Veidekke ASA: Appoints sustainability director

Catharina Bjerke has been appointed Veidekke’s new sustainability director, with responsibility for strategic development of the group’s sustainability work. Up until now, Bjerke served as EVP in Veidekke ASA and CEO of Veidekke Industrial.

Sustainability is high on the agenda in Veidekke. The company has set ambitious climate targets and is working purposefully to find sustainable solutions for the construction and civil engineering industry. Examples are low-temperature asphalt, where the company is Norway’s largest, fossil-free construction sites, including the world's first fossil-free tunnel project, and circular economy solutions, such as reuse of concrete slabs and asphalt.

Over several years, the company has also held a leading position in sustainability reporting. For the second consecutive year, Veidekke’s climate reporting was awarded top rating by the international organisation CDP, and the company has been referred to as among the best on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

“Veidekke's work on sustainability issues is gaining an increasingly central place on the group's agenda. Climate change is the most urgent challenge of our generation, but issues related to diversity and compliance are also integral to the sustainability agenda. Veidekke set ambitious goals early and is currently a frontrunner in the field. We want to strengthen and further develop this position, and the appointment of Catharina to lead the group's sustainability efforts is an important step in that direction, says Jimmy Bengtsson, group CEO of Veidekke ASA.

Sustainability is about meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Awareness of sustainability issues is increasing among customers, authorities and job seekers, as well as the financial industry and investors, who, in addition to companies’ impacts on the environment, are also particularly concerned about climate risk. Together with PWC and Footprint, Veidekke Industrial recently conducted a climate risk survey to assess how climate change will affect the business.

“In recent years, sustainability has gone from being a reporting issue to emerging as a key aspect of companies’ strategy. In Veidekke, sustainability is central to the business model and touches on everything from how we should contribute to the green shift, to ethics and compliance in the construction industry, work safety, and how to address diversity among our own ranks. Sustainable operations are the foundation for future competitiveness. I look forward to working with the operational units to come up with good solutions for tough challenges,” says Catharina Bjerke, who takes up the position as the group’s sustainability director from 1 May 2020.

For more information, please contact:
Jimmy Bengtsson, group CEO, ph. +47 984 70 000, jimmy.bengtsson@veidekke.no
Catharina Bjerke, sustainability director, ph. +47 400 11 410, catharina.bjerke@veidekke.no
Lars Erik Lund, EVP, ph. +47 413 31 369, lars.lund@veidekke.no

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Veidekke is one of Scandinavia's largest construction and property development companies. The company undertakes all types of building construction and civil engineering contracts, develops residential projects, maintains roads, and produces asphalt and aggregates. The company is known for its involvement and local knowledge. Its annual turnover is NOK 39 billion, and half of its 8,600 employees own shares in the company. Veidekke is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and has always posted a profit since it was founded in 1936.