WindMade is a new certification label for companies that obtain at least 25% of their electricity from wind power.
Recently, Danish hearing aid manufacturer Widex became the first company in the world to receive the WindMade label. A wind turbine supporting 95% of Widex’s energy use, including production, put the company well above the percentage threshold required to earn the WindMade certification.
The certification allows companies to convey to consumers their commitment to renewable energy sources, thus giving customers the opportunity to support companies and products that use wind power to satisfy a significant portion of their energy needs.
According to the WindMade web site, Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems A/S was a founding partner of the WindMade program and is still a lead sponsor.
Vestas filed a U.S. service mark application for the WINDMADE design mark (shown above) in December 2011. WindMade asbl, a Belgian company, is the current owner of U.S. Application Serial No. 79/105,250, which claims priority to European Community Trade Mark No. 009629445.
The WindMade label, which is supported by the UN Global Compact, is not limited to companies; it also certifies events that procure 100% of their electricity footprint from renewable power sources.
The first event to be WindMade certified was the European Wind Energy Association’s 2012 Conference & Exhibition in Copenhagen (see the press release here), and the first North American event to receive the WindMade label was the American Wind Energy Association’s WINDPOWER 2012 Conference & Exhibition (see the press release here).
Although the WindMade label is currently used solely at the corporate level, companies will be able to attach the certification to products in the near future and could enjoy increased profits as a result. Morten Albaek, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Customer Insight at Vestas Wind Systems A/S, reports that “67 percent of 31,000 consumers globally have told us they would favor WindMade products, even at a premium.”
Product level WindMade designation is expected to be announced in the first half of 2013.
Article by Natalie Kleffman, a contributor to Green Patent Blog. Natalie will be entering her third year at University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in August and is currently a summer associate at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP in San Diego, California.
Article appearing courtesy Green Patent Blog.
