To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that Cadeler A/S reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,

Mikkel Gleerup
CEO

Our overall goal is to operate a business that eliminates the risks of human rights violations at every step of our operations and across our supply chain.

Cadeler has a Human Rights Policy and Code of Conduct which outline its business goals as well as its expectations for its employees in terms of upholding and protecting human rights. Additionally, the company has a supply chain code of conduct which outlines expectations for our suppliers and business partners in their own operations.

A general summary of our human rights policy: Cadeler has a responsibility to respect human rights and contribute to positive impacts. The approach is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We prohibit all forms of modern slavery and the employment of children under the legal minimum age. We support diversity, inclusion and fair compensation.

Corporate code of conduct: This policy outlines the expectations placed on all employees to operate with a high level of integrity and ethical behaviour, and establishes general principles for proper business ethics. Focus is placed on anti-bribery, anti-corruption, proper procurement practice, and respectful behaviour in the workforce. A whistleblowing line is defined for use by employees to report any behaviour (both on the individual level and company level) which does not align with Cadeler's company policies and/or legal requirements.

Supply chain sustainability code of conduct: This sets out our expectations regarding human rights (including labour rights of the workers in our supply chain), environment, health and safety, business ethics and community issues. The policy specifically protects against forced labour and child labour and sets standards for employment contracts, anti-discrimination and workplace safety requirements. A whistleblowing line is also published so that any perceived violations can be reported to Cadeler.

Cadeler has established whisteblowing lines which employees, business partners, and the broader public can use to inform about any perceived violations either within the company or in its supply chains.

Additionally, in 2021, Cadeler implemented a new step in its procurement process which requires business partners to accept the terms of our supply chain sustainability code of conduct or share their own equivalent policies for review. The intention is to also implement audits for compliance in the future on key suppliers and high-risk suppliers.

The company had no reported human rights violations in 2021.

Going forward, the company intends to establish firmer targets for performance within the organization and within our supply chains. Additionally, audits of our key suppliers and our internal organization will be items for improvement.

On an annual basis, the company performs a review of its policies to ensure they are up to date and in line with current legislation and other guidance. The annual review process ensures that there is always a scheduled time in the year for focusing on improvement.

Cadeler is committed to upholding labour rights. Two key points of our sustainable development strategy are that ‘the health and safety of our people is always our number one priority’ and ‘we provide a working environment with equal opportunity and zero tolerance for discrimination’. The company has a People Policy and a Human Rights Policy which outline the protection of our employees’ rights. The company also has a supply chain code of conduct which outlines expectations for our suppliers and business partners in their own operations.

Additionally, the company operates in accordance with Danish labour laws. These regulations cover requirements with respect to working hours, resignation and termination, sickness and sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, pension, holiday, stress, freedom of association, collective bargaining, workplace environment, anti-discrimination, etc.

To ensure provision of a safe working environment, Cadeler has a safety management system which consists of company policies, operating procedures, areas of accountability, emergency plans and risk registers. The system is under continuous improvement and is certified by DNVGL as compliant with IMO International Safety Management (ISM) standards. Additionally, the company management system is certified under the ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 standards.

On 29 November 2021, Cadeler moved Wind Osprey and Wind Orca under the Danish flag and welcomed their crews onto a Danish working agreement. Through this decision, we placed our seafarers on Cadeler contracts rather than continuing to hire them through a staffing agency. The reflagging came after a broad majority in the Danish Parliament decided to adopt the DIS scheme to apply to offshore vessels, making such a move possible. The company views the change as advantageous for our seafarers, as they are now fully covered by Danish social security laws and Collective Bargaining Agreements.

The company has dedicated HR departments to ensure employee contracts are in accordance with labour laws. Cadeler has two lines of responsibility for protection of labour rights within its organization. Seafarer rights are the responsibility of our Marine HR department, whereas shore-based employees are the responsibility of our onshore HR Department.

The company works with Unions and Danish Shipping to ensure seafarer contracts continue to uphold compliance with Danish labour laws.
Cadeler or a third party on behalf of Cadeler perform annual audits of manning agencies to ensure that human rights violations are not occurring in the companies we work with to find seafarers.

The company records key safety KPI figures (lost time incidents, total recordable incident frequency)

The company has a whistleblowing hotline open for reports of violations of proper labour standards.

The company tracks gender balances for management positions and the board of directors and publishes these figures annually. We are also considering definition of other metrics as indicators of performance.

On an annual basis, the company performs a review of its policies to ensure they are up to date and in line with current legislation and other guidance. The annual review process ensures that there is always a scheduled time in the year for focusing on improvement.

Cadeler has two core policies which outline its position on environmental issues, an environmental policy and a sustainable development policy.

Environmental policy: Cadeler commits to effectively monitoring and minimising its impact on the environment. This policy outlines the key practices for achieving this target.

Sustainable development policy: Cadeler aims to work towards a sustainable future in everything it does, and to create lasting and added value for stakeholders. We focus on the sustainability of our practices concerning the environment, health and safety, employment, business partnerships and community matters where we operate.

Supply chain sustainability code of conduct: This sets out our expectations for human rights (including labour rights of the workers in our supply value chain), environment, health and safety, business ethics and community issues. The policy specifically outlines Cadeler's preference for suppliers which comply with environmental regulations, have accredited environmental management systems in place, and aim to reduce their impacts and help Cadeler reach a net zero emissions target.

Defined environmental targets: Reduce carbon intensity of operations by 3% year on year, on average; bring company emissions down to net zero by 2035; and have zero spills into the marine environment from our vessels. Looking forward, we intend to keep taking voluntary steps to improve environmental performance, measure our environmental performance and report transparently on our impact.

X-class & F-Class green design:
Cadeler previously announced plans to build two new wind farm installation vessels and one foundation installation vessel. The Company confirms its intention to deliver vessels that are more eco-friendly than Wind Orca and Wind Osprey. A decade of innovative solutions since delivery of the O-class vessels will enable us to implement energy efficiency and emission reduction technologies. Improvements to the design include shore power connections (expected to reduce fuel consumption by up to 15%), fuel efficient engines and optimised engine sizing, batteries covering >10% of energy required for crane operations & ~10% of energy required for DP and manoeuvring, and regeneration of power from the jacking system.

Planned improvements for Wind Orca and Wind Osprey:
We made the decision to invest in improved fuel tracking systems for our O-class vessels. This system should be installed by the end of 2022, and will enable us to track our fuel consumption more accurately, identify operational areas for improvements, and set best practice standards for engine efficiency. Additionally, by the end of 2022, Cadeler commits to selecting at least one additional investment in technological improvements aimed at reducing emissions from our O-class vessels.

Cadeler worked with a group of students at Denmarks Technical University to produce a non-professional LCA on the impacts from development, production, use and disposal of project seafastening. Seafastening is generally made of steel components which hold wind turbine components / foundation components and tooling in place during transit from harbour to the offshore site. This project should help us to make lower impact procurement choices for future projects.

Vessels carry a shipboard marine pollution emergency plan (SMPEP) and crews practice drills to respond to potential spills, new ballast water treatment plants were installed on the O-Class in 2021 to comply with D-2 Ballast water performance standards, and the vessels have garbage management plans which ensure segregation and handling of waste are in line with Marpol Annex V.

Cadeler maintains a management system which is certified under the ISO 14001 standard. Responsibility to maintain environmental standards is mainly distributed between two positions: the company Sustainability Manager and the Head of HSEQ.

Cadeler publishes and publicly shares a sustainable development report annually which covers performance with respect to environmental footprint. Cadeler tracks emission data from its vessels and offices for Kyoto Protocol Gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, PFCs, HFCs). GHG emissions are largely a result of vessel operations, namely burning of marine gas oil in the main engines.

The company also tracks other relevant figures such as potable water consumption, ballast water transfers, grey water discharges, garbage production (segregated into different waste categories including, but not limited to, plastics, rags, recyclable materials, glass, metal, paper and cardboard, wood, e-waste, hazardous waste, batteries, etc.), office electricity and heat consumption, and refrigerant usage.

Additionally, a list of environmental KPI’s (fuel consumption, jacking grease consumption, plastic waste production, potential spills) are reported to management on a monthly basis.

Any environmental incidents are reported into our management system and require internal investigation which results in a report to determine causes behind the incident and identification of potential improvements. Any incidents requiring reporting to authorities are reported to the relevant authority.

On an annual basis, the company performs a review of its policies to ensure they are up to date and in line with current legislation and other guidance. The annual review process ensures that there is always a scheduled time in the year for focusing on improvement.

One of the key points in our sustainable development strategy states, 'We are focused on corporate governance and business ethics. We have zero tolerance for corruption, bribery, human rights violations and other unethical practices within our company and across our value chain.

Cadeler's Code of Conduct outlines the company's expectations for employees to avoid all forms of corruption. This document also acts as a guide for employees in terms of how to handle situations if confronted with topics such as bribery, extortion, unfair advantages, etc.

Cadeler also has a Financial Governance Policy which sets out expectations for anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, anti-trust, and compliance with international sanctions.

Cadeler has a whistleblowing line available to employees via its Code of Conduct, its suppliers via its ‘Supply Chain Sustainability Code of Conduct’, and the general public via its website.

At the end of 2021, employees were given a training on anti-corruption and rules against insider trading (as Cadeler is a listed company)

Cadeler’s Board of Directors includes anti-corruption as a topic to review at board meetings.

The company is considering implementation of an internal audit process to spot check transactions in the financial systems.

Discovery of any case requiring the involvement of authorities would be escalated to the relevant authority.

Cadeler’s financial systems and reporting undergo an external audit performed by Ernst Young.

On an annual basis, the company performs a review of its policies to ensure they are up to date and in line with current legislation and other guidance. The annual review process ensures that there is always a scheduled time in the year for focusing on improvement.