. We must continue to ensure that the drilling for oil and gas that we undertake is safe and has no negative environmental impact. We must ensure that the biomass that, for a number of years, will be the only alternative to coal at power stations, is sustainable. These are just a few examples of how DONG Energy continues to support and be guided by the UN Global Compact's ten principles.

We also continue to seek dialogue with our stakeholders to find the answers. One result of our stakeholder dialogue has been joint environmental and safety emergency plans with local fisheries organisations and public authorities in the Barents Sea, Norway, in connection with seismic test drilling. We have also developed a first draft of sustainability criteria for wood pellets in partnership with other European energy companies.

In the area of safety, we achieved a record low injury frequency in 2011. Unfortunately, there were three unacceptable deaths at our partners. DONG Energy has implemented a number of measures designed to contribute to increased knowledge sharing and skills development in this area. Our most important resource in the transition to more green energy is our employees. Every day, they help DONG Energy grow as a company and make a positive contribution to the societies of which we are part.

Enjoy!