Helping companies make green choices

An increasing interest in sustainability during her last year majoring in Leadership and Change turned out to become Josefine’s career path. Now she assists companies like DNB and Storebrand with annual sustainability reporting, as a sustainability consultant in CEMAsys.

 – Sustainability reporting involves, among other things, carbon accounting, which gives an overview of companies’ direct and indirect emissions, as well as emissions in their value chain. We also assist companies in identifying climate-related risks and opportunities, and to quantify this we use scenario analysis to estimate potential financial impact. Another example is that we help define science-based targets with a corresponding action plan for yearly emission reduction.

Reduction of business trips in the future

Sustainability has become a core component in many company’s businesses. CEMAsys stands for the concept of “what you measure, you can manage”. If a company currently does nothing, they should first get an overview of their own direct and indirect emissions. Then they have to make an assessment of their value chain to find out where the largest emissions are. Once this is done, they will be able to start working for reduction.

 – All the companies CEMAsys work with have different options for reducing emissions, but Josefine highlights a common opportunity for the future. 

After 2020 we see that many business trips have been redundant, which means that reducing business trips in the future is a simple measure companies can start with. For most companies in Norway, the majority of emissions will be in the value chain, and then it is a matter of starting a dialogue with suppliers and updating agreements with a focus on emission reduction.

The financial value of sustainability

Working towards a more sustainable business often requires a change of mindset.

 – My impression is that the vast majority of our customers see the importance and value of working towards a more sustainable future . In recent years, there has also been a great focus on quantifying climate-related information, and by connecting it to financial impact, it is easier for companies to see the business case  for the changes that are needed.

Well fitted for the job

Josefine really enjoys the combination of qualitative and quantitative work, and she likes that there is so much variation in her tasks. A lot of her clients are from the financial sector, which fits well with a MSc in Business.

 – I had a growing interest in sustainability while I was a student, but to be completely honest, I did not have a specific goal of working with sustainability. It just happened- something that I am now incredibly happy with!