Turning sustainability into a superpower
"The most important thing is to get a common understanding that sustainability is crucial; for Cegal as a company, for our industry and for the society we live in. To make everyone realize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and the company we work for," says Celise Skaar, Global Sustainability Lead.
Cegal's vision is to become a leading global technology company that contributes to a more sustainable future through specialization in energy. That is why Cegal dedicated significant effort to sustainability or ESG (environmental, social, and governance).
In the fall of 2024, Celise Skaar started as Global Sustainability Lead at Cegal. Her main task was, and is, to integrate sustainability into everything Cegal does, at all levels of the company and across global operations.
My goal is to make sustainability as important to our line managers as budgeting and financial reporting.
Celise Skaar
"In general, it's easy for sustainability to become something that's a bit on the side of what the business is otherwise doing," Skaar continues.
Celise is also known to many as a committed social commentator and she regularly publishes feature articles and participates in debates in all the major media. She recently took part in the podcast "Sustainability with Kiwa". Kiwa is one of the world's leading certification companies (TIC company) and provides services in testing, inspection and certification (TIC stands for testing, inspection and certifications).
In the podcast, Skaar elaborates on the biggest challenges for sustainability work and gives good advice on how to strengthen sustainability work in different companies.
Hear the podcast here (Norwegian) >
Three tips for success with sustainability
Celise Skaar has three tips if you want to succeed with sustainability.
Sustainability must be integrated into all aspects of the business. It can't be something you do on the side of your day-to-day business. It must be just as integrated as budgeting, reporting and other processes, Skaar emphasizes.
Get the whole organization involved. You have to make it easy to contribute to sustainability work. If sustainability just becomes an overarching concept that employees don't relate to, sustainability efforts won't take root, Skaar continues.
Be patient but decisive, and don't be a perfectionist. "Don't measure your business against the best, but rather make small, continuous improvements. The goal is to be better than you were last year", says Skaar.
Cegal's Director of Sustainability adds that effective communication and clear goals are also crucial for success.
Common sustainability challenges
Celise emphasizes that different companies face different challenges when it comes to sustainability work, but that there are some common denominators.
"It's a jungle of expectations, requirements, regulations and information. This means that for many, sustainability work is governed by operating in accordance with laws and regulations instead of taking action - doing something. Many people are afraid of making mistakes and sustainability work stops in analysis and information."
One reason for the challenge mentioned above is that sustainability is a broad subject. It includes climate, the environment, nature, social sustainability, integration and diversity. All these areas are separate disciplines. To avoid the sustainability work becoming overwhelming, she recommends concretizing the work.
"If you manage to integrate sustainability into the business, there will be many more people who can help, who can support this work, and who have a lot of expertise. If you manage to anchor in the business that the goal of the sustainability work is to do good for the company, for the industry, for the plant and everything around, it is easier to get the employees on board", says Skaar.
The scope for sustainability is enormous. Until now, sustainability work has been very focused on risk.Celise Skaar
"We've only scratched the surface of the opportunities sustainability work can bring to a business. For example, moving from a linear business model to a more sustainable model. It opens up for a lot of innovation", says Skaar and adds: Sustainability is about doing things in a better way for the company, for the industry, for society. The key is to make everyone realize that sustainability is bigger than ourselves. This can also make it easier to collaborate with businesses that you also compete with. With a common goal, you can work together to develop better solutions than you can do on your own.
(The podcast is in Norwegian)
