By Renewable Energy Focus staff

Initial supporters include the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), WWF, the LEGO Group, the UN Global Compact, Vestas Wind Systems, PricewaterhouseCoopers (the official WindMade verification partner), and Bloomberg (the official data provider to WindMade).

“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 crisis. With WindMade, we want to facilitate the change that the public demands,” says Steve Sawyer, Secretary of GWEC and interim CEO of WindMade.

A survey of over 25,000 consumers across 20 markets shows that 92% of respondents believe renewable energy is a good solution to mitigate climate change, and if given a choice, most of these would prefer wind energy.

Although bold statements have been made about commitments to renewable energy, consumers have no way of verifying the source of the energy actually used.

Ditlev Engel, CEO and President of Vestas Wind Systems and pioneer of the WindMade system, adds: “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.”

Voluntary certification

WindMade members will undergo a certification process to verify their wind energy procurement. The standard is currently under development by a technical expert group.

“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,” says James Leape, Director General of WWF.