Our partnership with the Natural History Museum

Orsted partnership with the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum inspires millions of visitors each year to feel connected to our extraordinary planet and understand the desperate need to act now to protect it. Ørsted shares with the Natural History Museum a vision of a world where people and planet thrive. We believe that climate change is the most significant barrier to that future and are taking real action to help create a world that runs entirely on green energy. We’re proud to support the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which brings visitors closer to the incredible diversity and beauty of our shared home.

Here are a few of the activities we’re participating in through our partnership with the Natural History Museum:

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Now in its 58th instalment, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the longest running and most prestigious photographic event of its kind in the world – showcasing the beauty of the planet we call home and the wildlife that inhabits it.

With climate change and biodiversity loss being some of the biggest challenges facing our planet today, it’s important to connect people with wildlife and their surroundings to help raise awareness and tackle the threats facing them. It is for this reason, Ørsted are once again sponsoring the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

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“We believe climate change is the single greatest threat to our planet’s extraordinary wildlife. This makes Ørsted’s vision of creating a world that runs entirely on green energy all the more urgent. At this crucial time, we are delighted to support this remarkable global celebration of the planet we all call home.”

Duncan Clark, Managing Director Offshore and Country Chair UK&I, Ørsted

This year's competition attracted entries from professionals and amateurs across 93 countries. Each entry was judged anonymously on its creativity, originality, and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts.

The overall competition winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on the 11 October 2022.

Explore a selection of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022 exhibition images below:

Our employees take inspiration from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition

At Ørsted, we’re all passionate about working towards our vision of a world that runs entirely on green energy, and that’s because we love this extraordinary planet we all call home. As part of our event sponsorship, we host an employee photo competition inspired by the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Each year we encourage our employees to capture images of wildlife and habitats that, for them, encapsulate ‘Love your home’. The winning entrants are whittled down by an expert team at the Natural History Museum.

Here are our latest employee winning entrants based on the theme of ‘impressions of the natural world’

The winning entry for the Orsted employee photographic competition with the NHM, shows gulls 'lining up at the chippy' along the seafront at Cleethorpes

‘The queue for the Chippy’

Cleethorpes, UK

By Charli Parkin, UK Media Relations Manager

Setting the scene Charli said, “The best place for me during the pandemic was going down to the seafront in Cleethorpes. I'm lucky enough to be a five-minute walk from seeing blue skies and the waves crashing in.

“I took this photo during a lunchtime stroll in between Teams meetings to see the queue for the chippy was quite long!”

Staff from the Natural History Museum judging the competition chose Charli’s image as the overall winner, commenting: “The judges selected this image as winner for the playful way it portrays urban nature. They enjoyed the composition of the image and how it recognised and celebrated the urban nature in your local environment, encouraging others to appreciate the nature on their doorstep.”

A close runner up in the Orsted employee photographic competition with the NHM, shows a Fire Salamander in the Italian Dolomites

‘Fire salamander from the Italian Dolomites’

Dolomites mountain range, Italy

By Alberto Garcia Gorostiza, Project Manager

Describing the photo Alberto said, “I chose to capture this moment because it is rare. It has become less and less probable to encounter wild salamanders due to the negative effect of humans in the environment. This is because the fire salamanders are only present in pristine and untouched wilderness.

“I love the image because of its composition – branches at the forefront laying on the forest floor and the fire salamander with its bright coloration at the centre of the picture. This bright coloration is highly conspicuous and acts to deter predators by signalling its toxicity. In the photo, the salamander is unmissable, even though it is hidden amongst the forest vegetation.

Staff from the Natural History Museum judging the competition considered this image a close second as it highlights the salamander’s habitat and how it is an integral part of its environment. This is particularly important when considering the wider decline in amphibians globally.

NHM livestream event

Ørsted industry expert joins a Natural History Museum discussion panel on the just energy revolution

Katinka Palbo, Head of Global Strategy & Global Partnerships at Ørsted, joined a panel of climate scientists and fellow industry experts as they explored how to realise a world in which global communities have access to clean and sustainable energy for generations. The discussion charted humanity's complex relationship with energy, and what is needed to drive the transition to sustainable energy across the planet.

Watch a recording of the livestreamed event below:

Clean and green: is a just energy revolution around the corner? Livestreamed event with Ørsted's Katinka Palbo, Head of Global Strategy & Global Partnerships

Generate: Scientists of the Future

Ørsted and the Natural History Museum are working with schools and students over a three-year period to help shape pupils’ attitudes to and aspirations in science. Inspired by the acclaimed ASPIRES research project run by King’s College London, this new initiative seeks to build ‘science capital’ amongst students – developing greater understanding, knowledge, interest and connections to science, scientists and scientific careers.

Working with four schools in the London boroughs of Westminster and Lambeth, the project aims to make science more accessible to a diverse range of students. The Natural History Museum hosts a day of science engagement activities for the schools every year, allowing students to explore the Museum’s 80 million specimen collection. The students are also given the opportunity to meet some of the world’s leading natural history and energy industry scientists.

The NHM conducts research into students’ attitudes and aspirations in science before, during and after the visits, which will show how the Museum’s interventions and the engagement with scientists is having an impact on the students taking part.

Follow the students’ progress through the programme in the videos below:

The Year 7 pupils make their first visit to the Museum, discovering there’s more to science than they’d thought.

Now in Year 8, the pupils tackle a more sophisticated challenge, evaluating industry and research scientist pitches and deciding whose project to fund.

Grants and sponsorship

Discover how our national and local sponsorships are benefiting communities and the environment across the UK

Learn more about our grants and sponsorships