Lise Kingo
 | “To any global business, being prepared for a carbon-constrained world is an act of due diligence. An early and decisive response to the climate change challenge is an act of leadership. Combining the two is sound business.” |
Executive Vice President, Novo Nordisk
For almost two decades Lise Kingo has been leading Novo Nordisk's approach to sustainable development, which is today anchored at its core objectives as the Triple Bottom Line business principle. She has been with Novo Nordisk since 1998.
Lise Kingo, born in 1961, had a BA in Religions and a BA in Ancient Greek Art from the University of Aarhus, from 1986, a BComm in Marketing Economics from the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, from 1991, and an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice from the University of Bath, UK, from 2000. She is Associate Professor at the Medical Faculty, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Novo Nordisk is a focused healthcare compamy and is a world leader in diabetes care. With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk's business has global reach; the company has more than 26,000 people in 80 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries. Over the years. Novo Nordisk has earned international recognition as a sustainability-driven business leader and ranks as the supersector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
As a global healthcare company that relies on energy-intensive production, Novo Nordisk recognises that preparing for a low-carbon future is critical risk mitigation as well as an act of corporate responsibility for a sustainable future. The company has made a commitment to pursue its business objectives in a way that is financially, environmentally and socially responsible.
Novo Nordisk has set an ambitious target to reduce its CO2 emissions by 10% by 2014 compares with 2004 emission levels. In this period the business is projected to grow significantly, and the target therefore represents a reduction far greater than the 10% absolute reduction. To succeed, it will be necessary to decouple production needs from energy consumption. The target was set in conjunction with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and qualified Novo Nordisk to become a member of the Climate Savers network of global leaders.
The three levers in Novo Nordisk's climate strategy are optimisation through Novo Nordisk's LEAN manufacturing programme - cLEAN® - energy savings in production and conversion to renewable energy. Offsets or carbon trading are not part of the strategy.
A partnership agreement with the Danish energy company DONG Energy will help Novo Nordisk realise its CO2 reduction target in a cost-neutral way. Under the partnership Novo Nordisk pledges until 2020 to convert all energy savings realised at its Danish production sites into the purchase of green electricity for these sites. The energy will be supplied from the new wind farm that DONG Energy is establishing at Horns rev in Danish coastal waters.
Novo Nordisk also engages in a range of advocacy initiatives, such as the Copenhagen Climate Council, to call for the regulatory frameworks and international agreements that will respond to the challenge.
