In-depth Interview – Enter Kompetanse

Enter Kompetanse AS is a group consisting of four different companies. Enter Kompetanse AS helps to get people back into the workforce regardless of the challenges they have encountered along the way. Tekteam AS is a subcontractor of sheet metal processing, surface treatment and electrical assembly, and the front for this drastic initiative.

Initially, Enter Kompetanse – and especially Tekteam AS – could have been a worst-case scenario in terms of emissions of climate- and environmentally harmful substances, a poorly designed working environment and a completely ordinary part of the corporate market in Eastern Norway. Fortunately, the CEO of Enter Kompetanse AS, Sebastian Geverk, wanted something completely different for the group.

In the fall of 2021, the group management began the demanding work of steering the ship in the right direction. Enter Kompetanse was to represent something more than financial sustainability, and they were to contribute more than the bare necessities to the local community. Today, the group is one of the few in the Norwegian market that can point to concrete measures, which ensure a triple bottom line.

When CEO Sebastian Geverk realized that the working environment and energy consumption in the company Tekteam AS were not optimal for either the employees, the environment or climate change, he took immediate action.

– It all started with us. It started with us realizing that we had challenges in keeping the production climate stable and optimal for our employees. The temperature in the production hall was far too high. This led to a thought process about how the heat could be utilized elsewhere in the company.

He focused early on on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, to concretize the desire and need to introduce changes in the company. The sustainability goals that most affected Enter Kompetanse were numbers 8, 12 and 13.

Sustainable Development Goal number 8 is about decent work and economic growth. This is what the employees work towards every single day, by bringing people back into the workforce who have been out of work for one or more reasons.

Then comes Sustainable Development Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production. By choosing environmentally friendly materials, reducing waste, and increasing the degree of automation in the use of heat, the company will maximize the useful value of production. With this, Tekteam could single-handedly make an important contribution to achieving this goal for the company.

Finally, he came across Sustainable Development Goal number 13, which is to stop climate change. Here, Geverk felt that they had more to do, more to learn, and needed help implementing the right types of measures to achieve the goals. They decided to seek help from a partner with expertise in energy consumption and sustainability. The solution to this was an energy analysis from Energihuset AS.

Energihuset AS carried out a very comprehensive survey of the entire premises of Enter Kompetanse at the start. Here, all areas such as power outlets, lighting, climate control and facade were checked and measured. They then prepared a clear report and a concrete action and progress plan for how Enter Kompetanse should initiate its process.

At the start of this process, it was crucial for Geverk to have momentum, something that could start a movement, and keep this movement going, and in the right direction. The report from Energihuset would prove to be exactly the tool they needed.

– We needed a behavioral change in the company, something that would get the processes going, and something we could hit the ground running with. The report we had prepared from Energihuset became our momentum, and represents one of the most powerful things I, as a manager of a company, can present.

He suddenly had documentation, in black and white, that explained not only how big the savings potential was in financial terms, but also how big a difference the measures would make to the company's environmental and climate profile. As if this wasn't motivating enough in itself, he could also present how they would go about achieving these goals.

Even with the goals in black and white, the measures clear and the motivation in place, the most difficult thing lay ahead for Geverk and Enter Kompetanse. To take a group through such a shift, one must be willing to make changes, let go of old habits and both think and act in new ways.

– I don't believe in luck. I believe it's those who are willing to change, to make a commitment, and to put themselves in a position for it, who will receive more success, says Geverk enthusiastically.

This willingness to change and take a chance has something to do with the culture of the company. When everyone was clear about who they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to represent, and was conscious of the choices they made throughout this process, it is much easier to pull the ship in the same direction.

Geverk says that Tekteam as an industrial company really has a lot to gain, and a great responsibility even though they are far from the largest player in the market. He also points out that the larger the company, the greater the responsibility you also have to make a difference and take your responsibility, but that there is nothing at all that prevents a smaller company from taking the same responsibility.

– We went inside ourselves and worked on the question of what value this journey would have for us. Working towards a greater purpose than just the company's results, i.e. the financial results, was important in creating a common path forward. We make a difference for the climate and for the total package, we take on a responsibility that is greater than our daily operations, which has received incredibly good feedback because it makes a lot of sense, explains Geverk.

He further explains that the work of implementing this at all levels of Tekteam and Enter Kompetanse is far from done, and that this is something they will work on continuously in the future.

Success is not at all promised, but something they work hard to achieve, whether it concerns the financial bottom line, the bottom line for climate and the environment, or the bottom line for participation and care for the local environment.

The work of identifying the three sustainability goals that the group will work towards in the coming years, conducting the energy analysis and now actually implementing the measures, are all steps on the path towards the triple bottom line that stands strong at Geverk.

– For us, the triple bottom line is about having accounting that is based on more than just financial statements. We must always have a conscious relationship with our accounting, both in terms of climate and the environment, as well as the contributions we make to the society around us.

Geverk further explains that it was important for them to enter into a collaboration with a partner with high competence and expertise in energy-saving measures.

– When the pandemic came, everyone became an expert on pandemics, and now that the electricity crisis is over, everyone is an expert on energy. Energihuset is actually an independent expert and has no intention of selling products, which makes the choice even safer, and their expertise even more prominent.

Following the analysis presented, Enter Kompetanse has chosen to enter into an agreement with suppliers recommended by Energihuset. This does not generate any additional income for Energihuset, but says a lot about the trust Geverk has in Energihuset as a competence partner.

– A tripartite collaboration is a step in the direction we want to go further. All companies should obtain a report like the one Energihuset prepared for us. Such actions and collaboration create valuable synergies in society. We expect that other companies in the local community will also take action to ensure sustainable production and operations in the years to come, says Geverk.

One of the reasons Geverk is passionate about this energy analysis is the very impressive results they obtained. Although saving money was of course a bonus, Geverk was always aware that they made this decision based on concerns for the environment and climate.

Enter Kompetanse and Tekteam set a goal to reduce their emissions by 200 tons of Co2 over a longer period of time. After all the measures are implemented, the estimated savings are already 270 tons of Co2, after just a short time.

– There are simply no risks or negative aspects to having an energy assessment carried out. You choose whether you want to proceed with the recommended measures, but the benefits of implementing them are so much more than the financial gain.

Enter Kompetanse AS and Energihuset are both partners of the football club Strømsgodset in Drammen. This is where the collaboration between the two companies began, and has now developed into something very valuable for both parties. Good synergies are created where companies meet, and in this case it was at Strømsgodset in Drammen.

Geverk says that he now expects the rest of the partners to also take action and introduce sustainable initiatives in their companies.

It will be exciting to observe the development of Enter Kompetanse and Tekteam in the future. There is no doubt that we will see much more of the sustainable comet that lights the way for other local businesses in the years to come.