Overlooking the Oslofjord, AmCham’s latest Sustainability Forum hosted by Wikborg Rein convened members for a timely briefing on sustainability reporting standards and an introduction of a novel service designed to solve a renewable energy conundrum.
Elise Johansen – Partner
Tonje Hagen Geiran – Associate & Special Adviser
Matthew Geraghty – Founder and Venture Lead
Kate Butchart – Strategic Advisor
Celebrating 100 years, and one of Norway’s largest full-service law firms, Wikborg Rein boasts of a team with comprehensive expertise on sustainability-related matters. On that team is Partner Elise Johansen, who invited participants to take a step back and consider the intention behind sustainability reporting.
In essence, sustainable development still encompasses the decades-old recognition of connectivity between social, economic, and environmental issues. As a response, a set of policy initiatives has been systemized into The European Green Deal to ensure sustainable development with defined goals such as no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. Through reporting obligations, the objective is that private investments will be steered towards sustainable activity, thus making ESG risk an actual financial risk.
Associate & Special Adviser Tonje Hagen Geiran then presented reporting obligations as defined by the newly adopted Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) that requires companies to report on the impact of corporate activities on the environment and society, in turn, making businesses more accountable. CSRD reporting is applicable to approximately 1700 business in Norway that meet a set of criteria including number of employees and revenue. This reporting standard is expected to become applicable to a larger number of businesses as soon as 2026. To conclude, Geiran urged businesses to get a good grip on risks to remain attractive for investors.
Wind farming is hailed as one of our time’s reliable sources of clean and renewable of energy. Not being addressed with the same level of observation, however, is wind turbines’ impact once they reach end-of-life. For lack of a better solution, wind turbine components are currently buried underground. To solve this challenge, ReWind, a digital service that facilitates the planning of sustainable decommissioning and recycling of wind turbines has been formed. The innovative offering is a collaboration between DNV and Reodor Studios.
Founder and venture lead Matthew Geraghty explained that projected waste per year generated by wind turbines by 2025 is 25,000 tons. DNV is the world’s leading classification society and also advises customers within the wind farming sector. Geraghty explained how a recent call for a ban on the use of landfills for all turbine components has been called for by WindEurope and that new EU taxonomy will require wind asset owners to ensure turbine components are recycled responsibly.
“Design is one of the key pillars that will help the (energy) transition.”
Reodor Studios is a corporate venture and innovation agency helping leading firms improve existing products and services, or as in this case, create new ones. Strategic Advisor Kate Butchart started with acknowledging that sustainability is arguably the biggest innovation driver and business opportunity of our time. A shift beyond a traditional linear economy, to a “triple-line”-approach (social, environmental, and economic) will progress to a regenerative economy, where principles from ReWind can be applied.
Future success is dependent upon running a sustainable business – for people, planet, and profit. Hence, AmCham brings select, cross-industry member company representatives together on an ongoing basis to discuss opportunities, facilitate open exchange and determine how AmCham members can best contribute to Norwegian and US sustainability agendas going forward.
Read more about our Sustainability Forum and please contact Janice.Gundersen@amcham.no for interest in future meetings.
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