Vigor Industrier to offset all emissions through local climate forests in Trøndelag

Ambitions to become the world’s first climate-neutral staffing company

Since 1990, Vigor Industrier has provided skilled workers with specialized expertise to the oil and gas industry, shipyards, manufacturing companies, smelters, and mechanical workshops. The company is now partnering with Trefadder to achieve its goal of becoming the world’s first climate-neutral staffing company.

– Since our founding, we have delivered staffing services to the oil and gas industry—an industry responsible for approximately a quarter of Norway’s total CO₂ emissions. We now feel it is time for us, as a small company, to take responsibility for our own emissions, and we have set ourselves the goal of becoming the world’s first climate-neutral staffing provider,” says Rune Staveli Kvernland, Managing Director of Vigor Industrier.

The company has around 100 employees, of whom 95 are on assignments either offshore or onshore. Its sustainability work is based on climate and environmental impact, social responsibility, and responsible and ethical governance (ESG).

Primarily emissions from travel

Staveli Kvernland explains that the company’s headquarters in Orkanger has five employees, and that the majority of emissions stem from travel.

– Since our clients are located across the country, our operations involve unavoidable air travel and transport to and from worksites. As nearly all of our emissions come from transportation, this is also where we see the greatest potential for reduction and compensation.”

In practice, the partnership with Trefadder will compensate for nearly all of the company’s emissions.

– Offsetting emissions from the transport of personnel and materials will reduce our emissions by close to 100 percent. In addition to transport emissions, we also have indirect emissions from electric heating at our office. We are now planning to invest in solar energy to use renewable power for heating. Through climate forest planting and local renewable energy production, our goal is to become climate neutral in the near future,” he says.

Mapping emissions

The company is actively working to map its emissions in order to determine how much climate forest needs to be established to achieve climate neutrality.

Previously, we had no overview of emissions from air travel. Now we receive monthly reports from airlines detailing emissions such as CO₂, NOx, and sulfur. Combined with data on fuel use in fossil vehicles, we now have a solid understanding of our emissions.

– Based on this data, we are working with Trefadder to map our emissions. This enables us to compensate for all emissions through climate forest planting. If we succeed in compensating for all emissions, we will be unique in our industry. We are going all in,” says Staveli Kvernland.

A competitive advantage

He admits that the company does not have extensive experience in sustainability work, but when they commit, they do so fully.

– As far as we know, no other staffing company in our industry is doing this. For us, it is also important to be able to offer our customers a climate-neutral supplier. Soon, our clients in sectors such as food production, aquaculture, and other industries will be able to document that they are working with a climate-neutral partner. This is both a concrete climate measure and a competitive advantage. We already have clients who require documentation of climate initiatives in tenders.

– We also appreciate that this is a transparent and tangible climate initiative here in Norway. We will now work to raise awareness of this partnership, which may also help make our workplace more attractive to job seekers.

– When I retire, I hope to walk in the forests that have compensated for our emissions,” concludes Staveli Kvernland.

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Vigor Industrier
Rune Staveli Kvernland, CEO i Vigor
920 80 555
rsk@vigorindustrier.no