Sustainably mined and produced copper is the way forward in the transition to sustainable energy

Copper is a central material in many of our power cables, and as such it is a critical component in the transition to sustainable energy. Our purpose is to connect a greener world, and to live up to this promise, we need to ensure that both we and our suppliers live up to responsible production practices.

As a major user of copper, we have decided to become a partner of the Copper Mark. The organization ensures that the copper mines, smelters/refiners and fabricators being certified live up to globally recognized standards for responsible copper production. This helps us ensure that the copper we use for our power cables comes from companies that live up to a certain level of environmental, social and governance responsibility and performance.

We work actively with our suppliers to ensure that they live up to legal and market requirements connected to health, safety, human rights and the environment. We continuously conduct due diligence reviews of our suppliers, and the Copper Mark is a way to ensure that the copper we use in our production lives up to certain standards. The Copper Mark offers a transparent and independent assurance process that verifies the suppliers compliance with the Copper Mark's standards.

We are committed to ensuring that our products are produced in a way that minimizes environmental impact and this includes sourcing copper from suppliers that adhere to responsible production practices, including proper working conditions in the copper industry. The Copper Mark's standards include requirements related to labor rights, health and safety, and community engagement, which are critical for creating a sustainable and equitable copper industry.

Being a company that puts great emphasis on sustainability, becoming a Copper Mark partner gives us the opportunity to participate in working groups that among other work to identify and address critical impacts on people and the environment throughout the copper value chain. As mentioned, copper is an important component in supporting the transition to sustainable energy, and we want to increase the understanding of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues related to the sourcing of copper and help map the critical ESG issues for copper mining and smelting and thereby support the acceleration of the development of responsible value chains among our copper suppliers. An open dialogue is key in this process.

For us, joining the Copper Mark is a natural step in our vision to connect a greener world and to conduct sustainable and responsible business that promotes practices resulting in positive environmental and social impact in the value chain and affected communities.