We’ve asked some of our speakers from across the world about sustainability reporting and its challenges, their best sustainability hacks and more. Read on for our third interview with Petter Reistad.
|
A former professional skier, Petter joined the tech company Cognite shortly after its creation, managing client projects at the firm until it became Norway’s first unicorn last year. Now, he’s the CEO of the software company Celsia, a startup on a mission to bridge sustainability and finance by developing the world’s simplest sustainability scoring solution. The software solution, already in use by a range of publicly listed companies in the Nordics, lets companies score themselves in accordance with the EU taxonomy and other sustainable finance frameworks. |
How can we collectively advance sustainability reporting and sustainable finance?
“The best way sustainability reporting can facilitate investments into the greenest projects, is by aligning on common metrics that can make companies more comparable. We desperately need to be able to compare how sustainable different companies are. How do we compare for example Nestlé and Deutsche Bank? Credit ratings simplified risk. Now we need the same for sustainability.”
How do we engage people in adapting to changes in these fields?
“We've got to use both the carrot and the stick. Common metric-based reporting must be required and enforced, just like financial reporting. Companies that do well, or that go above and beyond, should benefit from it, for example by access to cheaper capital. We need the triple bottom lines to be tighter integrated, so that reckless ESG behavior also hits your financial bottom line.”
Are there any best practices, industry collaborations, or measurements you would like to highlight?
“I want to give a shoutout to how the regulatory bodies and the financial industry now are working together to push sustainability forward.. It's incredible to see our financial system evolving into becoming a primary sustainability agenda-setter, raising awareness, efficiently enforcing policies, and nudging companies into becoming more sustainable. The large Nordic banks are particularly forward-leaning - keep up the excellent work!”
What do you consider as the future of sustainable finance and/or reporting?
“We need common metrics and common formats for sustainability reporting, so that we can compare companies' performance. Just the way it is simple for an investor today to invest in the ten companies that pay the largest dividends, or the ten with the lowest risk scores, it should be simple to invest in the ones contributing the most to the green transition.”
What's your best sustainability hack?
“My best sustainability hack is to view sustainability as a business opportunity. The world is moving firmly in a more sustainable direction, and you're lagging behind if you still regard sustainability as a liability. While many see how being more sustainable means cost savings for example by reducing material and electricity usage, the true 'hackers' among us see it as a business opportunity. One of our customers Quantafuel is a great example; With the focus on recycling and separation of waste, they saw a business opportunity in turning waste plastic into new, valuable products. The more successful Quantafuel is, the better for our planet. A great hack!”
“The best way sustainability reporting can facilitate investments into the greenest projects, is by aligning on common metrics that can make companies more comparable. We desperately need to be able to compare how sustainable different companies are. How do we compare for example Nestlé and Deutsche Bank? Credit ratings simplified risk. Now we need the same for sustainability.”
How do we engage people in adapting to changes in these fields?
“We've got to use both the carrot and the stick. Common metric-based reporting must be required and enforced, just like financial reporting. Companies that do well, or that go above and beyond, should benefit from it, for example by access to cheaper capital. We need the triple bottom lines to be tighter integrated, so that reckless ESG behavior also hits your financial bottom line.”
Are there any best practices, industry collaborations, or measurements you would like to highlight?
“I want to give a shoutout to how the regulatory bodies and the financial industry now are working together to push sustainability forward.. It's incredible to see our financial system evolving into becoming a primary sustainability agenda-setter, raising awareness, efficiently enforcing policies, and nudging companies into becoming more sustainable. The large Nordic banks are particularly forward-leaning - keep up the excellent work!”
What do you consider as the future of sustainable finance and/or reporting?
“We need common metrics and common formats for sustainability reporting, so that we can compare companies' performance. Just the way it is simple for an investor today to invest in the ten companies that pay the largest dividends, or the ten with the lowest risk scores, it should be simple to invest in the ones contributing the most to the green transition.”
What's your best sustainability hack?
“My best sustainability hack is to view sustainability as a business opportunity. The world is moving firmly in a more sustainable direction, and you're lagging behind if you still regard sustainability as a liability. While many see how being more sustainable means cost savings for example by reducing material and electricity usage, the true 'hackers' among us see it as a business opportunity. One of our customers Quantafuel is a great example; With the focus on recycling and separation of waste, they saw a business opportunity in turning waste plastic into new, valuable products. The more successful Quantafuel is, the better for our planet. A great hack!”