EN 
NO 
Sustainability strategy
In Norske Backer we work actively on contributing on the reduction of emissions and our footprint. We take sustainable development seriously, and we are concerned with taking care of the community and environment around us. Our products and services are based on using electricity for heating, instead of fossil energy sources as coal and gas. Our products will therefore leave a lesser footprint so long as the electricity is based on renewable energy rather than fossil energy. In our premises we mostly use electricity as heating as well.
UN defines sustainable development as “a development that meets todays needs, without destroying future generations chances to cover their needs”.
We want to help other companies with the transition from using fossil energy to electrical energy in their heating solutions and offer the service Backer Switch.
Example from a previous customer: The customer had an energy use on 46 250 kWh per year on one of their gas burners (sjekk) in their premises. The climate footprint for this one burner was 0,22 kgCO2e per kWh. By doing the transition to electricity the new footprint was 0,003 kgCO2e per kWh. The customer reduced its climate footprint with 8,79 tCO2e per year by changing one gas burner! The customer reduced their carbon footprint by 8.79 tonnes of CO2 per year just by replacing one gas burner!
In context with our work on sustainable development we have developed a five-year sustainability strategi that is running from 2023 to 2028. To contribute to fulfill the UN sustainability goals we have carefully investigated our existing systems, and worked out several measures and goals that we want to reach within 2028.
In addition, we have developed a detailed plan of measures, where we have pointed out a responsible person per measure. All measures in the plan are categories in the category’s energy use, materials, suppliers, climate, and human and society. Some of the measure has already been achieved, as for instance installing chargers for electrical cars, gathering up deliveries, measures for sorting waste by establishing a waste station in our production premises, and spreading knowledge and consciousness regarding energy use and saving.
Some of our goals is to change our energy use by installing solar panels and heat pumps, along with other thing. We are changing our use of materials, by using more of the material, reduce the use plastics, carboard and paper, and by using more recycled materials. We are going through our machinery and upgrading for a better energy controlling. We are investigating our suppliers work on sustainable development and what possibility there are for more environmental transportation.
We have connected our internal goals with the UN sustainability goals, to make sure we are contributing to achievement of these. We have chosen four of the sustainability goals we know we can contribute on.
As part of our work on reducing our climate footprint, we are committed to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi),where we have committed to reducing our emission with 40% within 2030. Science Based Target initiative is a cooperation between CDP, United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and World Wide Fund for Nature. SBTi are supporting companies to find out how much and how fast the emissions must be reduced to make sure we do not exceed the 1,5 degrees goal by too much.
Norske Backer sees the importance of including all our people in our sustainability strategy – because it is not a one-man job! Therefore, we have had internal sustainability courses for increase everyone´s knowledge about sustainable development and the climate crisis. In addition, we have developed a sustainability council that consists of members of the staff from different departments of the company, and a sustainability team consisting of the management team and others with specific responsibilities in for instance IT or Supply. So far this has contributed with valuable suggestions from different ends, and a cooperation throughout the whole company. Our brand new recycling station in our production premises is a result of our sustainability council.
We would like to be open about our work on sustainability, and are therefore sharing our sustainability strategy and our progress with you!
