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Reach out to Guro

After having co-founded EY Doberman’s Oslo Studio and driving the company’s Nordic innovation efforts, Guro joins ÆRA, where she’ll fill the much-anticipated role of Head of Realization as part of ÆRA’s leader group. - A clear value-based choice, according to Guro.

- There’s an authenticity in the way we talk, see and meet each other here in ÆRA, all while creating progressive boundary-pushing agendas on behalf of large companies. I want to be a part of how these companies shape society, by joining the community with the boldest position on sustainability in Norway, she says.

Guro describes herself as someone in perpetual “beta mode” – ever-learning, ever-widening her own horizon. Very fitting for ÆRA’s new Head of Realization, as it’s a job meant to take innovative ideas from a theoretical level into the hands of the users.

With Guro’s position in ÆRA comes a strengthened Business Development offering.

- We are thrilled to welcome Guro to our team. Guro brings us an exceptional level of innovation experience and will undoubtedly elevate our ability to take even more sustainable concepts from ideas to execution, says Therese Zarrabi, Managing Director of ÆRA.

- My appreciation for rapid prototyping and just-enough-research has, historically speaking, accelerated processes from idea to execution. I’ll push this in ÆRA too. Culturally speaking, I also think ÆRA needs a process agnostic colleague. One who honors standards, but more so is always looking for new forms of business and life, adds Guro.

Talking with Guro raises one’s spirit. There’s clearly passion in her eyes when she’s asked to explain why we need to start realizing our reports, plans, strategies and ambitions:

- It’s easy to get frustrated over companies not doing more, especially when great ideas are ready to be realized, but are instead kept hostage in PDFs. But realization is a muscle that can be strengthened through practice, which is what I intend to do together with our clients.

Moving swiftly from idea to action is her, and ÆRA’s, way of closing the gap between thinking and doing.

- It’s all about inviting our clients to lead with impact, not just intention. To reach for 

 concepts rather than sustaining a break-even equilibrium for our planet. To raise our collective ambition to a level where we all can thrive, says Guro, careful to note that there’s no blame involved in this perspective.

- When we look at sustainability in a broad sense, we have the environment and climate on one hand and social sustainability on the other, and then there’s everything in between. That’s a lot of change to be made. So, it can't just be talk. We can't just be satisfied with starting a discussion. That level of ambition is not enough. Yes, we need discussion. But we then need that discussion to turn into something tangible. Change you and I see on our way to work, feel when we go to sleep at night, or your kids grow up with, she elaborates.

There’s something refreshingly non-Norwegian about Guro’s mindset and presence. Perhaps naturally so, considering she’s spent time living and working in Singapore, New York, Copenhagen and Oslo in the past. 

Guro’s past as much as present fits ÆRA’s plans moving forward:

- We are excited to support the global sustainability agenda by really picking up our pace beyond our national borders now, and Guro fits that puzzle perfectly, says Therese.

- This feels like my natural next step, ends Guro.

She’s a classically trained pianist who became an educated economist ending up in the world of design. Guro Røberg’s next adventure is taking on the position as Head of Realization in ÆRA.

- I will bring our strategies and innovations to life.

Reach out to Øystein & Therese

- ÆRA has a lot to do both short- and long-term. It therefore makes sense for us to now restructure the management in order to strengthen the support of our employees' daily work, uniting innovation and sustainability with our clients more than ever, says Øystein.

- I am happy and proud of the trust I’ve received from the board and the employees and look forward to being further involved in developing ÆRA as Managing Director. It’s important we ensure healthy operations in the growth phase we’re in, whilst reaching for the many opportunities that lie ahead of us together with our customers and partners. I look forward to delivering on the company's ambitious strategy together with our strong, interdisciplinary team, says Therese.

For Øystein, this shift of roles means being able to work more closely with ÆRA’s clients. This in addition to him continuing to work strategically with the company’s long-term growth, which includes exploring new locations for expansion, among other things.

- We’re lucky to be involved in companies such as På(fyll), Parkdressen and Ærli through ÆRA Invest, which I’ll now also dedicate more of my time to, which is very gratifying, concludes Øystein.

Øystein Hagen takes on the role as CEO of ÆRA, while former Head of Operations Therese Zarrabi fills the shoes of Managing Director.

- ÆRA has a lot to do both short- and long-term.

Want us to help you out with your sustainability reporting?

This is our first sustainability report, which means that all the data we present from 2022 serves as our baseline for subsequent reporting in years to follow.

The data is gathered and analyzed through the use of the Nordic Sustainability Reporting Standard (NSRS), a framework developed by the Nordic Accountant Federation, which in turn is based on the Global Initiative Reporting Standards (GRI).

By next year, we will be able to measure our own development on sustainability parameters and targets set based on our knowledge from this novel process.



Read our very first sustainability report. We call it 'ground zero'.

Sustainability Report 2022

Authors

Thursday 12 March 2020, Norway shut down. Most of us remember this day well. It can best be described as a surrealism that left a mark on us all. It also marked the start of a long period characterized by uncertainty and new questions. Everything changed overnight, and we were left clueless about our tomorrows. Planning ahead was impossible.

"I pushed my customers' appointments ahead and just went: 'Well, I'll see you in six weeks, and we’ll just see what the world looks like then, I guess.'"

“I really thought we were going to go back to work after two weeks, and then we were going to kind of be done with it. And now I feel like… It’s a bit optimistic to think that next summer is going to be okay? Maybe you still have to count on this lasting two more years, right?“

When Norway shut down in March 2020, we decided to follow 19 households from across the country. The quotes above are from that study, carefully following the pandemic over a span of three years. 

Using digital interview methods and prompting video recordings, we gained a unique insight into people's personal experience of insecurity during what was a novel, and for many uprooting crisis.

Why is such a study important? Because a crisis rarely operates alone. 

Covid-19 was replaced by new crises, and the uncertainty we felt during the pandemic far from disappeared. It rather moved to new areas.

Russia invaded Ukraine and a war broke out in Europe. The power crisis led to increased costs and new redundancies in business. Inflation and higher interest rates lead to increased economic uncertainty. At the same time, we have a climate and nature crises circling above our heads at all times.

A fact that makes it increasingly difficult to plan, for the future we imagine is constantly changing. What should then guide our decisions and strategies?

Theory tells us that good choices are defined based on the assumption of scarcity. Everything in this world is limited: from the resources we have access to, to the time we are allotted here on earth.

Therefore, we must utilize resources to the maximum, allowing for minimum waste. This is what we call "efficiency".

But what is effective when facing uncertainty and crisis?

The American economist Joseph Stiglitz has used a car-metaphor to describe how the principles of planning change under uncertainty. Based on the scarcity theory, it is "efficient" not to have fueled your vehicle more than is absolutely necessary to get from A to B. But, were an accident to happen, this strategy proves inefficient.

On the contrary, when the unexpected occurs, you should have excess fuel available. This ensures us the capacity to change route if necessary. Perhaps an extra tire in the back, too. 

While the tire is redundant 99 percent of the time you spend in your car, it proves absolutely invaluable when you need it.

At this point, let us try deciphering the word "uncertainty".

The school of business and economics has long taught uncertainty as an equivalent to "risk". Meaning, something that can be predicted and calculated. However, when the uncertainty itself is uncertain, it cannot be calculated.

Donald Rumsfeld, a former US defense minister, explained uncertain uncertainty with the following:

"There are 'known knowns'. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things we know that we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know that we don't know."

What he means by this, is that we can distinguish between "known uncertainty" and "unknown uncertainty". The former are risks that we know can occur, and which we can try to calculate. 

For some things we can calculate or predict. Other things, dare we state, are useless to try and define because we do not have historical data. Unknown uncertainty, being one example. This kind of uncertainty cannot be calculated. 

For example, we have no idea how a world engulfed in climate change will behave. It is difficult to foresee the frequency extreme weather will occur. We only know that the probability of such events increases as the global temperature rises accordingly. These are the type of crises or misfortunates that we cannot plan for or to a sufficient extent prepare for. They therefore represent what is called deep or radical uncertainty.

Uncertainty was the topic of discussion in a digital broadcast we made during the pandemic. Our aim was to better understand how to plan for the unexpected, in a time when that felt like a question of survival. 

To broaden our knowledge, we interviewed Tian Sørhaug, a sociology professor at the University of Oslo. He used the general construct of a fire department to explain how planning for the unexpected is indeed possible. Or, put differently: how to adjust effectively when faced with uncertainty.

Fortunately, the course of most of our days and nights run fire-free. Yet, the fire department is equipped and ready to head out on missions at all times. 24/7.

So, there is evidently some free capacity available. So much so, that history says you used to be able to take your kitchen knives down to the fire station and get them sharpened on demand. It was a way of making the fire department more useful. Perhaps somewhat unconventional, according to today’s practices.

From a scarcity perspective, today’s practice may look like waste. Why do be on duty if there is no fire? From a business perspective, we could have calculated how much the fire department could save, purely financially, by sending the employees home during this time.

We could also calculate how much we as a society could save by disbanding the fire department, which certainly would represent a significant sum. But everyone understands doing so, disbanding, would be a mistake. 

While we know the possible cost savings, we cannot predict the cost of a fire breaking out with a lack of fire department capacity, until it's too late.

Similar to how a fire department stands firm in the event of a fire, so should an effective strategy withstand crises.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a predicted crisis. Still, none of us knew how to handle it. Sounds familiar? Indeed, this is also the case for climate change.

We know that life altering changes are brought alongside climate change, but we know little about the 

 of challenges they bring with them. And we know just as much about the consequences of not preparing for said changes and challenges.

"You couldn’t just decide to not let the corona crisis concern you. It was so 'in your face'. So is, in theory, the case for the climate crisis. But I think a lot of people aren’t fully grasping it."

"I think in 50 to 100 years, you will have to make many major choices, similar to what you had to do during the pandemic. Because the [climate, journ.anm.] crisis will be so very close, you will have no choice."

So how do we deal with this lack of knowledge? 

 strategy makes you robust, like the fire department. That is, resistant and adaptable.

The first step towards this is to introduce some "slack" (or spare capacity) in your organization. A spare wheel, neatly tucked away in your trunk.

Should the unforeseen occur, we then have the resources we need in order to deal with it. In other words, strategy is about building strategic resources, and about using them in a smart way.

This is what ÆRA helps companies and organizations with every day.

Not only do we build strategic resources. We also look at how we can use these resources in ways to better adapt to different scenarios. This may result in the development of new products and services, or alternative business and earnings models.

And, equally important, building a culture where people strengthen and support each other to take on new roles and responsibilities when the situation demands it.

To fully achieve this–not only plan for it–we need leadership that ushers and aids performance no matter the degree of certainty, or uncertainty.

How can businesses stand firm in facing crises?

When Uncertainty is the New Normal

Want to learn more about this project? 

About Football for the Goals

Why do we need an initiative like Football for the Goals (FFTG)?

 by 2030, so we needed a vehicle to reach as many people as we possibly can to make that change. And that vehicle turned out to be football. It is a massive sport. The viewing numbers are incredible. Whether you love football or not, its reach is powerful.

And why an initiative, instead of, say, legal agreements?

- We decided that it should be created as an initiative because it enables voluntary collaboration. Meaning any entity connected to football can join, including the grassroot. We want to let inclusivity drive change.


- FFTG lets football organizations sign up to be part of this initiative, and thereby also commit to:


1) talking about the SDGs and the importance of sustainable change
2) committing themselves to make change within

We do not want this to be just a messaging campaign or a greenwashing campaign. It has to be about real change. Commitment is key. From every party involved.

This initiative also relies on a lot of communication, and hands on engagement. Members have questions, as they should, and we need to be there to answer them. Norway with their pilot certainly has a lead role in this. 

We are planning convenings for our members. The first one in February, where sustainability experts from the UN, experts from the Norwegian pilot and the members themselves can exchange knowledge and get guidance based on what path they are currently on. Some are just starting they journey towards sustainability, while members in Norway are quite advanced thanks to the pilot group.

And then there is trust. We are building trust between the UN and the initiative’s members, but also between the members themselves. The best way to do so is by consistent interaction and giving the members a trusted platform to learn from each other.

Will this reach beyond the football community?

- Yes. We know not everyone follows football closely. But the initiative moves out because the football community is passionate. If we can get professional football players talking about the SDGs, it will draw in their fans, and they will hopefully in turn draw in they friends, family, and colleagues sharing the work. Fans are our most important audience for individual change on top of organizational change.


A large task at hand. Do you find it bold of Norway to partake with a pilot?

Through the associations, the top league, peers, and through ÆRA. And, we saw a great opportunity in a country where there is a fundamental awareness of the SDGs. This enables a more advanced thinking of how the SDGs can be demonstrated as real business opportunities and practices through football as an example. If it can be done in football, it can be done in any kind of organization.

The UN loved the approach you suggested for doing so; Where all sectors come together to work on sustainable change and drive it forward. We see the Norwegian model as one potentially all countries can follow.

Is that a key success factor, cross-sectorial collaboration?

- Absolutely. We are even bringing competitors together. We all need to work together just in this initiative, but in saving the planet.

Then there is language. We have SDGs. Then we have ESG – a key tool in the Football for the Goals’ process. There are many indicators of sustainable work. Sometimes the language of the UN does not match up with the language of business, and certainly not the language of football. 

So, a big part of raising awareness and engaging people in the SDGs is to create an understanding of what the goals are in normal language. This initiative really allows us to ask ourselves: “What does this really mean?” through the entire football ecosystem. Eventually leading us to understand how we reach businesses, but also people.

There seems to be some surprise over the fact that the UN works with smaller, commercial actors, like ÆRA. Why so?

- We do work with different commercial entities, but yes, I believe there has been a bit of a shift within the UN over the past few years.

The SDGs were never meant to only be about governments achieving the goals within 2030. The goals were created with an all of society approach and lots of input by, among other key stakeholders, the private sector. So we continue talking to them because we need all walks of life to participate. Small commercial actors like ÆRA, academics, NGOs, communities like football, civilians – society.

The world is behind on reaching our sustainability goals. So, while we cannot have formal partnerships with everyone, we do find other ways to collaborate to make the SDGs known, seen, and understood. FFTG is one such example. We go, and we work, where people are. And people are, for example, at football – 

Since launching in july 2022, we have seen over 120 members sign up to Football for the Goals. We sat down with Robert Skinner, United Nations' Chief of Partnerships and Global Engagement, to discuss the importance of collaboration and Norwegian leadership.

Ensuring Voluntary Change

Want to learn more about this project?

Convenience stores are important for a vibrant local community. Essential, one should say, for small towns, where you typically only find one such store. It’s like a pulsating heart. What provides the village life, but also vulnerability. 

It doesn't take much to break even the most treasured convenience store: an ongoing power crisis, for one, and migration another. So, convenience stores need to become resilient if we are to preserve, and grow, life beyond cities. In close collaboration with Lokalt Byrå and the Finnmark-based architectural office Verte, we intend to find out how.

The assignment, titled "The convenience store of the future as a multi-functional place", arose as an innovative acquisition financed by 

 – a governmental instrument to safeguard convenience stores as local and important infrastructure. Three such stores have been selected to participate in a pilot. 

 and ÆRA won the chance to work with Gamvik Handel in Finnmark.

- Although the project is primarily about further developing the convenience store's role as a social infrastructure, it’s also, in our eyes, as much about business development, says Glenn Sæstad, one of the two partners in Lokalt Byrå.

Glenn runs the agency Lokalt Byrå together with Nikolai Sabel, who, after numerous projects together during studies at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, decided to start their own company. Their mission is to spread design methodology and good usage of design throughout the country, thereby contributing to pleasant, viable and sustainable local communities.

- Design competency tends to be reserved for cities and large municipalities. That's why Lokalt Byrå is built to suit smaller municipalities looking to hire someone to do innovation projects, preferably with a focus on collaboration across municipalities, residents, businesses and volunteers, Glenn continues.

According to Glenn, this project is a perfect example of why green transition is as much about social sustainability and local development as business development.

Gamvik is experiencing economic growth and stable employment thanks to their local fish farm. However, their challenge is to attract new residents, and preferably entire families who will contribute to predictable population growth.

- Sustainable development in Gamvik is therefore not only about having enough and well-paid jobs, but equally about these families being able to envision good lives in their small community, Glenn explains.

Moreover, Gamvik’s permanent residents represent 12 different nationalities. To build relationships and citizenship across these languages and cultures, you need a place offering events and activities allowing for natural socializing.

- It’s easier to bond if you can, for example, cook, create something, play or dance together, adds Glenn. He thus hints at the importance of the convenience store of the future still being multifunctional, if not even more so than before.

It was natural for Lokalt Byrå to involve ÆRA in the procurement process of this project. ÆRA has played an important role in the creation of Lokalt Byrå.

- I had an internship in ÆRA while studying. It was an enormous learning experience in how to work structured and strategically with sustainable change. Both with complex topics and with complex organizations. When I revealed that I wanted to start my own agency to invest 100% in local communities, ÆRA’s partners reacted with incredible excitement, and wanted to help us succeed.


The agencies now happily collaborate on innovation projects revolving around smaller communities of Norway. Where ÆRA has expertise in design, sustainability and business development, Lokalt Byrå has expertise in design, sustainability and development of local communities.

- We speak the same language, but also have complementary differences. This makes for an easy match whenever there’s an opportunity to develop businesses rooted in local communities, preferably across municipalities, residents, volunteers and other local bodies, says Trygve Kolderup, responsible for the Gamvik project in ÆRA.

The Gamvik project's main idea is creating "a local community workshop" within the convenience store. Design methodology and business modeling will be used to specify how such a place can be both built out and operated in Gamvik, exclusively resident-driven. With that comes an exciting challenge:

- We have to work a lot on gaining understanding and ownership of the concept across the 12 nationalities and languages it is intended for, says Glenn. Norwegian words such as "dugnad" and "friluftsliv", for example, have no immediate translation.

Common understanding is indeed important, as this project could lay the foundation of Gamvik’s future prospects, where community, stability and long-term optimism become its main characteristics.

- It’s about creating the offer that makes families and young people want to stay. This will in turn unlock other issues they are struggling with. Such as, for example, having enough human resources for kindergartens and schools, and a diversity of local businesses, Glenn continues.

The aim of the project and the Merkur program as a whole is to establish something in Gamvik that all of Norway can learn from. Therefore, it is followed, among others, by researchers in Oxford Research.

- How a convenience store can become a key in the local community's social infrastructure, rather than just being a functional need, is of interest beyond Norway, says Trygve, praising Lokalt Byrå for highlighting the importance of local approaches to global challenges.


- Before looking outward, we should look more inward. There is a lot of untapped potential in Norwegian local communities, Glenn points out, describing it as Lokalt Byrå's main motivation.

Nikolai and Glenn are soon heading out on their first trip to Gamvik, where they’ll stay for five days – the standard length of a trip for them when trying to get under a local community’s skin. 

The chosen accommodation is of course highly local and symbolic: an old lighthouse. Lokalt Byrå otherwise works closely with the local project group thanks to the rapid digitalization Norway went through during the pandemic.

- We are two adaptable "lone guns" who like to be on the move, where people actually are, connected to the local community, being able to find new opportunities, with new eyes, which contribute to the transition we are going through, concludes Glenn.

How can a small, relatively remote town gain stability and community enough to retain their inhabitants? Our project in the small fishing village of Gamvik aims to answer just that.

Designing the Future Convenience Store

Would you like to join us on this journey? 

At the press conference that marked the beginning of the climate summit in Sharm-El-Sheik, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded us that the fight against climate change is about avoiding a 

. Not in some distant future, but as early as this year.

Hunger will affect large parts of the world in 2023, from Madagascar to Afghanistan, Haiti to Ukraine. Climate change, COVID, war, and conflict, coupled with rising costs, have pushed 

 into critical food shortages. Swaddled in the safety of food security, it's easy to take for granted what these people know all too well: without food, everything comes to a halt.

But the reality is, climate change is challenging food production in all countries. Torrential rain patterns, seasonal variations, and extreme weather make agricultural conditions increasingly unpredictable. A warmer and more acidic ocean also affects fishing and aquaculture. Climate change threatens everyone’s food security.

The Nordic food system, for example, crosses boundaries. We rely on imported food, fodder, and other resources. In fact, 50 percent of the land used for "Nordic food consumption" lies outside the Nordic countries. 90 percent of the water used for our food consumption stems from outside of the Nordics. 

This, while major parts of the world face the acute threat of water scarcity due to rising temperatures. As much as 50 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with our food consumption occur outside of the Nordic region. This makes us Norwegians both vulnerable and responsible for climate change.

However, the outlook is not entirely bleak for Norwegian agriculture and aquaculture. A wetter and wilder climate is also getting increasingly warmer, which extends the season of growing produce. Some parts of the country already report of this season lengthened by a whole month.

Food security is about ensuring that everyone has physical and economic access to sufficient and safe food at all times. Fortunately, what's good for our food security is also good for the world. If we produce more food using Norwegian resources, following regenerative principles, we can secure food security in Norway while simultaneously placing less of a burden on others' limited food resources.

Well, the Norwegian food system is not stripped of challenges. The producer’s economy is substantially far from sustainable. Farms shut down in Norway every year. According to the Norwegian Agriculture Agency, a total of 283 farms ceased operations in 2021 alone. It’s a trend heading in the wrong direction.

 farmers to increase Norwegian food security, not fewer. For this to happen, farmers must achieve higher profits in producing food.

Despite much attention around the Farmer's Rebellion and this year's agricultural negotiations, many are under the impression of Norwegian farmers being expensive to operate, which explains why farmers often find themselves in the spotlight for receiving subsidies. This is an old myth that deserves a fresh perspective.

Agriculture finds itself "at the intersection of the remains of planned economy and market liberalism," to borrow 

the words of the Norwegian economist Erik Reinert

. Farmers are forced to sell their products at artificially low prices, to then receive compensation from the government thereafter. You could say this presents an authority who takes farmers' profits, only to repay parts of it and call it support later down the line.

In other words: Norwegian food is not expensive because farmers charge high prices.

A cold and harsh climate partially explains why Norwegian food prices are higher than in its neighboring countries, for example. Yet, grocery store chains still end up with substantial profits because retailers use their market power to push down prices for producers, and then raise the price towards consumers.

How can we ensure that farmers get a larger share of our food budgets?

Some (economists) have gone as far as suggesting that we shut down Norwegian agriculture in favor of importing food from other countries better suited to agriculture than our current own.

This is a gross exaggeration of how resilient global value chains actually are. But perhaps more importantly, it’s a misunderstanding of the farmer's societal mission.

The societal mission that agriculture performs is not about producing as much food as possible at the lowest cost. It’s about preserving traditions, local knowledge, and a range of essential ecosystem services. Among other things, agriculture:

Contributes to maintaining the cultural landscape

Prevents land from overgrowing, thus maintaining biodiversity

Allows for grazing in outlying areas which increases carbon storage in the soil

If following regenerative practices, enhances soil health, increases carbon storage, absorbs water and reduces the risk of flooding

And to conduct such a mission, it must be profitable to act on behalf of our ecosystems, counteract greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to increased biodiversity.

This is where we find hope. It’s possible to increase both Norwegian and global food security while helping us achieve climate goals at a faster pace.

We first need to figure out how we can move towards a future where farmers, fishermen, and everyone else involved in food production are celebrated for the crucial work they do, not only ensuring that we have food on our table, but also helping solve our planetary climate and nature crises.

To find our way there, ÆRA and Rethink Food invite you to a third food-FLOKE, where we’ll seek to explore possible solutions to some of the most significant challenges of our time:

How can diversity contribute to a more robust food system?

How can land (agriculture) and sea (aquaculture) work together to utilize all our resources?

How can Norwegian food production help address some of the greatest crises of our time?

A Concern and a Hope for the New Year

By narrowing down, we ensure that we use less virgin materials, without this reducing the value of what we make.

By slowing down, we extend the lifetime, whether of a service, product or another essential element of a value chain.

When closing the use of resources, it is possible to renew the materials to complete a new, full-fledged round in the value chain rather than them disappearing and either being downgraded or becoming waste.

In other words, circularity is the answer to several of the world's biggest challenges. More specifically, those that revolve around scarcity of resources, depletion of ecosystems and waste.

235 million tons of materials–metals, fossil fuels, biomass and minerals–currently feed our annual societal needs.

97.6% of these never return to the value chain for which they were extracted, and thus neither to our economy.

Despite the number's dark nature, it also represents opportunity. According to 

, with the right priorities, restructuring and investments, we can for example cut Norway’s carbon footprint by 63%, which should result in a 45.8% circular economy. And that’s based on present conditions.

So: where to start if we are to become 45.8% circular in a short amount of time?

As of today, the linear economy rules. Within it governs a "take-use-dispose" model that took many a nation out of economic crisis in the 70s, including Norway. It is therefore, understandably, difficult for many to imagine the new system for design, production and use that circularity is.

Sure, we must radically change the way we design and operate all businesses in a circular world, which should be our collective aspiration level. The motivation? Such a scenario will still satisfy needs, but with far less strain on the planet and the environment around us.

As individuals, we are also part of the system. We have to make a change ourselves. From, for example, “use and dispose” to a "repair first" mentality.

A bigger change must be made by producers of goods and services. For example from "product as a good" to "product as a service".

From an authority perspective, both companies and people need to be incentivized, through convenience and profitability, to choose circular rather than non-circular.

We must also reward those models that ensure resource value to the greatest extent possible.

See, there are several levels of circularity, or put differently: there are several levels of how to recover the actual value of a value chain.

Recycling works for certain value chains. Typically those who purify one material, so carefully produced and returned that it can be recycled. Like aluminum soda cans, household glass or metal-ware, or plastic drinking bottles.

Norsk Gjenvinning, Norway’s leading waste management provider, has developed a well-functioning system for resource sorting and consequently recycling, enabling recycling in most Norwegian homes.

However, over-extracting our resources cannot be solved with recycling alone.

 is, in fact, at the bottom of the resource hierarchy shown above. The hierarchy shows the different levels one can retain value in one's own value chain (rather than losing it, which is the case for the linear model). Above recycling we find redesign, renovation or repair, and reuse. With each level comes some clear prerequisites.

 requires you working with a type of material that can be transformed without causing further greater strain on the environment. Certain materials, for example, release toxins during processing, in addition to the fact that the process itself is energy intensive. We must therefore think holistically about this approach to circularity, and be aware of it contributing more positively than negatively to the total footprint.

In general, we should aim as high as possible in the hierarchy when developing new products and services.

 is not possible if a product is not designed for it. Most consumer technology serve as use cases for this. They are products manufactured for sale and use, and thus impossible to repair. Bicycles are an example of the opposite: close to all parts of the final product can be replaced. The result is a bike potentially kept for life–granted it is cared for and repaired throghout time. If so, the end of 

 life cycle with this bike can still mean the beginning of another one with a new owner.