TRENDSETTERS: Vestas' Albaek Demonstrates Consumers' Interest in Buying Brands Made with Renewable Energy

Morten Albæk, Group Senior Vice President for Marketing and Customer Insights for the Denmark-based wind turbine manufacturing company Vestas Wind Systems A/S, is best described as a marketing revolutionary. His primary responsibility at Vestas is to transform the global wind energy company from a product-oriented to a customer-focused organization.

Despite (or perhaps due to) an academic background in History and Philosophy, Morten Albæk has created a career based on Idea Generation and Innovation. Since joining Vestas in January 2009, he has adapted a novel approach toward business-to-business marketing. WindMade™, created by Albæk with a coalition of global partners and endorsed by the United Nations, is the first global consumer label to demonstrate that a brand has been created using a single renewable energy source.

Earlier this summer, Vestas, in cooperation with Bloomberg and TNS Gallup, announced the results of two studies -- The Global Consumer Wind Study 2011 and the Corporate Renewable Energy Index (CREX) 2011 -- that show the relationship between consumer demand for renewable energy in the products and services they purchase, and what corporations are doing – or not doing – to meet these demands.

Without question, a majority of consumers around the world recognize the challenge of climate change and believe in the value of renewable energy and the reduction of carbon emissions. The Global Consumer Wind Study asked 31,000 consumers in 26 countries about their preferences for brands made with renewable energy, as well as how energy decisions by some of the world’s largest companies affect their choices.

Corporations may be responsible for a major share of global energy consumption; however, they often lack insight into consumer preferences for renewable energy. Consumers, in turn, rarely know what kind of energy is being used to produce the brands they buy. Vestas believes that transparency in energy consumption enables consumers to make informed choices, which will also influence how corporations act.

This consumer study coincided with the launch of the first global Corporate Renewable Energy Index (CREX) by Vestas and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. CREX provides transparency in global corporate energy use, including renewable energy, and is currently based on data from 176 respondents among the world’s 1,000 largest listed companies. The CREX shows which companies are putting real investment behind sustainability. For example, Kohl’s, Whole Foods Market, TD Bank, Swiss Re, Nordea Bank, Adobe Systems, Vestas, News Corp., CLP Holdings and Deutsche Bank are among the top-ranked companies who purchase the majority of their electricity from renewable energy sources, according to today’s Index.

"The Global Consumer Wind Study and the Corporate Renewable Energy Index complement each other. The first one from a consumer demand perspective, the latter details corporate energy usage, which will allow consumers and corporations to make informed decisions based on facts," says Morten Albæk. "Transparency in renewable energy will not only be good for society and future generations: it will also be good for business."

Both studies can be downloaded at www.vestas.com/transparency

Morten Albæk is a strong believer in one-to-one marketing using alternative channels, in building global collaborations and partnerships, and in integrating marketing with CSR, PR, sustainability and even philanthropy as catalysts for effective business development.

He is the author of two books and a professor at one of Denmark's largest universities. The Internationalist is also proud to list him among THE 100, The Internationalist's annual list of today’s most influential CMOs.