This dovetails with SFT’s internal environmental indicators for 2003, which have been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment.

Environmentally conscious
- Our employees are certainly a bit above-average in terms of their interest in the environment, so at any rate the task is not one of kindling the desire, says Director Ulf Andersen of SFT’s Department of Administration and Information.

Low energy consumption
At SFT’s head office in Oslo, energy consumption was reduced from 195 kWh per square metre in 1998 to 149 kWh in 2003. This is well under the average for the state-owned Entra Eiendom complex of buildings, which stood at 199 kWh in 2002.

- Improvements to the facade have contributed to low energy consumption at SFT's head office in Oslo, while at the same time we have also been eliminating draughts and water leakages, says Andersen.

Throwing away less waste
The quantity of waste per SFT employee increased from 2001 to 2002, probably due to internal relocations. In consequence there was however less to dispose of in 2003, and on the average over the past two years every employee has thrown away nearly 30 kilos less waste than in 2001. More efficient archiving and data management systems have also been a factor by reducing the need for paper copies.

Driving less on business
Four years ago an average SFT employee drove nearly 700 kilometres per year in connection with inspection activities and other business trips. During 2003 the use of automobiles for business purposes was nearly cut in half – down to 368 kilometres per full-time employee.

Part of the reduction was due to the preparedness function based in Horten for responding to acute pollution situations having been transferred from SFT to the Norwegian National Coastal Administration as of 1 January 2003. The reorganisation of the SFT’s mandates, with the counties now playing a more substantial role, has also contributed to the reduction.

Bicycling and walking to work
With respect to travel to and from the workplace, the trend appears to be that an increasing number of SFT employees are choosing an environmentally friendly alternative.

- The results from the walking and bicycling campaigns in 2003 show that more people are making use of their legs, says Andersen.

In 2003 around 20 percent of the trips to and from the workplace during the term of the campaign involved employees walking or bicycling to work. This is an increase of nearly 5 % over the prior year. The remainder is divided between mass transit and passenger cars. A previous study has shown that the use of automobiles is quite clearly lower for SFT than for other comparable employers in the area.

Contact person at SFT for inquiries:

• Director Ulf Andersen, Department of Administration and Information
  Phone: (+47) 22 57 36 57, E-mail: ulf.andersen@sft.no