We aim to be the
world’s most sustainable furniture company
How do we get from where we are…
To where we want to be?
First, let’s hear what Jan Christian has to say
So, let's look at where we are now
Carbon emissions are on the international scope. Experts have warned us for decades that inaction will lead to drastic hunger levels, mass migration due to flooding, the collapse of financial markets and many more socio-economic disasters.
We need to reduce our environmental impact and one of the most significant ways to do this is by reducing our carbon footprint. This starts with monitoring our carbon emissions, by following GHG’s comprehensive guide.
What is the
GHG protocol exactly?
GHG Protocol supplies the world's most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards. These standards are designed to provide a framework for businesses to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions in ways that support their missions and goals.
According to GHG, a company’s greenhouse gas emissions are classified in three scopes:
All direct emissions from the activities of our organisation or under our control.
Indirect emissions from electricity purchased and used by the organisation.
All other emissions from activities of the organisation, occurring from sources that we do not own or control.
Mapping our own carbon footprint has revealed that scope 3 is where our efforts need to be focused
Scope 1 & 2 yearly emissions
Scope 1, 2 & 3 yearly emissions
Key indicators show that there’s room for some improvement on carbon intensity
Scope 1 & 2
Scope 1, 2 and 3
So, what do we need to do to reach our goal?
Vestre firmly believes that every company needs to look into its core business primarily, but also to extend global solidarity through external partnerships. Let’s dive into what we do internally first.
The internal section encompasses the entirety of the value chain, from raw material through production up until end of life and recycling the materials to give them new life again. We aim to be a business that contributes a net positive to society, and through full transparency we invite you to take part of that journey.
According to the stats above, to achieve our goal of becoming the world's most sustainable furniture company, we need to…
Materials
Production
Transport
End of life
Cutting carbon emissions is paramount in the situation we find ourselves in, and the longevity of products is a vital part of the solution. Anti-throwaway has been in our backbone since we started, and our goal is that all Vestre products shall have the possibility of "eternal life"
This is one of the rare cases where environment and economics go hand in hand. We need to move away from considering the price solely at the time of purchase and into a lifecycle perspective. After all, if you must buy two items for a slightly lower initial cost over the same period as an alternative single item would have lasted, which is really more economical?
Certifications
A certain way to know that what you are buying is a good product also for the environment is to look for a type 1 ecolabel, such as the Nordic Swan. To know the business is well run, and wood is sourced sustainably, look for ISO and FSC certifications. It can be hard to know which ones are the real deal though, so Vestre is pushing for international alignment on this
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Sustainable forestry management
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Quality & environmental governance
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Type 1 ecolabel ISO14020
Although we believe all businesses need to have a sustainable core business should they be allowed to survive and thrive in the future, that is not all. In deep contradiction with Milton Friedman’s pursuit of profit mantra we deem it high time that business took global solidarity seriously. We set aside 10% of profits every year to initiatives that support the SDGs.
No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. We are supporting initiatives locally and globally, and aim to follow the ‘Patagonia-model’ of supporting initiatives and activism to achieve maximum impact. We believe a combination of direct grants and impact investing will be the best way forward
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Ongoing initiative with Oslo Church City Mission to alleviate job insecurity and include people that have fallen outside the workforce, aiming to bring them back in.
kirkensbymisjon.noMeasurable results
- Hours of meaningful work provided in 2019: 346
- No. of people helped into regular job 2019: 8 people in programme, 1 into full-time employment
Sustainable Development Goals
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The YSI movement is creating awareness and engagement among youth globally through a platform aimed at creating solutions to the SDGs.
ysiglobal.comMeasurable results
- Contribution to building a global movement of youths to advance the SDGs
Sustainable Development Goals
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Food scarcity and unemployment often go hand in hand. That’s why Vestre is proud to be an investor in the FFF initiative which aims at tackling both of those.
http://facebook.com/FFFTanzaniaMeasurable results
- Investment of 185,000 NOK towards a silo that will help store yield to ensure better prices
Sustainable Development Goals
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Partnering with global organisations is sometimes the only way to reach out to people on the margins of society. Vestre is aiding MSF financially to provide field hospitals where hospital care is non-existent.
msf.orgMeasurable results
- Contribution equivalent to running an operation theatre serving 700 people annually
Sustainable Development Goals
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A start-up whose mission of solving plastic pollution aims at putting a value on plastic and allowing real incomes for people living in areas that are struggling with bot pollution and employment. The same company is engaged in tracking materials for Vestre’s products through their blockchain solution.
empower.ecoMeasurable results
- Developing the micro-loan solution and contributing to remove 600 kg plastic in 2019
Sustainable Development Goals
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Vestre partners with UNICEF to be able to provide education to children in parts of the world that don’t have a school system in place. Especially in the difficult covid-year of 2020 this was important.
unicef.orgMeasurable results
- Contribution equivalent to providing school for 3.500 youths in conflict areas
Sustainable Development Goals
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The project of creating an up-to-date basic design thinking programme together with The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) continued through the year of 2020. Due to covid, we had to pivot to virtual and e-learning, as opposed to physical workshops.
kirkensnodhjelp.no/enMeasurable results
- Initiating the project with a workshop in Palestine with AHO and Church Aid
Sustainable Development Goals
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Although 2020 has been an extremely difficult year in Myanmar, the Gyaw Gyaw team has continued their efforts to build and contribute to local communities.
gyaw.orgMeasurable results
- Contribution towards the team’s operations on school projects in Myanmar
Sustainable Development Goals
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Vestre has continued and increased its engagement with Techbridge, an incubator for startups operating out of Kenya. Vestre has also invested directly in SUNami Solar, the Techbridge subsidiary that provides complete solar-packages with appliances meant to increase local employment.
techbridge.org/Measurable results
- Investment of 200,000 NOK in TechBridge towards their accelerator in Africa
Sustainable Development Goals
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Recognising that we are in a climate crisis, Vestre has entered into a three-year engagement with activists from XR. The goal is to accelerate the systems change needed to tackle the ongoing climate crisis.
empower.eco -
Operating out of Norway, Chime has provided a steady income to young women in Africa, by the way of pig farming. Vestre has engaged with Chime to extend micro-loans of both pigs and crops which can be paid back and used again, to ensure economic growth and bottom-up building of fragile societies.
chime.com
We have come far, but we still have a way to go
Vestre is currently focusing on the goals lined out above, and through the mapping of our carbon footprint we have found where our main contributors to global warming lie. Steel in particular and transport will need to become carbon free over the coming years.
The longevity and anti-throwaway culture is something most people get intuitively, but there is quite a bit of unlearning to do, if we are to stop rampant consumerism. Through our external partnerships a small Scandinavian furniture company can become part of global solutions, even if our dollar contribution is but a drop in the ocean. After all, everyone can do something.
If you want to dig deeper into the hard facts, you can find the full report here
Institutional structures are legitimate insofar as they enhance the opportunity to freely inquire and create, out of inner need; otherwise, they are not.