“Vestre’s commitment to becoming the world’s most sustainable furniture brand led us to seek Hydro and their CIRCAL, the 75% post-consumer scrap range” Øyvind Bjørnstad, Chief Sustainability Officer, Vestre

Coming from a finance & strategy background, Øyvind has been the chief architect behind Vestre’s corporate strategy, which has put sustainability front and centre, aiming to become the world’s most sustainable furniture company. After almost seven years in the company, he has acquired detailed knowledge of all aspects of the business, from raw material to production and the use phase to the end-of-life and re-uses potential that’s becoming increasingly important.

AlCircle: Could you share Vestre’s journey to the world of aluminium furniture? What exactly inspired Vestre to make furniture with low-carbon aluminium?

Mr Øyvind Bjørnstad: Most of Vestre’s furniture today is steel, but we have some ranges that are based on aluminium. A big reason is its comparatively lower energy percentage to re-melt and recycle aluminium, although it has a higher initial footprint. The opportunities within recycled material are currently much higher with aluminium, as it doesn’t require hot-dip galvanisation, which again requires a very specific alloy that is hard to replicate with post-consumer steel scrap. Vestre’s commitment to becoming the world’s most sustainable furniture brand led us to seek Hydro and their CIRCAL, the 75% post-consumer scrap range.