NorDan aims for climate-neutral operations by 2030

Looking at the collaboration with Trefadder as an important part of the environmental strategy

With a history dating back to 1926, NorDan is no stranger to the idea of ​​working in partnership with nature. As a leading manufacturer of windows and doors, the company has placed sustainability at the core of its business for several years. In a recently prepared sustainability action and action plan, NorDan has ambitious goals to work towards carbon-neutral production and emission-free transport by 2030.

– For us, sustainability has been an integral part of the organization and business for many years. Our vision, “Perfect Interaction”, describes how sustainability runs like a red thread through product development, production and the social responsibility we take beyond our own business, says Lena Rannestad Kloster, Sustainability Manager at NorDan AS.

The Norwegian branch of the company has factories in Moi, Egersund and Otta, as well as sales offices in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Kristiansand, Ålesund, Porsgrunn and Moi.

More focus areas
In 2022, Nordan prepared an action and initiative plan for sustainability towards the year 2030. Rannestad Kloster says that the company has worked a lot on innovation and further development of its products, among other things.

– We spend a lot of resources on product development in our own laboratory, and together with third parties we can deliver products that meet new demands and trends in the market. We know that when working with sustainability it is important to be able to translate words into action. For us it is about being action-oriented and finding good solutions that suit your own business.

– We therefore work a lot with innovation and have as our main goal that production and factories will be carbon neutral by 2030. When it comes to transport, we aim to be emission-free with the options that are available. In addition, we are working with sustainable packaging and packaging, she says.

Own sustainable product portfolio
Last year, the company launched its own sustainable portfolio of products, called GreenTech.

– GreenTech is a new alternative that has the same quality as the best products we have today. This means that they are Nordic Ecolabelled, use triple-layer glass and are aluminium clad. We can now also guarantee a carbon-neutral transport account for the delivery of the products. To achieve this, we have statistics that show an overview of products that can be delivered by cars that are electric or run on biodiesel. For us, it is important to be able to produce locally and deliver short-distance products to the Norwegian market.

– All GreenTech products also have their own return scheme that guarantees that we will take the product back. We have also had research projects that have looked at recycling our products. There is a lot that needs to be put in place to do this on a large scale, both in-house and elsewhere in the value chain. As a market-leading company, we want to drive development in the right direction, she says.

Global goals and local actions
The company is committed to ensuring that customers contribute to a better environment through quality products that save energy.

– We have invested heavily in innovation and development to reduce our carbon footprint and are committed to showing that our customers are also contributing. We have therefore created our own climate calculator that helps customers calculate the emissions from our products.
The company has established its own competence center that supports the entire Nordan group with environmental documentation, so-called EPD.

– Based on a life cycle analysis from the origin of the raw materials and through the product's lifetime, we have developed a dynamic EPD generator. The project has been a collaboration between us, external experts and EPD-Norway for third-party verification. After four years of extensive work throughout the group, we can now deliver EPD documentation on a number of products. Documentation that customers can also use in their own environmental accounting.

She further explains that they are spending a lot of resources on streamlining production.

– We use LEAN working methods, have replaced all lighting with LED, use wood chips from production for heating and have purchased a guarantee of origin for electricity. We have a number of measures that are part of a larger strategy. This is our way of translating global goals into local actions, says Rannestad Kloster.

Climate-positive products with Trefadder
The background to the collaboration with the climate forest actor Trefadder was not to compensate for emissions, but to be able to offer climate-positive products.

– The idea behind the collaboration with Trefadder was originally the desire to be able to deliver a climate-positive product that contributes to CO2 absorption. We have therefore always been clear that the collaboration with Trefadder should not be used as climate compensation, but to be able to offer products that contribute to a better environment. A GreenTech product is not only short-lived, has a low U-value and a long lifespan, but also means that a tree is planted for every product sold.

– Over the past few years, we have purchased several thousand climate trees, and if you look at the life cycle of each tree, it contributes positively to the environment for many years. At the same time, wood is a fundamental raw material in our products, and therefore fits well into our value chain, she says.

Important sparring partner
She also points to Trefadder as an important sparring partner for the company's continuous work on sustainability.

– For us, Trefadder has also been an important partner in our sustainability work, and we have used them in connection with the preparation of our climate accounts, among other things. Sustainability work is about challenging yourself, and for us, Trefadder has been an important resource for finding new climate measures.

– We know that the sustainability strategy requires continuous work. The GreenTech products are a good starting point, but for us it is important to continue the work. Then it is important to look at both economics, management, environment and social aspects, concludes Rannestad Kloster.

NorDan

Lena Rannestad Monastery
Sustainability Manager NorDan AS / CSO
tlf. 47 90 24 31
Lena.Rannestad.Kloster@nordan.no

Maren Rasmussen
Marketing Manager at Nordan
tel. 922 21 258
maren.rasmussen@nordan.no