Lars Aasulv Løddesøl: Building Storebrand Into a Sustainable Pillar in Society

As a key player in the Nordic market for long-term savings and insurance, Storebrand has consistently pushed the narrative of sustainability for financial organizations. With leadership that is acutely aware of environmental, social, and economic aspects in decision-making, Storebrand aims to achieve business growth while contributing to saving the planet.

We sat down with the Group CFO, Lars Aa. Løddesøl to talk about Storebrand’s journey towards sustainability, the challenges they faced, roles of CFOs, and commitment for companies.

 

 

Driving Towards The Path of Sustainability

 

Storebrand’s journey towards sustainable investment began more than 25 years ago with some leading investment pioneers who wanted to invest in a new field that should end up being very interesting for their customers and the company.

More importantly, Løddesøl iterated the fact that investing in sustainability was “the right thing to do” for any organization, more so for Storebrand as a life- and pensions company where their investments go beyond the next quarter or the next year, but rather 40 to 50 years ahead.

“We want to invest in the future, both for a better world and for a better return,” notes Løddesøl. This vision for sustainability has attracted many of its current employees who believe and share in the same purpose for creating a better future.

As a purpose-driven organization, Storebrand prominently communicates its driving force to “help create a future worth looking forward to”. Løddesøl points out that the company, at its core, pushes the vision of “delivering financial security and freedom by being a courageous pioneer and by leading the way in sustainable investments”.

Løddesøl believes that this helps motivate their employees and the organization as a whole to be leaders in sustainable investments and to become founding members of sustainable-focused groups such as Principles For Responsible Investment and Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance.

 

Taking a Leap in Sustainability and Facing The Challenges

 

With strong management support since 1995, there was a senior commitment in Storebrand to develop a position as a leading company in sustainable investments on a global level.

As such, the leap towards sustainability for Storebrand was not an arduous jump as the culture was ingrained early on within the company’s DNA.

Add to the fact that a number of board members have strong sustainability competencies requiring Storebrand to be operating in an environmentally conscious manner, the motivation was there on both sides to be sustainable on all levels.

Transitioning into a green company, however, does come with its challenges. One of the early challenges that Løddesøl recalls is the criticism and skepticism on whether sustainable investments would give competitive financial returns. As time has passed and data has improved, it is now little doubt that sustainable investments give better risk-adjusted returns.

A more recent challenge for Storebrand is to differentiate themselves from “greenwashing” in the competitive market. To overcome this, Løddesøl points out the importance of using and capturing data on sustainability to be able to objectively and transparently report on objectives and progress in sustainable investments.

   

Adding “Value” To The Role of CFO In Sustainability

 

The role of the CFO has always been to ensure stable financial growth in a company, but for Løddesøl, the term chief financial officer doesn’t accurately reflect the roles he takes in a sustainable-focused business.

Løddesøl believes a more accurate term of CVO (Chief Value Officer) would better represent the role as “values are broader than the short-term financials but is also part of the financials.”

In terms of defining the focus of CVOs, Løddesøl explains that hitting the triple bottom line of profit (financials), people (employee and customers), and the planet (environment and climate) should always be the main factors in making business decisions.

Nevertheless, the role of CFOs as guardians and guarantors of a company’s financials still remains important for Løddesøl.

“As a CFO, I have an important role of having dialogues with regulators, financial markets, investors, and many other stakeholders, to communicate why sustainability is good for shareholders, customers, society at large and the world.”

 

Competitive Edge in Sustainability and Zero-Sum Game

 

In a competitive market such as the financial industry, staying ahead of the competition requires great planning and a clear vision.

For Løddesøl and Storebrand as an organization, maintaining the competitive edge with sustainability comes from “purpose-driven employees, excess returns, and as part of our contract with society, our mission as a company in society.”

“Companies can no longer survive in the long term just by bringing in the extra dollars the next quarter,” notes Løddesøl. “It is now a requirement to take a responsible role in the market and contribute to society, which in turn will bring financial values.”

While Løddesøl believes that companies should be adopting sustainable efforts to ensure long-term financial returns, he also points out how sustainability is not a zero-sum game.

“In order to save the world from the climate crisis, we need to do the right thing ourselves and also motivate and engage with others to do the right thing.”

Being a relatively small Norwegian company in a global context, Løddesøl is aware that Storebrand can’t save the world alone. However, he hopes that Storebrand’s contributions can push other companies to commit to sustainable efforts and contribute to making the necessary action to make the green shift before it is too late.