A Fair and Just Transition
A planned and orderly transition to net zero presents many opportunities for workers, communities, and consumers, including:
- creating good green jobs;
- investment in rural communities;
- the development of new supply chains and local businesses;
- greater energy security;
- and less volatile bills.
At the same time, a disorderly transition to net zero could impact public support for decarbonisation, risk causing lasting social and economic harms.
A ‘just transition’ is the fairest way of ensuring that the benefits of climate action are shared widely, whilst preventing an unfair burden of the costs on those least able to afford it.
In November 2020, SSE plc became the first company in the world to publish a Just Transition Strategy.
The Strategy outlines 20 principles to promote a fair and just transition for workers, consumers and communities when transitioning ‘in’ to a net zero world, while at the same time transitioning ‘out’ of high-carbon activities.
In 2024, SSE plc revisited those principles to ensure they remained appropriate and relevant.
The review found that the 20 principles remain relevant, with only minor amendments needed to the wording and further clarity added in the definitions which sit below them.
The renewed strategy has also identified a basket of 10 key performance indicators identified to monitor progress.
These indicators are also mirrored in our SSE Renewables goals.
Support good green jobs locally and through our value chain, and invest in thriving communities
As a clean energy champion, we have a responsibility to help manage the social consequences of the transition to net zero; ensuring that our existing assets and new investments create value for wider society as well as shareholders.
Over 2024/25, we contributed an estimated £2.4bn to UK GDP and €174m to Irish GDP, compared to £1.7bn and €193m respectively in 2023/24. This rise can be attributed to a shift towards higher productivity sectors such as construction.
In 2024/25, we supported 13,750 jobs across the UK and Ireland, including direct, indirect and induced, up slightly from 13,010 in 2023/24. We also invested almost £13m into its communities over 2024/25, achieving above its £10m per year target.
Learn more about the ways in which we are ensuring a Just Transition at SSE Renewables by clicking on the links below.
Our goals
Focus on the fundamentals
Goal 1 +Focus on the fundamentals
Goal 1Relentless focus on the fundamentals: safety, human rights, paying the real Living Wage and Fair Tax Mark accreditation
| Safety TRIR (Total Recordable Injury Rate of 0.15 per 100,000 hours worked) | Safe Days | Employee participation score |
| 2022/23: 0.24 | 2022/23: 321 | 2022/23: 78% |
| 2023/24: 0.27 | 2023/24: 308 | 2023/24: 95% |
| 2024/25: 0.15 | 2024/25: 342 | 2024/25: 86% |
Grant £200m of direct community investment by 2035
Goal 2 +Grant £200m of direct community investment by 2035
Goal 22025: £100m milestone reached a 50% of goal completed
Community investment
2023/24: £10.3 million
2024/25: £13 million
Community projects supported
2023/24: 907
2024/25: 878
Achieve our employee diversity 2030 targets
Goal 3 +Achieve our employee diversity 2030 targets
Goal 3Achieve our employee diversity 2030 targets: gender (33%), ethnicity (15%), disability (8%), and LGBTQIA+ (8%)
2024/25:
Gender: 25% (2023/24: 24.8%)
2024/25:
Ethnicity: 6.3% (2023/24: 6.9)
2024/25:
Disability: 12.3% (2023/24: 9.5%)
2024/25:
LGBTQIA+:3.3% (2023/24: 3.1%)
Progress against SSE’s Just Transition Principles
SSE Renewables takes stock on its advancement towards a Just Transition through considering progress made against its eight most material principles of SSE’s 20 Just Transition Principles.
SSE’s principles for good, green jobs
Commitment
SSE is guided by the fundamental principles defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Principles of the UN Global Compact. Enhanced social and safety standards for employees including paying the real Living Wage in the UK and Ireland, alongside mature employee relations and trade union recognition, set the foundation for fair and decent work at SSE Renewables.
Progress 2024/2025
We made significant progress on our safety performance over 2024/25. This consisted of:
A Total Recordable Injury Rate of 0.15 per 100,000 hours worked, significantly lower than 0.27 in 2023/24. 2
- A total of 342 Safe Days in 2024/25, a 34% increase from 2023/24.
- A decrease in recordable incidents, with 14 being reported in 2024/25, a 10% decrease from 2023/24,
- A 12% decrease in potential incidents, with 3 being recorded in 2024/25.
This performance can be attributed to engagement activities targeted at SSE Renewables’ employees and contractors, including spotting trends early on minor first aid injuries and reinvigorating eye and hand safety campaigns.
We worked with trade body RenewableUK and the Living Wage Foundation on a Real Living Wage guidance for the renewables sector, outlining how renewable companies can adopt the real Living Wage as part of a wider just transition underpinned by decent work. sharing SSE’s decades worth of experience as an accredited Living Wage employer. The guide is available on RenewableUK’s website. 3
We continued to work closely with our employee representatives from our four recognised Trade Unions – GMB, Unite, Prospect, and Unison - on consultation and information matters through our Joint Business Committee (JBC), which meets quarterly. More information on how SSE Renewables works with employee representatives is available in SSE’s Sustainability report 2025.
Commitment
Long-term sustainable employment, providing the opportunity for ongoing development and training, building an inclusive pipeline and shaping the future workforce form part of SSE’s approach. SSE Renewables also seeks to attract talent from former high-carbon industries into low carbon alternatives.
Progress 2024/2025
Existing workforce: As of 31 March 2025, SSE Renewables’ headcount was at 2070, increased from 2037 in March 2024, and from 1641 in March 2023 but lower than FY2025 budget. Following a period of growth, the business is focusing on value over volume and SSE commenced an operating and efficiency review, intended to ensure that it had the right structures, resourcing and accountabilities to maximise future opportunities. The review involved measures to improve operational efficiency, increase organisational effectiveness and rebalance the business. Following the review, our headcount was 1908 in July 2025.
An inclusive pipeline: Over 2024/25, we continued our pipeline programmes, consisting of:
47 engineering graduates and 34 business and commercial graduates in total
10 T-level apprenticeships
14 traineeships. Our traineeships are now managed in relevant business units to support trainees with more specialised skillsets.
18 students completed a summer placement. 2 of those went on to join the 2024 graduate programme, and 4 of those will join the 2025 graduate programme.
Moving forward, our summer placement programme will now directly lead into our graduate programme.
Shaping the future workforce: Our employees continued to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) school-age initiatives through engaging with local schools, totalling over 300 volunteer hours over 2024/25. Our community funds also supported 37 education projects including investments of £200,000 to the RISE project, a programme delivered in partnership by South Lanarkshire Council and Routes Out of Work, to help provide training to young people not in employment or education, £20,406 to Complete Careers LLP, a business empowering people to make successful transitions, and €38,100 to Galway Board of Science &Technology.
High carbon workers: In 2024/25, 38% of employees at SSE Renewables had transitioned from a high-carbon role, with 12% of these transitions occurring in the last two years. While this is slightly down from 40% in 2023/24, it remains within the 30–40% range observed since monitoring began in 2021/22. Regionally, most of these employees are based in Scotland; however, 67% of SSE Renewables international employees came from high carbon industries.
Skills advocacy and engagement: We remain committed to advocating for the role governments play in supporting sectoral skills gaps, including through engagement in industry bodies such as the Offshore Wind Industry Council and Solar Energy UK’s Solar Skills Task Force, as well as its participation in industry-government roundtables. We also responded to skills consultations, for example on potential skills-related Clean Industry Bonuses as part of future UK Government Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation rounds.
Commitment
SSE Renewables actively seeks to gather and act on employee feedback, including through regular and detailed employee surveys and employee focus groups which provide feedback directly to SSE’s most senior levels.
Progress 2024/2025
86% of SSE Renewables colleagues provided feedback in the 2024 Great Place to Work survey. 94% of employees at SSE Renewables said they are committed to SSE’s vision to be a leading energy company in a net zero world and 93% said they know how they can contribute to SSE’s transition to net zero.
We continued progressing with our Great Place to Work Champion group, consisting of diverse colleagues from across the business. The group have had full access to the employee survey results and have produced recommendations including for quarterly communications for all employees from the SSE Renewables’ Executive Committee, as well as a commitment to explore reverse mentoring.
Commitment
The net zero transition provides an opportunity to actively deliver a diverse mix of people from every kind of background working in the energy sector. SSE Renewables commits to continued tracking and reporting on the diversity of its workforce to monitor progress and ensure action is targeted and effective
Progress 2024/2025
As of April 2025, the median gender pay gap decreased at SSE Renewables Ltd. from 10.7% in 2023/24 to 8.9% in 2024/25, with the mean decreasing down to 7.5% from 12.6%. The median pay gap for our new hires has reduced significantly, now at 43.8%, a significant from 5.6% in 2023/24 to. Over the period of 2024/25, the percentage of women in leadership positions at SSE Renewables saw a slight increase to 25%. This marks a steady increase towards our target of 40%, up 1.3% in the last 12 months.
We also continued to measure progress towards our diversity targets. Overall, the trends indicate positive progress in three areas, disabilities, LGBTQIA+ and gender.
Ethnic minority:6.3 % decrease from 2023/24 at 6.9%
Disability: 12.3 %, increase from 2023/24 at 9.5%
- LGBTQIA+: 3.3% increase from 2023/24 at 3.1%
Our Inclusion & Diversity Challenger group, a group made up of over 30 employees from across SSE Renewables, focused on promoting SSE Renewables’ Inclusion and Diversity principles in internal team meetings across the organisation, with a primary focus on SSE Renewables’ international business. It also included a series of in-person panel style events across SSE’s offices to mark International Women’s Day.
SSE’s principles for building and operating assets
Set and monitor enhanced social safeguards
Commitment
SSE acknowledges that the technologies needed to deliver net zero may have increased human rights risk due to the rare minerals required and the global workforce involved in the manufacturing and construction of renewable assets and supply chains. SSE Renewables is fully aligned to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct.
Progress 2024/2025
We have continued to implement risk-based due diligence, in line with the outcomes of our human rights risk assessment and in accordance with international human rights standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, further outlined in SSE’s Human Rights Report (2024). Over 2024/25, we increased our focus on training and awareness, including:
- Running an SSE-wide webinar with external experts from Twentyfifty and Slave Free Alliance to raise awareness and provide advice on how to spot signs and report human rights abuses, attended by 1,700 employees.
- Rolling out a human rights training programme with Slave Free Alliance, involving senior leaders and those employees and contractors working on vessels and construction sites.
Working with stakeholders to address human rights risks. This includes contributing to the development of a worker welfare toolkit through its membership with the International Responsible Business Conduct Agreement of the Netherlands, contributing to the Solar Stewardship Initiative’s development of a Traceability Standard, and working with trade associations such as Solar Energy UK’s Responsible Sourcing Group.
Support competitive national and local supply chains
Commitment
SSE is committed to working closely with governments, and suppliers across the industry to create the conditions for investment in supply chain goods and services, and promoting economic opportunities to local and national suppliers
Progress 2024/2025
We continued to work with offshore wind bodies to support local supply chain investment. This included engaging in in the Industry Growth Partnership (IGP) through RenewableUK and working within the Offshore Wind Industry Council to advance its industry supply chain portal. We also engaged proactively in the UK Governments Clean Industry Bonus process as part of its Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7. The bonus scheme involves non-price factors including supporting supply chains in deprived areas in the United Kingdom.
We worked with trade body Scottish Renewables in the framework of its Local Content Working Group to support accurate measurement of local content and realise commitments made under Scotland’s Onshore Sector Deal to publicly report and monitor the local content used in onshore wind projects. The group is expected to finalise its approach in 2025.
Share value with communities
Commitment
SSE will share the economic value of renewables projects through community investment funds – at the same time as innovating models of community partnership, including the notion of shared ownership.
Progress 2024/2025
More information on the impact of this funding milestone is available in a dedicated brief £100M Sharing Value Final.
Our community investment across the UK and Ireland totalled £12.96 million, with 878 projects supported. We assess the social impact of our funds using a Social Return of Investment methodology created by the New Economics Foundation, and report on our funds across three core areas of social value spanning economy, social and environmental, aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2024/25:
- £7.1 million to Sustainable Communities (SDG 11, 3)
- £2.9 million to Decent Work and Quality Education (SDG 4, 8)
- £2.6 million to Nature and Climate Goal (SDG 7, 13, 15).
Over 2024/25, to mark the 80th anniversary its hydro assets, SSE Renewables worked with 41 local communities to establish a new £10 million Hydro Community Fund. A consultation was issued to the local residents of every hydro community, and they identified six key priorities for the fund include improving access to affordable, quality and safe housing and encouraging the establishment and sustainable economic growth of small businesses including social enterprises. An independent panel has been established and is chaired by Felix Spital from Development Trust Association Scotland with representation from nine local community members.
Implement responsible developer standards
Commitment
SSE seeks to go beyond its legal obligations when developing, constructing and operating assets, developing processes to incorporate sustainability impacts into governance frameworks, while engaging stakeholders to understand and address their interests.
Progress 2024/2025
We embed sustainability early into Large Capital Project (LCP) development, and through the project lifecycle, through the creation of a Sustainability Assessment and Action Plan (SAAP). Over 2024/25, ~38 SSE Renewables projects engaged to embed sustainability via the SAAP process, with support from sustainability subject matter experts. These span all renewable technologies in SSE Renewables’ fleet (offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, battery & hydro). SSE Renewables projects and the internal processes used to embed sustainability meet globally recognised standards for sustainable infrastructure, as evidenced by its Coire Glas project achieving Gold certification in the Hydro Sustainability Standard in 2025.
Our approach to embedding sustainability into its operational asset management portfolio is through governance, alongside tracking and monitoring existing performance plans. For example, SSE Renewables’ hydro business initiated a ‘Hydro Sustainability Delivery Plan Action tracker across 2024/25, which enabled the asset management team to track progress against sustainability objectives. Through cross-business working, an overall completion rate of 95% was achieved.
Transitioning from high-carbon roles
Achieving our net zero targets and the shift away from high-carbon industries will involve harnessing the transferability of existing skills sets and competences in the energy sector.
In SSE Renewables, 38% of our workforce has transitioned from high-carbon industries and perform crucial roles across the business.
The following four testimonials showcase the range of opportunities available in SSER and the transferability of skill-sets developed in high-carbon sectors: