The Plus awarded Storebrand Sustainability Award 2022

The world’s most sustainable furniture factory

Nestled in the deep forest at Magnor, just a 90 minutes drive east of Oslo, the Norwegian furniture maker Vestre has constructed its new hypermodern factory. According to the Danish architect Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), The Plus is the world’s most sustainable furniture factory. In fact, it is the first industrial building in the Nordic region to achieve the highest environmental certification, BREEAM-NOR Outstanding.

In strong competition with SporX and Rebel, two projects by Vestaksen Eiendom and Entra respectively, the Plus won Storebrand’s 2022 Sustainabilty Award. According to the jury, “The Plus is a worthy winner that challenges the industry to rethink! The Plus is built in solid wood and is considered the biggest investment in the Norwegian furniture industry in decades.”
 

This is a great recognition, especially because we see that the ambitions for the award are the same as ours: To advance the green shift.

MARIANNE PREUS JACOBSEN
Project manager at Vestre

55% less greenhouse gas emissions than a conventional factory

The Plus is built to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 55% relative to a conventional factory, surpassing the Paris Agreement’s target of cutting GHG emissions by 40% by 2030.

The building complies with the Passive house standard and has a Energy class A. The Plus has 1 200 solar panels installed on the roof and in the area around the factory, producing roughly 250,000 kWh of renewable energy per year. In addition, surplus heat from the production will be used to heat the building. In sum, the Plus will require 90% less energy than a conventional factory.

Promoting sustainability in the real estate sector

Storebrand has been working on sustainable investments since the late nineties. As Norway's largest private asset manager and one of the largest in the Nordic region, we use our position to influence companies for continuous improvement, especially in sustainability.

Construction and real estate are referred to as the 40% sector in environmental impact in the world, and the challenges are enormous.

Storebrand Real Estate wants to be a driving force for the green shift in commercial real estate, and will promote environmental, economic and social sustainability across a wide spectrum of activities.

Storebrand has therefore established a sustainability award that will recognize real estate players and others who challenge established practices and share their knowledge so that the entire industry can become more sustainable, says Sustainability Director Unn Hofstad in Storebrand Real Estate.

2022 is the second year of the award. In 2021, Entra ASA won the Storebrand Sustainability Award for their project Kristian Augusts gate 13.