Tratec, APL, Norac, Umoe Mandal, and Umoe Advanced Composites have just completed the third season of the GCE NODE Sustainability Reporting program, featuring professional coaches from consultancies EY and Capgemini. They companies met four times in two months to address various aspects of sustainability work and sustainability reporting.
“EU legislation is pushing large companies to standardize sustainability reporting. Small and medium-sized enterprises are next. Many have yet to grasp what is demanded from them, which is why we come together; to provide insight and practical advice,” says Jan Helge Viste, Transition Manager and Interim CEO at GCE NODE.
The introduction to sustainability work, including the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the strategic importance of sustainability were topics for the first session. Assessing the company’s impact on society and vice versa – a double materiality analysis – was the topic of the second session, while learning how to report on scope 1, 2 and 3 of Greenhouse Gas emissions was a central in the third session. Finally, during the last session, the companies worked with their own sustainability report.
NET ZERO IN 2050
The European Union’s Green Deal sets the direction for sustainability. The EU pledges to reach net zero in 2050, while achieving economic growth. As part of the plan, EU is implementing a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) which will directly impact 1,700 Norwegian companies.
Large listed companies are required to report on a number of sustainability parameters for 2024. And with each passing year, more and more companies will be directly or indirectly affected by CSRD and the additions to the Accounting Act that went into effect in June.
PERFECT TIMING
For Chief Accountant Julia Sheremeteva at Umoe, the course was a great fit at a perfect time.
“We are just getting started on our double materiality analysis, so this was a great time to increase the competence level in our group and among our subsidiaries Umoe Mandal and Umoe Advanced Composites. We had great discussions within our team and with the coaches. GCE NODE promised a mix of theory and practical work and delivered on that promise,” says Sheremeteva.
