The first reuse center for building materials in Inland Norway
With developments in EU regulations, Norwegian regulations and green financing, it’s clear that the reuse of building materials will become the new norm within a few years.
The preparatory work has been going on for two years, with market and product flow surveys, as well as study trips to facilities for the reuse of building materials in the Nordic region. Clear goals have now been set for the project and a business model developed. The goal is to “establish a physical and digital regional platform for the reuse of building materials, with a critical mass of both goods and users”.
Starting in the Mjø area
As the plans stand, the company will start with an area of around 2,500-3,000 m2. The agreement to lease the site will be signed as soon as the financing is in place. “We’re planning to start in the Mjø area to verify that this is viable. But we’re thinking of eventually setting up a network of centers in Inland Norway and perhaps also outside our own region,” says Jon Inge Kjørum, Marketing and Sustainability Manager at Østlandet Gjenvinning.
Every year, Sirkula and ØG receive around 150,000 tons of waste containing construction fractions, such as wood. In addition, the new center will handle construction products from the construction industry, such as surplus and returned goods.
Aimed at business customers
The initiative is aimed at the professional construction market, and project manager Ingrid Staveland Reppe says that they have held meetings with builders and contractors to understand what it takes to succeed.
On the one hand, the construction industry will be suppliers of reusable goods – what we currently refer to as waste from construction sites. There is a motivation here to save time and money, among other things by not having to pay for a waste fraction. In addition, it would be desirable to have figures for the greenhouse gas accounts that show that less has gone to waste and more to reuse.
When buying reusable goods, the business customer is keen not to lose time or money. “This means that we must have the right goods available at the right time and time-efficient administration and transport. In addition, we must provide quality guarantees for the products and data for the greenhouse gas accounts that show savings, both when submitting and purchasing reusable goods,” says Reppe.
What will the solution look like
The product range will initially be materials for non-load-bearing structures. A great deal of testing and documentation is required for load-bearing structures, and furniture and fixtures are sold through the company Reinventar.
Today, the construction industry pays to get rid of waste, while it will be free to deliver to the reuse center, where you only pay for the transport. – We envision a reuse container at the construction site that is set aside for materials for reuse. The transportation will be handled by an external company, and here we also see some future opportunities with return freight from those who supply building materials,” says Kjørum.
The plan is for the reuse center to become an AS with a general manager and 1-2 employees. However, the acquisition of land, a warehouse, hiring and digital solutions are on hold until the financing is ready.
More people need to join to succeed
Now the project needs more partners to succeed. “We need supporters for the first three-year period, after which the goal is for this to take care of itself,” says Kjørum.
The total cost is stipulated at SEK 6 million over three years. The project needs external funding, and there are many people who want to be involved as partners, but so far it is difficult to get them to commit financially.
Both Kjørum and Reppe foresee this becoming an important business area in just a few years’ time. “I think a lot will happen within a five-year period, and that in the near future we can expect most construction projects to demand a proportion of reused materials,” says Kjørum.
Landheim into the cluster
Landheim AS, which is located in Østre Toten, has been manufacturing and supplying roofing since 1992, and over the years has acquired broad expertise in nail plate-based roof structures, precut and elements. The company currently has around 50 employees.
Landheim AS, which is located in Østre Toten, has been manufacturing and supplying roofing since 1992, and over the years has acquired broad expertise in nail plate-based roof structures, precut and elements. The company currently has around 50 employees.
When it comes to building components, Landheim delivers everything from picking standard lengths to very complex orders with girders and columns, milling for ventilation, notches for hidden supports, customized linings and fittings. The company tailors elements and can deliver completely finished structures with windproofing and pre-primed panels in all colors according to the customer’s wishes.
Company with ambitions
– “We are in a phase where Landheim will be developed further. The way the Norwegian Wood Cluster works and the professional groups that exist in the cluster make it interesting for us to become part of the cluster. We hope to gain useful impulses from the meeting places offered by the cluster, which we can bring back to Landheim, while at the same time contributing to the cluster ourselves,” says CEO Yngve Hansebakken of Landheim. Yngve Hansebakken in Landheim.
– Landheim focuses on high competence, efficiency and implementation capacity. “We are a partner in the ‘SirkTRE’ project, where we hope to test a useful pilot over the next few months. Through our participation in the Norwegian Wood Cluster, we hope for new connections and ideas for innovation with a focus on business benefits,” says Espen Nystuen Pettersen, principal owner and responsible for Landheim’s sales and development work.
Strengthening the cluster
Cluster leader Berit Sanness welcomes Landheim AS as a member of Norwegian Wood Cluster.
– We want more members who use wood in constructions and are therefore very pleased that Landheim is joining the Norwegian Wood Cluster,” says Berit Sanness.
– One of the cluster’s strategic focus areas for the future is to increase the level of expertise, adaptability and innovation in the value chain. Landheim’s focus on competence and efficiency fits like a glove with this initiative,” says the cluster leader.
Formally, it is the board of Norwegian Wood Cluster SA that processes applications for membership of the cluster. Landheim AS was admitted as a member on November 18, 2024.
Top management gathering with new insights
The meeting began with a visit to Dynea AS to learn about the development and production of adhesives for the wood processing industry. We were impressed by an active and innovative lab and test environment that develops and tests adhesives for various types of wood and products for European, Asian and American markets. CEO Tarje Braaten and Innovation and Development Manager Kristin Grostad showcased a company with long traditions, but at the same time a strong, innovative will, which is necessary when supplying adhesive products for different types of wood and applications, and to regions with different climate conditions and regulations for adhesives in wooden buildings.
EU deforestation regulation on the agenda
After the visit to Dynea, the meeting continued at Losby Estate where Emma Berglund from Skogsindustrierna and Johan Freij, advisor and former head of forestry at Danske Bank, were invited to share thoughts and knowledge about upcoming regulations and the future timber market.
Emma Berglund is responsible for the Swedish Forest Industries Federation’s forest issues in the EU and internationally, and follows the processes surrounding the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). She was invited to give us an update on the EU’s work on the EUDR and paint a picture of what we need to prepare for.
The Deforestation Regulation aims to prevent goods that have caused deforestation or forest degradation from being traded in the EU. The regulation includes requirements for due diligence, traceability and information. Although the entry into force of the regulation is likely to be postponed until December 30, 2025, there are major challenges associated with its implementation.
Before the regulations can be put into practice in the EU, there are a number of questions that need to be answered. These include definitions of terms such as “forest destruction” and “plantation forest”, as well as questions about product bans and traceability.
The government has still not decided whether the EUDR will be partially or fully incorporated into Norwegian law, so Norway is currently regarded as a third country. This is unfortunate, and the industry wants clarification as soon as possible. In Norway, the Timber Industry is following up the development of the regulations on behalf of the industrial companies, and the administration of the NWC is in dialogue with the Timber Industry on the matter.
The battle for raw materials – the new reality
Access to raw materials for the woodworking industry is affected by political decisions, the nature agreement, beetle attacks, forest fires and the war in Ukraine. How will this affect the situation in Norway, can we build as much with wood as we want in the future? And how will the competition between wood and other materials in construction develop in the future in light of the nature crisis and climate crisis? We asked Johan Freij, now an independent advisor, but formerly head of forestry at Danske Bank for many years, to look into the crystal ball.
At a time when the construction market is at a standstill, things look bleak for the wood industry. But Freij was concerned about the long-term picture and assured that better times will come. Among other things, this is because there has been a major expansion of pulp production capacity worldwide, which means that there will be a shortage of long-fibre spruce and pine timber, which is important for lighter and stronger products. According to Freij, our Nordic softwood will become increasingly sought after as both pulpwood and building material.
We’re currently experiencing a global recession and a severe shortage of timber. What will it be like when the economy turns around, will the lack of wood become a threat or a reality?
– “I believe that those who are ‘wood stingy’ (stingy = greedy) and get the most out of the log will be the winners in the future,” said Freij. He listed utilization of grot*, thinner saw blades, finger jointing, gluing, composite materials and recyclable and demountable products.
– And remember that air is cheaper than wood. It’s not rational to use solid wood if you can fill the core with air or inferior qualities,” he said. Freij’s closing words were that it’s just a matter of “going with the flow” and working on improving logistics and developing new products.
Large attendance at specialist meeting on climate in the construction industry
Collaboration and dialogue will become more important as the requirements for sustainability in construction projects become more extensive. When the Climate-Friendly Buildings Innlandet project has held meetings and gatherings with players in the industry, the recurring theme has been that “we need a meeting place”. To discuss solutions, opportunities and risks, and share good and bad experiences.
That’s why the project took the initiative for this first professional gathering under the heading “The construction industry of the future in Inland Norway”. On the agenda was knowledge transfer and sharing from processes and construction projects.
Upheaval in the construction industry
The construction industry accounts for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and just over 20% nationally, so we all know why emissions need to be reduced. However, there are still many unanswered questions about how, what, who and when. Eivind Selvig from Civitas and the Climate-Friendly Buildings Innlandet project drew a picture of all the ambitions and requirements that the industry must meet in the future. A good mix of expected and planned tightening of requirements in EU regulations and Norwegian regulations.
Meeting the requirements requires methods, knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, development and testing of new products and solutions. Suppliers must document the climate and environmental properties of their products and deliveries. Public procurement will set requirements or invite competition for the best deliveries.
– We are facing a paradigm shift throughout the construction industry. The reuse of buildings, building components and materials will become the new normal. We need to look at buildings as a material resource, both when we rehabilitate, rebuild for other uses and when we dismantle entire buildings. In other words, we need to think circularly throughout the process, throughout the building’s lifetime and find solutions that extend its lifetime. We can learn a lot from going back and seeing what and how we did with timber-framed buildings, which are excellent examples of circular solutions with a long lifespan; they can be dismantled, moved and reused,” said Selvig.
Guide for greenhouse gas reductions in buildings
When regulations and methods are constantly changing, it can be difficult to know which measures to prioritize. The Norwegian Association of Building and Construction Contractors (EBA) recommends starting with the measures that cost the least but have the greatest climate impact, which is described in EBA’s guidelines:
Marianne Åvik Bråten, Head of Building and Housing at EBA, gave us an introduction to how the guidelines can be used as a tool when planning a building. Part 1 describes some basic principles of great importance for greenhouse gas emissions that are common to all projects. Part 2 deals with the use of materials in a building project and looks at the most cost-effective measures in relation to possible CO2 reductions when choosing solutions.
– “By going through the guide and assessing the building elements, you can see how you should consider replacing materials to reduce emissions. This is a simplification and cannot be used as a pick list, but it starts the little gray areas when we work on projects,” explained Bråten.
At the same time, she noted that it’s important to look at the big picture: “Some sites may not be suitable for building on. And we need to build durable buildings that will stand up to the future and the climate changes we face, including waterproof basements. At the same time, we need to build in resilience so that we can adapt the buildings and use them for other purposes later. There are many choices to be made, and early involvement of the executing contractor will often be important,” she pointed out.
As a result of more and better products on the market, the EBA is in the process of updating the guide with new CO2 values. The new edition is planned to be launched before Christmas.
Experiences with climate reduction in construction projects
Project manager Kjetil Kjærnes presented the “Stasjonsveien 7-9” project, where Syljuåsen has been both client and contractor. The background was a slightly different call for tenders from Løten municipality, where the order was for a building that could house a medical center in the center of Løten, in return for the municipality providing a long-term lease.
– When you’re a developer, the expected property value in the future is of great importance. That’s why we received a clear recommendation to achieve Breeam certification in this project. But such certifications are expensive and large sums are spent on hired consultants. Is this the way to get the best environmental value for money?” asked Kjærnes.
Kjærnes also highlighted some practical experiences with the weighting of climate in public procurement: “It is entirely possible to weight the environment by setting requirements in the specification, and not in the procurement criteria. Then we think that the environmental goals should be linked directly to CO2 emissions instead of specifying an exact construction method. Can we have competitions on the percentage reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, so that what we achieve beyond the minimum requirement will provide some benefits?” he said.
Public procurement: Stakeholder dialogue is important
The rule of 30% weighting of climate in public procurement was introduced on January 1, 2024. How do you rig these tenders to maximize the environmental impact while ensuring that local and regional bidders can participate in the competition? We invited the municipalities of Hamar and Alvdal to share their experiences.
Hamar Municipality shared experiences from its market dialogue with building and construction contractors and the Association of Mechanical Contractors (MEF). “We wanted to get answers to some important questions: where does the market think there are the most environmental benefits to be gained, and what do they think about our proposed environmental and climate requirements,” said Östgård, sustainability engineer at Hamar Municipality.
In the process, the award criteria from DFØ’s guide were used as a backdrop. “Some of the experiences we made are that the market in Inland Norway is ripe for fossil-free (not emission-free) building and construction sites, and that many are concerned about transport, material use and reuse of masses,” she explained. The plan is to continue the market dialogue, including with waste management companies.
In Alvdal, regional procurement advisor Hanne Maageng Olsen has been involved in the early phase of planning for new care homes, where they want to use climate-friendly materials and at the same time build local expertise. “Anchoring is very important, and we have received a decision from the municipal council that we will move forward with “green building” and that we will look further into possible forms of contracting,” she began.
In October, the municipality invited suppliers to a dialog meeting. One of many suggestions was that the requirements for the number of reference projects should not be too high if local contractors are to take part in the competition. “The participants were very positive about this type of dialogue, and the municipality received good input for further work,” said Maageng Olsen.
Want a permanent meeting place
The conference was rounded off with a Menti survey on usefulness and what thoughts the participants have about establishing a permanent meeting place for “The construction industry of the future in Inland Norway”. In summary, most were very positive, both in terms of form and professional content. An overwhelming majority would like to see two such meeting places a year, and preferably more time to mingle.
The Climate-Friendly Buildings Inland project is following up the input in collaboration with the stakeholders who participated in the planning of the conference: EBA Innlandet, Arkitektforeningen Hedmark og Oppland, Innlandet County Council, Hamar Municipality, Østlandet Gjenvinning and Tema Eiendom.
Project Climate-friendly buildings Innlandet
The aim of the project is to speed up the transition to more climate-friendly construction in the region. Climate-friendly use of materials is central to the project, and knowledge is being disseminated about greenhouse gas calculations/budgets, certification schemes, forms of construction, rehabilitation and reuse.
Duration: February 2023-February 2026
Target group: All players who order or deliver services/products for construction in Inland Norway
Led by: Norwegian Wood Cluster, Civitas and Norconsult
Funded by: Innlandet County Council and Innovation Norway. The state administrator supports the project.
Read more and sign up for newsletters: www.klimavennligebygg.no
Kristiansand leads the way
Today, Kristiansand can showcase exciting office buildings, apartment buildings and student housing made of wood. “Politicians gave us clear guidelines to ensure increased use of wood in larger buildings. We have followed up on this,” says Venke Moe, Head of Planning and Building in Kristiansand Municipality.
Clear political guidelines
In 2015, Kristiansand became a member of Nordic Cities of Wood. At the time, Kristiansand lacked major reference projects in wood, and politicians called for the use of wood in buildings.
– In 2018, there were formulations in the community section of the recently adopted municipal plan that stated that all development should be based on environmentally friendly materials and low greenhouse gas emissions, but school buildings were still being planned in concrete and steel. “The politicians didn’t like that, and the political order to increase the use of wood in larger buildings was therefore tightened,” says Venke Moe, Head of Planning and Building in Kristiansand Municipality.
– “We obtained assessments from the Ministry of Local Government and Modernization to make sure that the guidelines we wanted to use were in accordance with the Planning and Building Act. The Ministry confirmed that we had the authority to mandate the use of wood in building structures in the zoning regulations,” says Moe.
Since then, a number of exciting wooden buildings have popped up in the municipality.
Visited exciting wooden buildings
As a result of the interesting developments in Kristiansand in recent years, the Norwegian Wood Cluster recently arranged a study trip to the Kristiansand area for its members. A couple of representatives from the Innotre cluster in Agder also took part. Jørgen Tycho, architect and founder of Oslotre, was responsible for the program.
In addition to meeting Head of Planning and Building Venke Moe, the participants got to see student housing, apartment buildings and office buildings in the city of Kristiansand. They also visited Aanesland Treindustri and Vennesla Kulturhus in neighboring municipalities.
Want more study tours
Everyone found it interesting to hear the city planning manager tell the story behind the conscious wood investment in Kristiansand. Participants also expressed interest in Norwegian Wood Cluster organizing new study tours.
– The Kristiansand trip was top-notch in terms of content and included prepared and educational presentations. Both useful and inspiring. I hope there will be more study tours,” says architect and partner Jørn Reiner of Kontur Arkitekter.
– “This gave us a taste for more. There is definitely value in visiting good example buildings and, not least, meeting architects, developers and contractors to hear their assessments and experiences,” says Head of Department Eivor Slåtten, Norconsult.
– “It was interesting to visit the various buildings and make contact with both builders and contractors. In addition to the professional benefits, the trip served as a useful meeting place for new connections,” says CEO Steinar Lyseng of Vyrk Innovation.
Norwegian-Swedish collaboration on the reuse of wood in buildings
The aim of the workshop was twofold; to exchange experiences of reuse in practice to learn about what works well, and at the same time identify obstacles to scaling up.
Reuse from different perspectives
The speakers at the workshop represented both countries and different parts of the value chain.
Kristine Nore, project manager for the circular project “SirkTre”, painted a picture of the market situation for the reuse of wood. Nina Jacobsson Stålheim from the City of Gothenburg showed us how the city is actively working to achieve its ambitious goal of becoming an “ecologically sustainable city” by 2030. Morten Dybesland from Statsbygg opened with a proposal for discussion: “What can Statsbygg achieve together with the wood industry?”.
From the building materials chain Beijer, Peter Bergengren presented a number of measures that have been taken to reduce waste on construction sites and facilitate the reuse of materials in new buildings. The Norwegian building materials trade was represented by Optimera and Saint-Gobain Distribution, where Ingrid Kalstad and Kathrine Backe highlighted logistics as an essential key to success.
Useful discussions
Plenty of time was set aside for discussions during the workshop to gather as much experience as possible from the participants. What are the opportunities and obstacles when it comes to using wood recovered from previous construction projects? What support needs do companies already working with reuse see? How can you take smaller experiments with reuse and scale them up?
The workshop was organized by the Interreg project Circular Bioeconomy Arena, owned by Paper Province and Norwegian Wood Cluster, in collaboration with Omtre AS, which leads the SirkTre project in Norway. On the Swedish side, Innovatum Science Park and Dalarna Science Park are partners in the Interreg project. On the Norwegian side, Kjeller Innovation, Klosser Innovation and Circular Packaging Cluster are important suppliers to the project.
Follow-up of the global nature agreement
Professor Vigdis Vandvik, University of Bergen, is a member of the UN’s Panel on Nature and was a member of the Natural Hazards Committee that recently submitted its recommendations. She was invited to the owners’ meeting in NWC on April 17 to give the participants better insight into the nature agreement and the consequences for the forest and wood industry.
We won’t stop doing forestry
Vigdis Vanvik advised the industry to be a little ahead of the game and reduce the level of conflict. She had the following message about sustainable forestry:
– “We need to have an eternal perspective and not consume the foundation. We’re not going to stop forestry, but we need to look at the entire food chain, reduce waste and make products that last longer. The footprint of the forest must be reduced, and resources must be extracted in a way that causes less damage to the ecosystem. Not everything can be solved through protection,” said a committed Professor Vigdis Vandvik to an attentive audience.
Solar energy and nature
– We have a global climate crisis, but it could also be much worse, and we have more room for maneuver than we are exploiting. The biggest impact will come from using more solar energy. The second most important thing we can do for the climate is to take care of more of the nature we have. The climate crisis exacerbates the nature crisis,” said Vandvik.
Nature agreements
The UN Nature Panel has laid much of the foundation for the global nature agreement that was adopted in Montreal in 2022. The nature agreement aims to stop and reverse the loss of nature and ecosystems.
– The Nature Panel compiles knowledge. It is an important arena for showing what we agree on. A total of 24 members of the Nature Panel were present in Montreal during the negotiations. “There were 10,000 participants from the business community,” said Vandvik. She believes that nature is Norway’s environmental policy Achilles heel.
– “Land use change is the biggest threat to Norwegian species and Norwegian nature,” said Vandvik.
Large carbon storage
Norwegian nature stores almost three times as much carbon as the world average due to very large underground storage.
– CO2 molecule that is sequestered in a tropical forest lasts about 14 years. With us, we are at 60. This means that our carbon is retained much longer in the ecosystems,” said Vandvik.
– “For Norway, the nature agreement means that we must economize more with nature and prioritize needs, we must move from a linear to a circular view of resources, and we must think a little less economic gain here and now. We need to take a more long-term view in order to contribute to a system that will work into the future,” said Vandvik.
dialog
Magne Vikøren, Communications Director at Moelven Industrier, led the subsequent dialog between Professor Vigdis Vandvik and representatives of the forest and wood industry in an excellent manner.
– In recent years, there has been a lot more focus on our value chain; surface harvesting, lifespan, documentation, climate declarations, transport emissions. Because we make our living from a natural product, the focus will be on us going forward. Forestry must be sustainable. What does that mean for us?” asked Vikøren.
– “There are significant changes in the forestry we’re doing now compared to 30 years ago, so I’d say we’re showing a great willingness to change in forestry. The challenge for the social debate we have today is that people are bringing up something that happened in the 1960s. The problem for our industry is that it takes 30 years before you see the results of implemented changes. The time perspective is also a problem with regard to carbon accounting systems,” said Yngve Holth, Business Policy Manager at Glommen Mjøsen Skog.
– “I think there’s a lot of good stuff going on and that we have the momentum to make the innovation race happen. I see the NWC as a great way to join forces, so I’m optimistic about the future. We need to work more together, get more involved in standardization, make it easier to use wood, reduce waste throughout the value chain and increase the proportion of long-life products,” said CEO Tarje Braaten, Dynea. Tarje Braaten, Dynea.
– There are a lot of opportunities and challenges, but we need to move forward on documentation. We need to take on board the nature part. For example, how to reuse the materials. If we’re to achieve this, we need to plan correctly from the start. And then there’s the question of who picks up the bill for more circularity. By the way, solid wood doesn’t solve everything; we need to use the right structures in the right place. Then we know that the building can last much longer than 80-90 years,” said Sustainability Manager Hege Voll Midtgaard, Bergene Holm.
– So what should this value chain do more of, and what should we do less of in the future,” said Magne Vikøren and received a brief summary from Vigdis Vandvik.
– “If you can manage to be a little ahead of the curve, collaborate more and give a little to the nature side in the public debate, I think there’s a lot to be gained from that. If you reduce the level of conflict, both the industry and nature will have a lot to gain,” Vandvik concluded.
Annual meeting 2024 - positive development
Once again this year, there was a good turnout of members at the annual meeting of the Norwegian Wood Cluster, which this time was held at Prøysenhuset in Ringsaker on Wednesday, April 17. The premises provided an unusual and pleasant setting for the meeting.
Good support for cluster work
– Despite a demanding market, the cluster continues to attract interesting members and activity in key areas is high. Thanks to support from Innlandet County Council and Innovation Norway, we are developing the cluster further this year, with the ambition of being promoted to the cluster program,” said Chairman of the Board Jan Tore Meren, who thanked the members for their support of the cluster’s work.
– Climate crisis and nature crisis, various demands in the wake of the EU’s Green Deal… There are many challenges for our value chain, but also some opportunities. The value chain’s commitment to circular solutions has increased in recent years. During 2024, as part of our strategy work, we will consider whether the cluster should take a more active role in this area,” said Meren.
The annual report and financial statements for 2023 showed a positive trend in terms of both activity and finances. The board received full support in all matters at the annual meeting.
Study tours as a new offering
Cluster manager Berit Sanness reviewed the status of ongoing projects and informed about the plans for new projects that member companies want to be prioritized.
– “We try to let new projects have one of the subject groups as their ‘home’. Right now we have a new project underway in the circular area, and this topic belongs within the Sustainability theme group. We also have a new project underway within the Future Building Solutions subject group,” said Berit Sanness. She was pleased that the cluster is now recruiting a further full-time project manager, this time in the competence area of wooden structures.
– With an additional resource person in the cluster administration, we should be able to capture the companies’ needs to an even greater extent and rig relevant projects,” said Sanness.
– “Until now, we haven’t organized study tours to look at construction solutions. As more member companies want this, we are now organizing study tours at the end of May, in June and in September,” said Sanness.
Sustainability reporting guide is available
The guide is part of the project “Finance and Sustainability”, which Norwegian Wood Cluster is currently conducting. The project “Finance and Sustainability” is part of the comprehensive Green Platform project “SirkTRE”, which is supported by Innovation Norway, the Research Council of Norway and SIVA. Read more about “SirkTRE” here: www.sirktre.no
The main objective of the project “Finance and sustainability” is to create increased insight into ongoing work within finance and sustainability with relevance to the forest and wood industry, both to meet documentation requirements and to exploit opportunities. This applies in particular to the consequences of the EU taxonomy. The need for sustainability reporting is central. Reuse, material recovery and recycling are among the many topics the company must consider when preparing its own sustainability report.
Partners in the project
The project “Finance and Sustainability” is owned by Norwegian Wood Cluster and will be implemented 2022-2024. The project group has consisted of representatives of the partners in the project:
– Berit Sanness, Norwegian Wood Cluster SA (project manager)
– Rune F. Andersen, Moelven Industrier ASA
– Carl Christian Heiberg, Forestia AS
– Gunnar Aakrann Eek, Glommen Mjøsen Skog SA
– Vibeke Teslo-Andersen, Viken Skog SA
– Aasmund Bunkholt, TreFokus AS
– Geir Inge Brelin, SpareBank 1 Østlandet
– Ellen Alfsen, Norwegian Forest Owners’ Association
Structure of the guide
The guide is divided into five parts.
Part 1 provides an overview of the regulations you need to comply with and gives advice on how to get started with sustainability reporting. This part has been prepared by Karoline Kjos-Nordli, Glommen Mjøsen Skog, on behalf of Norwegian Wood Cluster. She has also prepared Part 2, with suggestions for reporting areas for the forest and wood industry, as well as Part 3, with an overview of requirements for sustainability-related information.
– “We would like to give special thanks to Karoline Kjos-Nordli for her efforts. She has made a significant contribution to the development of the guide and managed to make a complicated subject both clear and accessible,” says cluster manager Berit Sanness, Norwegian Wood Cluster.
In order to simplify the work of companies in the forest and wood industry, Norwegian Wood Cluster has received assistance from NIBIO to compile relevant parameters for the forest and wood industry in Part 4.
– The assignment was carried out by Aksel Granhus with assistance from Simen Gjølsjø and Rune Eriksen at NIBIO, and we thank them for their valuable help in gaining access to relevant data on forest resources, harvesting methods, forest biodiversity, tree species and productive capacity, regeneration and forest management, and energy,” says Sanness.
As a result of the “Finance and sustainability” project, the cooperative area has been added as a separate stratification variable in NIBIO’s freely available web application where users can download compilations of data from the National Forest Census.
– “We expect this to be useful for the forest owner cooperatives. The solution has been developed as part of the project, but this will also be a variable in the future,” says Sanness. She explains that transport was also a desired topic in the guide.
– We are therefore grateful to Dag Skjølaas of the Norwegian Forest Owners’ Association for ensuring that this topic is also covered. The topic is summarized in Part 5,” says Sanness.
Useful process
In order to best meet the needs of the forest and timber industry, the “Finance and Sustainability” project has conducted two workshops and three course days on the topic of sustainability reporting. The workshop on June 22, 2022 identified a number of parameters that were followed up in the work on Part 4 and Part 5, while draft content in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 was presented and discussed at the workshop on November 16, 2023.
– The great willingness to share among the companies during the project has been encouraging. The input in workshops and meetings has been very useful. So has the input from the project team. We thank everyone for their valuable contributions. A special thanks goes to Sustainability Director Rune F. Andersen, Moelven Industrier, for being an important contributor both in the meetings and as a sparring partner during the development of the guide,” says Sanness.
Listening audience at Mjøstårnet
Cluster leader Berit Sanness manages the NWC Professional Group Future Building Solutions and is very pleased with the meeting.
– The members of the specialist group have previously defined acoustics/vibration and fire resistance as the most important areas to address for the cluster in the area of wooden structures. The aim is to develop projects that can provide more preaccepted solutions for wooden buildings. “We have now turned the spotlight on sound and had a useful meeting on the subject, where members provided important input for a project outline in this field,” says Berit Sanness.
As a backdrop for discussion of the project outline, NWC had invited two interesting speakers; CEO Reinert Hersleth from Hersleth Entrepren. Reinert Hersleth from Hersleth Entreprenør AS and partner Erik Brett Jacobsen, Kontur Arkitekter AS. Both shared their experiences, and the presentations created great interest among the participants in the meeting.
Hersleth Entreprenør shared experiences
Hersleth Entreprenør AS is a family-run contracting company with main activities within traditional building and construction activities. The market area is Østfold, Follo and southern Oslo. At the meeting, CEO Reinert Hersleth talked about the company’s experiences. Reinert Hersleth talked about the company and his experience with floor dividers in wooden buildings.
– “We carry out all types of assignments in new builds, conversions and refurbishments in both the private and public sectors, including multi-purpose halls, schools and apartment buildings. Our company builds in different materials and chooses the most industrialized solution,” said CEO Reinert Hersleth, Hersleth Entreprenør. Reinert Hersleth, Hersleth Entreprenør.
In Vestby, Hersleth Entreprenør is currently building Vestbyhagen III, a new development of 64 apartments in five buildings on three and four floors. The assignment is being carried out as a turnkey contract for Husjordet AS. The apartment buildings are three and four storeys high.
– The buildings will have floor partitions in solid wood and exterior wall elements (studs) in wood from our own element production at Årvoll. We have developed the solution with floor partitions ourselves, and the construction method has been developed to achieve a more industrialized construction process. We want the same craftsmen to be able to build both the walls and the floor partitions. That’s why we’re combining stud walls with solid wood floor partitions,” said Hersleth.
– “In the area of sound, we have had innovation projects in collaboration with Brekke & Strand. It’s a key area, so it’s good that the NWC is taking a closer look at the topic of sound,” said Hersleth.
KONTUR Architects presented an interesting building
KONTUR Arkitekter AS, which has been a member of the cluster since 2019, is an interdisciplinary architectural firm that works on a wide range of construction projects, with an emphasis on residential facilities, commercial buildings, schools and care buildings. The company is headquartered in Gjøvik. At the meeting, partner Erik Brett Jacobsen talked about the company and gave a briefing on the Voldsløkka school and cultural center project in Oslo, where sound was one of the important issues.
Voldsløkka School and Cultural Center in Oslo was opened in August 2023, with Oslobygg as the developer. It is Norway’s first school with a plus house standard and combines solar and earth energy, environmentally friendly building materials, an energy-efficient building and a unique outdoor area into a European model project.
– “The project used a lot of solid wood. “We chose to deliberately highlight wooden support structures where possible for sound reasons,” says partner Erik Brett Jacobsen, who was KONTUR Arkitekter’s architect in charge of Voldsløkka School and Cultural Center, where all architectural design from preliminary project to finished building was carried out in close collaboration between KONTUR and SPINN architects.
– One of the challenges in the project was sound in rehearsal rooms and classrooms. “As a passive measure to prevent construction noise from propagating between rooms, we chose, for example, to place columns in the middle of classrooms instead of in the walls between classrooms where possible,” said Jacobsen. He explained that the cultural hall had higher sound requirements than the school building and was therefore constructed as a steel and concrete structure.
– The solution in the floor divider between the cultural hall and the areas below was a 500 mm perforated ceiling with floating screed on vibration blocks. In addition, mineral wool of varying thickness was installed above and below the main structure, air insulation layers as well as space for technical guides, a minimum of three layers of plaster and sound-absorbing ceilings. This made the floor partitions approximately 2 meters thick,” said Jacobsen.
– Voldsløkka School and Cultural Center was an exciting project to be involved in, and it required very close follow-up. Among other things, we built a solid wood structure inside the listed building that was connected to the new school building and the new cultural center. Here, we also retained the original wooden structures as environment-creating elements inside parts of the building. They did not contribute to the load-bearing capacity, but were not demolished to preserve the historical and visual aspects. It was a good solution,” says Erik Brett Jacobsen.