SSE is leading a group of 11 global companies active in the power sector on a new initiative called the Powering Net Zero Pact to “promote a fair and just transition to net zero”.
The partners have worked together since COP26 to develop the pact and promise to uphold a series of social, environmental and corporate commitments.
These include: achieving net zero; working towards 1.5°C science-based carbon targets; protecting the natural environment; guaranteeing fair work practices including living wages and freedom of association; targeting human rights risks across global operations; and supporting local communities and supply chains around projects.
The other companies in the pact are Subsea 7, Vestas, NKT, RK McLeod, Hitachi Energy, GE Renewable Energy, DEME Offshore, Balfour Beatty, Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy.
Between them, the founding partners are working on some of the largest low-carbon infrastructure projects in the world.
These include the £3.6bn Dogger Bank, which will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm £3bn Seagreen and the £580m Viking onshore wind farm.
SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: “The climate emergency and the need to secure more stable and affordable energy supplies have accelerated the transition to a low carbon future.
“But as we are all swept-up in the race to net zero we have a duty of care to ensure no one is left behind. And not just in our own operations.
“Collaboration will be key in achieving the best possible impact on lowering emissions and supporting the natural environment whilst ensuring the mistakes of past industrial transformations aren’t repeated.
“At SSE we are doing all we can to understand what we need to do to make the transition a fair and just one, on these shores and beyond.
“Today we are very proud to have brought together this coalition of the willing, as we look to translate our experiences and help and learn from others to develop firm action and tangible results.
“The Powering Net Zero Pact is a perfect example of private companies taking matters into their own hands – not just to reduce carbon, but to make sure people benefit from a fair and just transition too.”
Siemens Gamesa managing director for UK and Ireland Clark MacFarlane added: “As a key supplier to SSE on their major projects, as well as our wider global portfolio, we are hugely supportive of this initiative and the work being undertaken to grow the profile and necessity for delivering renewable generation sustainably.
“We have already taken considerable strides on this journey and are proud of our extremely high environmental credentials and will continue to collaborate with SSE and our other customers and suppliers to reach the ultimate goal of Net Zero.”
The pact is built around five areas of ambition, five shared commitments and five topics for collaboration, and is strategically driven by being aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The five areas of ambition are: Achieve net zero carbon emissions; Protect and enhance the natural environment; Transition to a circular economy; Guarantee fair work and sustainable jobs; add value to local communities.
The five shared commitments are: Work towards science-based carbon targets, aligned to 1.5 degrees; Disclose wider environment metrics; Set waste reduction targets and incorporate circularity; Create a roadmap for net zero skills and guarantee fair work standards; Identify shared responsible developer, constructor and operator principles.
The five topics for collaboration are: Quantification of scope 3 carbon emissions; Frameworks for achieving Biodiversity Net Gain; Innovative products and methods for reducing waste; Targeting human rights risk across global supply chains; Supporting competitive, local supply chains close to assets.