In addition to being head of the sales department, Gaute Fonkalsrud is also one of the project leaders for a few of Norrøna’s Zero Carbon sub actions. The one in focus at the moment is Goodwings. Read further to find out how Gaute and his team are “doing their homework” for expanding our company with conscious and cautious steps.
So, Gaute, would you say traveling is a necessary part of growing the business?
The notion of not traveling is not an option right now. That’s just a reality. We’re trying to export a brand and in order to do this, we need to understand the markets we work with, and engage with our partners. Doing that from a desk in Oslo simply doesn’t work. As one of our teammates usually says, it’s a contact sport, so traveling is an essential part for us and will be in the foreseeable future. Of course, follow-ups and what can be done virtually are considered. Online meetings with customers and the sales team have become a more natural part of communication. And the last two global meetings that we used to attend in person are now run digitally instead.
Accepting the reality of our company’s position is a great way to start looking for the methods of reduction. And now that our partnership with Goodwings has become operational, can you tell us how it came to be?
We found them in the early winter of 2021.There were a few other choices, but Goodwings benchmarked differently than the competition.
We were looking for a collection tool to get a more accurate picture of our travel emissions, and a platform that could offer us a more realistic reduction plan for each department.
They were also the most user-friendly and offered the highest level of automation. One of our requirements was that it should be easy to use for everyone in the company.
Who within Norrøna uses Goodwings at the moment?
Currently, we have rolled it out to our sales team which were the pilots. RD and D and marketing departments are next in line to join. Overall, our goal is to have all employees onboarded and operational on this platform from January 1st, 2023. We need to be ready as our carbon footprint budgets also are introduced.
What surprised you the most about your own carbon footprint when you started using Goodwings?
I’ve traveled a lot for the past 20 years. Of course I knew it wasn’t great for the environment, but I didn’t realize how bad flying is and where the impact lies during a flight. Take off and landing versus cruising for example.
Transits and stopovers will greaten your footprint. There is also a great significance between the day-trips for a meeting, to let’s say Munich versus a transatlantic flight.
I realized this recently when a three week trip to North America emitted 4,400 Kg of carbon dioxide vs a day trip to Munich emitted 702 Kg of carbon dioxide. Of course a lower total, but considering three weeks vs. one overnight, it’s undoubtedly the flying part of the trip that has the biggest impact. Using the Goodwings calculator tool definitely helped open my eyes.
You’re in a position where you have to travel a lot for your job, can you offer some advice on how to easily reduce your carbon footprint when on the road?
It’s important to be critical and question traveling patterns and ask yourself what you could easily do to change it. Flying with older planes versus new, paying more for a direct flight instead of adding transits. There is also an impact between economy versus business class as taking up more space than necessary impacts the environment.
I also need to question the importance of each trip. And if I’m going to fly overseas, I can try and stay there for a longer period of time and get as much done as possible in order to not have to return so soon after.
You of course can use local public transport when applicable. Again the reality is you have to be efficient and the more sustainable option can’t take over your day, so it must work.
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About Goodwings:
Goodwings was founded in 2015 by Christian Møller-Holst, with headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and an office in Uruguay, South America. Customers include the world-renowned architecture practice Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), international law firm Bird & Bird, strategic design agencies Manyone and Designit as well as hundreds of other businesses across sectors including tech, fashion, furniture and logistics.
