Improving the framework conditions
for wind energy
The bureaucrats guide to saving the world
The Challenge
The red tape of bureaucracy
The framework conditions for scaling wind solutions are very poor from a commercial perspective — and this has consequences beyond the industry. In the lead-up to COP27, it became clear that too few offshore wind farms were being built to meet the 2030 targets and the 1.5°C goal set in the Paris Agreement. Yet this critical agenda risked being drowned out by the overwhelming number of other crises on the table at COP.
Vestas needed to mobilize and encourage policymakers to make a landmark decision: to improve the framework conditions for wind energy. But those conditions are complex — and so are the obstacles to changing them. Wind is priced below its true societal value. The energy grid isn’t designed to support wind at scale. Asset owners hold significant power. And so forth.
After analyzing all the components of the problem and their root causes, we identified an underlying issue: the red tape of bureaucracy. Permits for new projects can take 8–10 years to secure.
The bureaucrats guide to saving the world
The Solution
We need an unlikely hero
There is a growing sentiment that it's time for action — and that bureaucrats are holding us back. But the truth is: we need bureaucracy more than ever. What we need is a lean bureaucratic process to accelerate permitting procedures. We need an unlikely hero. So, we had one mission at COP27: Let bureaucrats save the world.
Vestas turned bureaucrats into the heroes of COP by launching the white paper “The Bureaucrat’s Guide to Saving the World.”
At COP, everyone tries to influence the politicians. But for every politician, there are many bureaucrats doing most of the actual work.
With a 360° campaign — built around a talking paper for Vestas executives — we reached COP attendees through a film, LinkedIn content, and print placements in The Economist (the official COP magazine), along with many other campaign materials.
The bureaucrats guide to saving the world
The Results
European Wind Power package
Vestas called it one of their most effective campaigns to date. Many of the campaign’s suggestions were later reflected in the European Wind Power Package of October 2023 — an action plan hailed as a game-changer for Europe’s energy security.
It could have been a happy ending — but as we all know, Europe’s energy politics came under intense pressure the following year.
To see the campaign Vestas launched for decision-makers at WindEurope 2024, explore the case: “This is Not a Wind Farm.”
