World’s Most Sustainable Company Sends Millions of People into Space
The green energy company Ørsted has so far sent more than six million people on a virtual-reality space mission. The Space Safari project uses actual astronauts and advanced VR technology to engage the public in the fight against climate change – and it has just won two prestigious design awards for its innovative climate communication.
Astronauts Helen Sharman (UK), Mike Massimino (USA), Andreas Mogensen (Denmark), and Reinhold Ewald (Germany) have joined forces with Ørsted to create the Space Safari project.
Space Safari is a free virtual-reality experience, and since the launch in September 2019, Ørsted has sent more than six million people into space to see the world like astronauts do. The initiative is intended to speed up climate action by changing our perception of Earth and ourselves.
Astronauts report they feel a greater sense of responsibility for our home, planet Earth, when they experience it from space. This feeling is called the ‘overview effect’. When you put on the VR goggles, you experience a 360-degree audio-visual simulation of the astronauts’ actual experience.
“Ørsted’s Space Safari is built on the idea of democratising the overview effect by helping everyone to see planet Earth from this unique vantage point. It’s our hope that more people will show love for our home and speed up green action globally and thereby maintain a habitable planet,” says Niels Rahr, Global Lead Creative Strategist, Corporate Branding at Ørsted.
Engaging climate communication
In June, the Space Safari project won in two categories of the prestigious Danish Design Award – Message Understood and People’s choice. The purpose of the awards is to demonstrate that design can be a powerful intermediary, and Space Safari illustrates the ability to communicate climate change and engage in a new way that matches recipients’ needs, desires, behaviours, values, and social context.
“The Danish Design Award is known for honouring designs that solve real-world problems. With Space Safari, we’ve created and designed a piece of communication to help solve a big challenge – the lack of action towards the climate crisis. By combining new VR technology, NASA footage, and narrations by experienced astronauts, Space Safari takes a different approach to communicating the need for radical climate action,” says Filip Engel, Vice President, Sustainability, Public Affairs & Branding at Ørsted.
“More than six million people have already tried Space Safari, and the two design awards and many positive comments on YouTube show that an energy company’s innovation in communication and design can engage people around the world in the climate debate – and hopefully push the green transition forward,” says Filip Engel.
Find out more about Space Safari at www.orsted.com/spacesafari.
Danish Design Award
The Danish Design Award is an independent and worldwide recognised award. It demonstrates the value and impact of design in Denmark today, and it inspires and stimulates the use of design and design thinking in companies and society.
The award categories range from design that has created jobs or cut costs over health solutions and resource sharing to visionary concepts demonstrating the wide range and diversity of the capability of design to bring added value.
https://danishdesignaward.com/en/
The Danish Design Award jury said:
The purpose of the design of this experience is to inspire people to demand faster action on climate change. Using real NASA footage and original content, including narration by real astronauts, the design team has created a moving experience that’s meant to enhance a feeling of care for the planet. The impression is powerful, and the work communicates a strong and important message by virtually placing you in the same position as astronauts to experience the ‘overview effect’, where Earth is seen from space.
Contact: Anders Stougaard, Media Relations, Ørsted
Tel. +45 99 55 67 39, astou@orsted.dk
About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted ranks #1 in Corporate Knights’ 2020 index of the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world and is recognised on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,600 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2019, the group’s revenue was DKK 67.8 billion (EUR 9.1 billion).
