AmCham recently welcomed members to an engaging Sustainability Forum session hosted by Nestlé. The meeting explored how companies across industries are integrating sustainability into core business strategies – from global food systems to emerging clean energy technologies.
The program featured special guest presenters Nils Erlimo, Communication Manager at Nestlé Norway, and Phil Harbidge, Subject Matter Expert for Wellbore Positioning within Halliburton’s Survey Management Norway department. Each presented how their respective industries are adapting to a rapidly changing environmental and energy landscape.
Nils Erlimo
Communication Manager
Phil Harbidge
Subject Matter Expert for Wellbore Positioning within the Survey Management Norway department
Founded in 1866, Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company. Erlimo explained how Norway has played an integral role in the company’s history. Nestlé has been present in the Norwegian marketplace since 1898, when its predecessor Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company acquired Melkefabrikken in Kapp, eastern Toten. The Norwegian brand Vikingmelk was the first brand purchased by Nestlé, and Norwegian innovation has been instrumental. These early beginnings were then contrasted with the company’s current portfolio of more than 2000 brands and operations in nearly 190 countries.
“My goal is to show you this is a complex situation.”
As a company whose products are based on raw materials, Erlimo emphasized that operating with sustainable business practices is not only the right thing to do, but also vital. With climate change increasingly affecting agricultural production, the long-term viability of key commodities such as coffee and cocoa depends on building more resilient farming systems. Nestlé’s approach focuses on supporting farmers while strengthening supply chains. Through various initiatives, the company promotes regenerative agriculture practices designed to improve soil health, increase farmer incomes, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
On the company’s philosophy, Erlimo remarked that Nestlé does not simply employ a sustainability strategy – rather, it aims to operate a sustainable business, with environmental and social considerations fully integrated into how the company creates long-term value.
Halliburton’s Phil Harbidge shared insights about Halliburton’s novel, emerging technologies that can help unlock the potential of closed-loop geothermal energy systems as a sustainable energy source.
Though geothermal systems provide energy by harnessing heat from the earth, developing such projects at scale often requires complex drilling operations and precise positioning of underground wells. Harbidge presented Halliburton’s work on magnetic ranging technology that helps reduce uncertainty during drilling operations and enables more accurate positioning of wells by detecting magnetic fields. Recent trials have demonstrated the technology’s potential. By improving accuracy and reducing the need for additional equipment and downtime, such innovations could make geothermal projects more efficient and less costly.
Harbidge emphasized that advancements like these may play an important role in expanding geothermal energy into new regions and topographies, helping to make it more scalable and accessible as demand grows for reliable, low-emission energy solutions.
The forum concluded with an engaging exchange amongst participants, reflecting the shared challenge of balancing sustainability ambitions with operational realities across different industries. As host of the event, Nestlé treated participants to freshly brewed coffee from their in-house barista, providing additional knowledge on one of the world’s most traded commodities.
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.
Please read more about our Sustainability Forum and contact Margrethe.Harboe@amcham.no for interest in future meetings.
AmCham Sustainability Forum – Sustainable Supply Chains & New Energy Technologies AmCham recently welcomed members to an engaging Sustainability Forum session hosted by Nestlé. The
AmCham Sustainability Forum – Navigating AI & New Energy Realities Cross-industry AmCham members convened for the latest Sustainability Forum to examine how Generative AI, shifting
AmCham Sustainability Forum: Walking the Line Amidst Uncertainty & Sustainability in Higher Education Cross-industry member companies convened at Sustainability AS for the latest Sustainability Forum,