A greener Nykredit

At Nykredit, we expect to achieve the SBTi target through measures including replacing fossil sources district heating, transitioning from fossil-fuelled vehicles to electric vehicles, relocating to a new head office and implementing energy-efficiency improvements. In addition to Nykredit’s direct emissions, we are also working systematically to reduce energy consumption in our value chain and broader surroundings. This is being achieved through a range of initiatives:

• Energy consumption: Energy consumption is optimised through measures including Building Management Systems (BMA), which monitor and control heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems as well as lighting.
• PPA: From January 2023 and for a ten-year period, Nykredit, together with JN Data and five financial institutions participating in the Totalkredit partnership, has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) to purchase renewable electricity from a newly established solar farm in Western Jutland. This is new, additional renewable power that will cover the companies’ electricity consumption going forward.
• On-site electricity generation: We have installed solar panels at 16 of Nykredit’s regional and local banks, increasing our on-site electricity generation and thereby releasing surplus renewable electricity under our PPA to the grid.
• Commuting and transport: By providing electric-vehicle charging facilities at an increasing number of our regional and local banks, we enable both customers and employees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commuting and transport.

Nykredit aims to reduce the Group’s resource consumption by implementing circular principles such as reuse, upcycling, repair and resource-efficient technologies.

Examples include the use of reused desk frames combined with Danish-made tabletops manufactured from textile waste at our new locations. For many years, Nykredit has worked with the repair and reuse of computers. In 2023, we expanded the scheme to include IT equipment such as keyboards and mice.

In 2024, we moved into Nykredit Huset, a newly built head office in Nordhavn. The building achieved DGNB Gold certification for new buildings with a score of 73.3% and pre-certification to DGNB Gold for buildings in operation, which is unusual for new buildings. The building is cooled by the district cooling plant located next to the new head office. Among other measures, the plant will use seawater as a sustainable cooling method. However, our ambition extends beyond certification, as we know that efficient building operations can minimise our resource consumption and thereby reduce our carbon footprint. Solar panels have therefore been installed on the roof of our new head office.

Reuse and upcycling were core elements of the interior design of the new head office. Overall, 31% of the furniture from the three former locations was reused at the new head office, and it is estimated that 1,750 tonnes of CO2e emissions were avoided through reuse and upcycling compared with purchasing new items. Environmentally certified furniture, including FSC- and EU Ecolabel-certified products, accounts for 51% of the newly purchased furniture. In addition, a significant amount of furniture was sold and donated, meaning that only 7% of the furnishings from Nykredit’s former premises at Kalvebod Brygge were handled through conventional waste sorting and recycling.

Nykredit’s environmental management system is certified in accordance with ISO 14001:2015 and ensures a systematic approach to managing energy consumption, climate-related risks, waste and other environmental matters. This supports initiatives relating to procurement, operations and buildings with the aim of promoting a greener Nykredit.

Nykredit’s ISO 14001 certificate

Nykredit is also subject to mandatory energy audit requirements on the basis of which an energy-efficiency action plan is prepared. The energy audit action plan is available here: View the action plan.

Nykredit, Forenet Kredit and Østifterne launched Nyskovfonden in 2020 with the purpose of contributing to the afforestation of Denmark and thereby removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Trees absorb greenhouse gases, and by planting more trees we help reduce society’s climate footprint. Nyskovfonden provides financial support for afforestation projects, particularly for private landowners, parish councils and local water utilities throughout Denmark.

The forest must be registered as protected forest, ensuring that the land will remain forested permanently. More forest in Denmark also provides a range of other benefits, including recreational value, protection of water resources and the production of construction materials that store greenhouse gases over the long term.