Last week, WindMade launched the first ever global consumer label for wind energy to showcase companies pledging to procure at least 25 percent of their operations' overall electricity consumption from wind energy. Offering transparency to consumers, the label will enable purchasers to reward companies using the renewable source of energy, a trend expected to be picked up by other sectors of renewable energy.
At the launch event in New York, 15 companies pioneered WindMade's efforts, committing to sustainable energy. As an independent legal entity, WindMade is backed by NGOs, public bodies and corporations that include the UN Global Compact, Vestas Wind Systems, WWF, Global Wind Energy Council, LEGO Group Bloomberg and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“WindMade is a consumer label that you can see on a corporation's communication [and even on] products on the shelf in the supermarket,” said Morten Albaek, Vestas Wind Systems Senior VP, Global Marketing and Customer Insight, at the event. “It's a label that gives the consumer transparency as to how much wind energy has been used to produce a specific product.”
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The label is intended to create consumer pull in the face of mounting demands for more renewable energy. According to Vestas' 2011 global consumer study conducted by TNS Gallup (a poll of 31,000 consumers across 26 countries), 79 percent of consumers would have a more positive perception of brands produced with wind energy and 67 percent of consumers would pay a premium for products labeled WindMade.
WindMade is “a gift to the consumers of the world,” said Albaek. “And now they'll have to decide if they want to unpack it.”
