“The key to successful sustainable development work is cooperation, no one can reverse the trends alone.”

Three questions on climate efforts for Sara Björnberg, Head of Sustainable Development at Bonnier Fastigheter.

What have you done for the climate during 2022, and what are you most proud of?

The key to successful sustainable development work is cooperation, no one can reverse the trends alone. In 2022, we ran a successful recycling project at our property Centralhuset in Uppsala, where we made active choices about our greenhouse gas emissions connected to adaptations made to the premises, which reduced our climate impact. Reducing our carbon footprint is of course the obvious long-term goal. But the primary purpose of the project was to learn more about recycling, and how changing our way of working and having an active dialog with our business owners and tenants can make a real difference.

How do you connect business benefits to climate initiatives?

Sustainability efforts are central to the business. All interested parties connected to our operations, including the government, municipalities, financiers and tenants, expect active sustainability efforts are being made and that those projects developed, properties financed or premises moved into are sustainable over the long term. In practice, we work with environmental certification and energy optimization of our properties, for example, and with green leasing agreements with our tenants.

What is the biggest challenge going forward?

Not just our challenge but our entire society’s challenge is to accelerate the transformation. Society and the business world need to start showing the results of clear actions that reduce climate impact.

Read more about Bonnier Fastigheter’s sustainability efforts here (in Swedish).