– I think it’s completely crazy that we have a fossil fuel company sponsoring Norwegian sports, says Anja Bakken Riise, leader of the environmental organization Framtiden i våre hands. Recently, news has put a spotlight on the climate footprint of winter sports. A major survey of the elite national team from nine winter sports showed that they released 1,600 tonnes of CO₂ annually, distributed among 110 athletes, in connection with competitions and training sessions. The athletes news spoke to from the various sports were and are concerned about speech, the climate footprint and what they see around Europe. The Ski Association was clear that they can now start challenging themselves, sponsors, politicians and decision-makers to become more environmentally friendly. At the same time, the petroleum giant Equinor is one of their main sponsors, in addition to being sponsored by Vårenergi and Aker BP. – Destroy winter sports – I think it is unfortunate that responsible, important role models, such as the Norwegian sports federations, accept a lot of sponsorship from these fossil fuel companies. It helps to legitimize the activity they have, says Riise. – We of course share the concern of Framtiden in our hands for the consequences of climate change. We are a winter sports nation, hires Ola Keul. Ola Keul in the Ski Association. Photo: Thomas Brun / NTB He is responsible for sustainability at the Ski Association, and says he understands that questions are being asked about the fact that the Ski Association has a fossil fuel company as one of its main sponsors. – We are completely dependent on cold winters to run our activity. I understand that the issue is being raised, but the big challenge to ensure the fastest possible, necessary green transition is not in our sponsorship agreement with Equinor or other collaboration partners we are completely dependent on to create activity across the board and at the top, he says, but adds : – We are busy challenging all our partners to see if they have plans for an ambitious, green transition, in the same way that we are going to challenge ourselves. But Frode Pleym in Greenpeace is crystal clear: Fossil companies have nothing to do with Norwegian winter sports. Frode Pleym in Greenpeace. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB – These oil companies melt snow. They are ruining winter sports, he says. – A massive restructuring The problem of skiing and being sponsored by a fossil fuel company does not only apply to the Ski Association. The Norwegian Ski Association has been – and is – in the same “squeeze”. The association has Uno-X as partners, something news wrote about earlier this year. – We in the Norwegian Ski Association “live off” winter and snow and therefore we are also busy looking after him. Both the association and the biathlon family are now actively working to reduce our emissions, through, among other things, measures at events and smarter transport plans, says Morten Djupvik, secretary general of the Norwegian Biathlon Union, to news. Morten Djupvik in the Norwegian Ski Association. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB – Uno-X is a partner that is facing a massive restructuring. Our experience is that Uno-X wants to be part of the solution, even if changes often take time. Among other things, they invest heavily in innovative mobility solutions. It is important to bear in mind that supplying fuel is an important societal task for Norway, adds Djupvik. Uno-X wrote the following in an e-mail to news: – We are not a fossil fuel company, nor an oil company. We are a company that invests a clear majority of our funds in the mobility of the future. Our investments in lightning chargers and Svanemerka washrooms are leading in Norway and we are a very proud partner of the biathletes where we have the opportunity to speak loudly in the public space about our energy transformation, says Jens Haugland in Uno-X. See the full answer to Uno-X in a fact box further down in the case. Several sponsors And this is by no means a “Norwegian” problem. An overview from the report “The Snow Thieves” by the New Weather Institute shows a small part of the big picture: Air China was the main sponsor of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. The petroleum company Preem is, together with Volvo, the main sponsors of the Vasaloppet. The energy company Gazprom sponsors the Russian Ski Federation and the airline SAS sponsors the Swedish alpine national team – The climate crisis is here, and the winter sports advertise for it by using products that grill the planet and destroy the sport we love. It is ironic that fossil sponsors are so common in a sport that is so dependent on cold winters and snow, Swedish cross-country skier Emil Johansson Kringstad has previously said. The Norwegian Ski Association still has a collaboration with Uno-X (but launched a new climate campaign), and Keul in the Ski Federation says they have no plans to drop the collaboration with Equinor. Pleym thinks it shouldn’t even be a question. – We believe that the various confederations must terminate the agreements with these oil companies, and then we believe that if the oil companies are serious about taking a social responsibility by sponsoring sport, they should do so without expecting visibility in return. – What does it mean in practice? – This means, for example, that Equinor should give money that they give today to the Ski Association without Equinor appearing at the ski stadium, on logos and in social media. Because if we avoid that, Equinor will not gain social legitimacy through sponsoring these associations, says Pleym. – Completely inconsistent On their own website, Equinor writes that they are “a leading company in the green shift towards climate neutrality”. Pleym will not participate in that. He calls it an outright lie. – Equinor is a pure oil company, and it is a company that melts the snow that both Norwegian skiing and Winter Norway are so dependent on, he says. Magnus Frantzen Eidsvold, press spokesperson at Equinor, tells news that they already have fewer logos and bans on ski races than before. About the criticism from Greenpeace, he says: – Greenpeace is absolutely right that Equinor’s renewable production today is marginal, but we completely disagree with the claim that we are not part of the green shift. Photo: Skjermdump, Equinor.com He continues: – We are working very hard on the energy transition in our company, and are heavily involved in renewable and low-carbon solutions. So far we have invested NOK 65 billion and by 2026 we expect total investments to be NOK 230 billion. It takes time to adjust production for an individual company, but we are off to a good start, are investing large sums and will increase renewable production significantly in the coming years. – But how much of Equinor’s energy production is currently renewable? – As of today, our renewable energy production is marginal. Equinor’s renewable energy production is 0.4 per cent. news has been in contact with both Aker BP and Vårenergi about the criticism brought by Frode Pleym and Anja Bakken Riise. This is their answer: – Aker BP is a pure oil and gas company that manages oil and gas resources on the Norwegian continental shelf on behalf of Norwegian society and in line with the framework set by the governing authorities. We carry out this social mission with pride, while at the same time taking the global climate challenges very seriously, says Ole-Johan Faret, press spokesperson at Aker BP. – We represent the largest industry in the country, and contribute to jobs and welfare. At the same time, we know that climate emissions must decrease and therefore we spend considerable resources on accelerating the green shift and reducing emissions. Vår Energi works for growth and long-term value creation, and is preoccupied with creating activities and opportunities – also in its role as a support player for Norwegian sports, says Jan Eirik Gjerdevik, communications advisor at Vår Energi. See the entire response to Aker BP and Vårenergi in the fact box below. The full response from Aker BP, VårEnergi and Uno-X This is what VårEnergi, AkerBP and Uno-X say. Jan Eirik Gjerdevik, communications consultant at VårEnergi. – First we have to see the big picture; Vår Energi supplies energy to millions of Europeans in a time of global unrest. Norwegian oil and gas production is absolutely decisive for energy security in Europe and will be part of the energy mix for several decades to come. We represent the country’s largest industry, and contribute to jobs and welfare. At the same time, we know that climate emissions must decrease and therefore we spend considerable resources on accelerating the green shift and reducing emissions. Vår Energi works for growth and long-term value creation, and is concerned with creating activities and opportunities – also in its role as a support player for Norwegian sports. Ole-Johan Faret, press officer at Aker BP: – Aker BP is a pure oil and gas company that manages oil and gas resources on the Norwegian continental shelf on behalf of Norwegian society and in line with the framework set by the governing authorities. We carry out this social mission with pride, at the same time as we take the global climate challenges very seriously. – Our strategy to meet the world’s increasing energy needs and at the same time contribute to reducing emissions is threefold: We will produce oil and gas with the lowest emissions, create income that can be used in connection with the energy transition and contribute to the building of a sustainable future. – We are proud of what we have achieved. According to renowned analysts, we are the oil company in the world that produces with the lowest CO₂ emissions per barrel produced, and we have both the ambition and concrete plans to reduce our own emissions to close to zero by 2050. At the same time, we are now the private company in Norway that pays the most tax – NOK 88 billion in 2022. This is a significant contribution to being able to finance the green shift. And a high level of activity and many development projects ensure full employment and increased technological competence among Norwegian supplier companies that will also deliver on renewable projects when they expect to increase in scope. – We are also proud of our sponsorships, and we wholeheartedly support the combined national team in their work both to perform at a high level and for female and male athletes to have equal opportunities to compete in the same international arenas. Jens Haugland, day-to-day manager of Uno-X Norway: – We are not a fossil fuel company, nor an oil company. We are a company that invests a clear majority of our resources in the mobility of the future. Our investments in lightning chargers and Svanemerka washrooms are leading in Norway and we are a very proud partner of the biathletes, where we have the opportunity to speak loudly in the public space about our energy transformation. The environmental movements also know that change takes time, and we are part of the solution. Finally, society still needs fuel to get around and Norway is more than our few big cities. We are also proud of that part of our critical social mission. – I have just come from a meeting with the organizer of the Tour de France in Paris, where they also give us great international recognition for how we connect the mobility message and our actual investments through both sport and business. Ola Keul in the Ski Association says that they will now stake out the course further. – In the Skiing Association, like all other actors, we must contribute to Norway and the world reaching the climate targets. We have not yet set our own goals, but we now have a good overview of the travel business and will expand the climate accounting to include other parts of our business. – We have to work with experts and players who let us understand even better what realistic goals we have set ourselves and how we can achieve them within the framework of a World Cup calendar that requires a lot of travel.
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