It just works at Bravida head office
When we were planning the renewal of our offices it was important to prioritize sustainability and we wanted good quality meeting room equipment with longevity.
For more than 100 years Bravida has brought life to buildings through installation of electricity, heating and cooling, water, ventilation, and security. In the 21st century they are a voice of sustainability, striving to be a role model for the entire industry. Their newly renovated offices reflect this stance, all the way down to the choices they make in their meeting rooms.
Their head office is in a WELL-certified building and the office is energy class A.
"When we were planning the renewal of our offices it was important to prioritize sustainability and we wanted good quality meeting room equipment with longevity. We also wanted to be aware of the lifecycle perspective and circularity. Our priority was to utilize products that could be re-purposed and recycled after it had outlived its usefulness with us," says Karin Wasskog.
Karin Wasskog has worked at Bravida for more than eight years and has been responsible for their environment and sustainability efforts for four of those years. She is passionate about building a business rooted in the Sustainability Development Goals (SDG).
"We live in an unfair world, and it is important for us to do what we can to make it more sustainable. Sustainability covers human rights and HSE in the workplace. We can indirectly influence the way people live by choosing the right suppliers. However, the biggest change must happen with the climate and for the environment. With this perspective technology is important in the bigger picture of things," says Wasskog.
"Social responsibility is an important dimension of sustainable development. We are following the requirements according to The United Nations (UN) Global Compact, OECD guidelines and the transparency act. Responsible business conduct will also cover human rights, labor rights and work environment. Indirectly we can influence the way people live all over the world by choosing the right suppliers. However, the biggest transformation will be within climate change.
"From this perspective technology is important in the bigger picture of things. We need to be aware of how we utilize technology that will decrease carbon footprint and the environment," says Wasskog.
"Digital meetings and hybrid office spaces are not new, but it is an important investment to reduce our carbon footprint. It also adds to the effectiveness of our employees and limits the time spent travelling to and from a meeting. They can quickly get in and out of meetings and can plan their days better, says Wasskog.
Bravida's long term goal is to be climate neutral throughout their entire value chain by 2045, and they want to help their clients reach the same goal.
A shared platform and a user-friendly interface were key words when Bravida planned to upgrade their entire meeting room set up. They wanted something that just worked.
"When we decided to invest in brand new equipment and solutions, we wanted it to be easy to use and not differ from room to room," says Espen Vangstein, head of IT implementation and onboarding at Bravida.
"Kinly introduced us to Cisco Circular Economy and Lifecycle Pay and the concept supported our sustainability goals while still being flexible. We have signed a five-year lease with the option to prolong the lease at the end of the term. When we are ready to move on, we know that Cisco will be able to re-purpose the products, or components. It is important to us to be part of the solution," says Vangstein.
Through Cisco Lifecycle Pay, Bravida is leasing top quality videoconferencing solutions from Cisco with the option of prolonging the lease at the end of their term. The solution supports the use of Cisco’s sustainable technologies and was introduced as a way of helping customers meet their sustainability goals. At the end of term, the products are recovered by Cisco free of charge.
"We have a zero-emission goal by 2040 in Cisco, in order to realize this goal, we had to focus on circular economy and reuse. We announced in Davos 2018 that we would work towards collecting all outdated equipment, and Cisco Lifecycle Pay is the result of this effort, we needed to create a commercial model that would make it profitable for customers to be sustainable," says Andreas Løken, business development manager at Cisco.
"Bravida share our sustainability values and the goal of zero-emission, in addition they also have an influential position in the Nordic market. We know that more than one third of the Nordic carbon exhaust comes from building sites and housing. Bravida’s position in the Nordic market leaves them with a lot of influence to make changes for the better," says Løken.
"We are doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprint internally, at the same time we want to do what we can to help our clients become more sustainable. Before signing new clients, we make sure they have made a commitment to be more sustainable," says Wasskog.
Bravida is one of the first Nordic companies to embrace Cisco Lifecycle Pay, a new and flexible way of leasing products, and ensuring a circular economy on hardware assets as part of Cisco repurpose programs.
From their offices Bravida has a panoramic view of the east of Oslo, all the way to the fjord. Their offices feel open and calm with green walls, dark furniture and lighting designed and installed by Bravida themselves.
"I believe it is important for a company to be specific in what they do about sustainability and do it well. We have mandatory e-learnings in ethics and sustainability, and we want to be market leading in these areas. In addition, we are continuously working to improve the reporting of key numbers to measure our impact, to be transparent in our climate and environment impact," says Wasskog.
Bravida is the first Nordic company to embrace Cisco Lifecycle Pay, a new and flexible way of leasing products.
As with the rest of the world, Bravida got used to videoconferences and collaboration through individual computer screens during the pandemic. Back in the office they are looking to have the same personal experience by installing Cisco solutions with camera technology that will focus on the person talking in the meeting.
"It looks professional, and the meeting experience is both smooth and flexible whether you attend the meeting in person or log on remotely. We did invest in training for employees but found that the solutions were so intuitive that we didn’t need a lot of training. Each room does have a user manual readily available through and we find that the employees learn from each other," says Vangstein.
"We look at our new meeting rooms and solutions as a part of creating and strengthening our brand. Our business is great technology and sustainable solutions. With Cisco Lifecycle Pay we are proud to be a part of the solution, while also having technology that we can rely on – it just works, and it works well," says Vangstein.
"Previously we would rather go to our clients for meetings, now we are proud to have our clients come to us," says Wasskog.
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