Companies in Vestland push to increase sustainability

This is the conclusion in Klimaindeks Vest 2024, where consulting company PwC has mapped the 50 largest companies in Vestland. These are all affected by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) came into effect in January 2023, with phased implementation. Reporting under the directive will start in 2025, covering data from the 2024 financial year for large public-interest entities.

You can read the report in full here:

Applies to more companies

CSRD is a regulation introduced by the European Union (EU) that requires companies to disclose detailed information about their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. The aim is to improve transparency and accountability in corporate sustainability efforts, ensuring that businesses provide reliable and comparable information for investors, stakeholders, and the public.

The CSRD applies to more companies than its predecessor, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) as is includes large companies, listed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and certain non-EU companies operating in the EU.

The regulations also cover environmental impacts (e.g., climate change, resource use), social matters (e.g., employee well-being, diversity), and governance (e.g., business ethics, anti-corruption policies and aligns with global sustainability frameworks like the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

Need to increase the pace

In Vestland, the direction is right, but the pace towards emissions cuts in accordance with the Paris agreement is to slow.

Only four of the 50 major businesses can document emission cuts on 7 % or more. But 63 % of the respondents say the CSRD regulations will influence their future strategic direction.

- Compared to the 2022 report, we see an improvement. But the pace is to slow, said Director Strategy & Sustainability PwC Bergen Inki Brown in PwC as she presented the findings.

The companies represent the most important industries in Vestland, as 13 are in the seafood business, six is in the energy sector and seven is in the maritime industry.  

- We expected to see companies from these industries at the list. The are the backbone in the Vestland economy and to succeed with the green shift, we depend on these companies to develop operations that cut emissions, says Director in Invest in Bergen, Tone Hartvedt.

Creates future possibilities

The climate changes also create opportunities. Halv of the companies report to have identified risks related to climate changes and 30 % state that this represents business possibilities.

With yearly emissions of 7 million tons of Co2 equivalents, Vestland is the region with the highest emissions in Norway.

However, the county has a political goal to cut emissions with 55 % by 2030, opening for several new players supplying new technology and business ideas. Could your company supply our value chains with what they need? Don’t hesitate to contact us!