Hydro Talks

We have a broad definition of diversity, embracing the differences among people, including gender, age, ethnicity, abilities, sexual orientation, affectional orientation and personality, as well as education, work experience, skills, language, geography, communication style, and belief.But there is much to diversity, says Kjersti Midthun Næss, People & Organizational Development Specialist in Hydro: “There's this famous quote, ‘Diversity is having a seat at the table. Inclusion is having a voice. Belonging is having that voice be heard.' Our target is to have all voices heard in Hydro – not only to create equal opportunities, but because different voices represent different perspectives – perspectives we depend on to meet our business challenges.” Næss is joined by Loveleen Brenna of Seema, an independent consultancy in Oslo providing guidance on diversity leadership, and Jan Helge Mårdalen, who is Head of Operations & Development in Hydro's Energy business in Norway. In this Hydro Talks podcast, they explore Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, what it means for employees – and not least, potential employees looking for an inclusive workplace – and for business.

Changing from fuel oil to liquified natural gas at our Aluorte alumina refinery in Brazil will cut hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions.In this Hydro Talks podcast to talk about the “Alunorte fuel switch project” is John Thuestad, Head of Hydro's Bauxite & Alumina business, and Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen, Head of Sustainability in Hydro.They describe how the switch not only will cut carbon emissions, it will also improve the environment for our workers and the local communities, as well as build out critical infrastructure that can be a foundation for industrial and economic growth in the region. 

October 10 is World Mental Health Day and conveys the message: It's okay not to be okay.  It is initiated by World Health Organization (WHO) and marked globally. The objective is to raise awareness of mental health issues and mobilize efforts in support of mental health.But why should an aluminium and energy company care about mental health? Listen to Head of Occupational Health in Hydro, Hilde Vatslid,  Head of Human Resources in Hydro's Energy business area Nina Thue and host Anders Vindegg discuss the importance of mental health in the workplace in this Hydro Talks podcast.“Mental health is essential for our overall well-being. When we as a company provide a healthy work environment, it benefits both our employees as individuals and the organization as a whole. When we feel mentally well, we are more productive and have increased resilience to handle , for instance, stress,” Hilde Vatslid says. Hydro wants to increase diversity in the company, and diversity is more than just gender and the color of our skin. It also captures the differences we cannot see. Mental health being one example. 

We need to move away from fossil fuels, and for the world to reach net zero emissions in 2050 we need renewable hydrogen. Hydro's new green hydrogen company will help drive the uptake of green hydrogen.Per Christian Eriksen is head of Hydro Hydrogen is joined on Hydro Talks by John Barry, who is Hydro Hydrogen's Head of Development.    “Hydrogen, just like electricity, can be made from purely renewable energy resources. And industries like cement, steel and aluminium can switch to using green hydrogen, based on renewable energy, without any adverse impact on their output,” says Eriksen.

When a company says it cares about human rights, how do you ensure that matches what's happening on the ground?Åsne Burgess Øyehaug, CSR manager in Hydro, and Kayla Winarsky Green of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, discuss “due diligence” in human rights, an increasing focus among companies, NGOs and the authorities.Due diligence has origins in the financial world. It means taking a close look at the details when entering into a deal. In the world of corporate social responsibility, it means confirming the reality of what's on paper with systems to identify human rights risks and taking proper action to remedy them.

Slowing climate change depends on companies and consumers choosing the right materials and the right products – and aluminium is part of the solution.Trond Olaf Christophersen, who is Head of Recycling in Hydro, discusses how the aluminium industry can make the right choices about using clean energy to produce greener aluminium, while making it easier for customers to know where and how the products they're buying were made and can be recycled.

In this special episode of Hydro Talks, we bring you highlights of a program from the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo and Hydro, part of the “Real Business” series, “Greenwashing or real Green?” The event gathered experts from climate organizations, certification entities, marketing professionals and legislators to discuss what governments, companies, and consumers can do to speed the green transition, while avoiding “greenwashing” – making claims that products and practices are better for the planet than they really are.Introducing the topic was Bjørn Haugland, CEO of SKIFT Business Climate Leaders, a Norwegian organization aiming to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and support the Norwegian government in delivering on its national climate commitments by 2030.Haugland spoke with, among others: Doreen Fedrigo of Climate Action Network Europe; Lin Jacobsen Hammer, Sustainability Manager with the classification and certification company DNV; and Hilde Kallevig, Head of Brand & Marketing in Hydro, which co-sponsors the Real Business series.To watch the entire program, you can view this video from the Nobel Peace Center.

Hydro has 6,000 employees in Brazil and a big role to play in the communities where we operate.With 16 million cases there and nearly 500,000 deaths, Brazil is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world.When the Covid-19 pandemic struck Brazil in the spring of 2020, Hydro launched a plan to help relieve the effects of the virus on our employees, their families and their neighbors. Those efforts continue to this day.Nina Schefte, Head of CSR (corporate social responsibility) in Hydro in Oslo, and Luana Carvalhosa in Belém, Brazil, who is responsible for social programs, discuss how these efforts were rolled out and how they have been received in our communities. 

Hilde Merete Aasheim is the first female CEO in Hydro’s history. She says, “We see diversity as important and necessary for the development of our company, and we need to do more to increase gender balance and diversity.”About 19% of Hydro’s 34,000 employees are women. Our ambition is to increase that to 25% in 2025. But how … with quotas, strong role models, determined leadership – all of the above?Hilde Vestheim Nordh, Executive Vice President for People & Safety in Hydro; Ingrid Guddal, Plant Manager of our primary aluminium plant in Karmøy, Norway; and Susanne Rothstein, Vice President of Finance, Hydro Building Systems, who is based in Toulouse, France, discuss the challenges and opportunities in fostering greater gender balance at work (and in the home).

UK-based Arksen is developing a fleet of aluminium ships for those with a passion for ocean conservation and sustainable choices in materials.Jim Mair, Technical Director with Arksen, joins Hilde Kallevig, Head of Brand & Marketing in Hydro, discuss the collaboration between the two companies to discover how aluminium can help the maritime industry be more sustainable.“The Arksen range was developed to answer a need for more yachts in the world to take part in ocean conservation,” Mair explains. “Our vessels are designed to go anywhere, however remote. More important, it’s for yacht owners who have an ambition of doing their bit for the environment by investing in a product that takes a more circular approach.”

How does a Norway-based company with 34,000 employees operating in 40 countries around the world meet social responsibility challenges and obligations? Nina Schefte, Head of Social Responsibility in Hydro, and Beate Ekeløv-Slydal, political advisor with Amnesty International Norway, recently sat down for a Hydro Talks podcast to discuss the dilemmas in doing business in different countries and cultures.“ESG – environment, social and governance – is an important, growing area for businesses like Hydro,” says Schefte. “We cannot succeed if the communities where we operate don’t succeed.

Sven Edgren, Head of Digital Assurance in DNV, joins Jørgen Hanson, CSR (corporate social responsibility) Manager in Hydro, to discuss the opportunities blockchain technology represents when it comes to instill trust in the claims and attributes of products. Customers and their customers want trusted information documenting the footprint from materials and production. A new pilot project with Hydro and DNV is exploring how this can be done.

Morten Halleraker, Head of the Batteries unit in Hydro, joins Hydro Talks host Halvor Molland to explore developments in batteries for electric vehicles – and not least, recycling them – as well as for other applications like ferries and energy storage.Norway is a hotspot for electrification these days, and Halleraker explains how Hydro is collaborating with Panasonic and the Norwegian energy company Equinor to explore the potential for a green battery business located in Norway, and with battery producer Northvolt on a vehicle battery recycling facility in Fredrikstad, Norway.“We are seeing a historic possibility to build an entirely new industry in Europe, and everyone wants a piece of it. It’s a sustainable industry. It is the future. And it’s happening right now,” Halleraker says.

Our expert in energy technology, John Barry, joins Hydro Talks host Craig Johnson to discuss how greener energy, decarbonization and recycling address the so-called megatrends of climate change, eMobility and the circular economy. Removing CO2 from energy and production, developing batteries for transportation and energy storage – and not least, recycling of aluminium – will be key to creating a low-carbon, circular economy, John says. And the good news: all these ideas aren’t in some far-off future. They are happening right now.

Norway-based Brim Explorer started from a passion for the ocean. While working in Arctic ocean tourism, Brim Explorer’s co-founders, Agnes Árnadóttir and Espen Larsen-Hakkebo, saw the challenges presented by polluting, noisy and poorly designed ships that lessened the guests’ experiences and harmed the environment.With an idea and dedicated partners, they set out to build a ship unlike any the world has seen. In March 2018, Agnes and Espen teamed up with designer Einar Hareide, the shipyard Maritime Partner and a team of daring suppliers to build a unique platform for ocean experiences.In this episode, host Halvor Molland is joined by Agnes and Espen from Brim and our own market manager Thomas B. Svendsen in Hydro’s Marine & Offshore business to talk about Brim's project and discuss the use of aluminium in marine applications.

Light-weighting has been a focus in automotive and sustainability, especially for reducing emissions from combustion engines. With the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid technologies, though, life-cycle assessments are gaining traction in order to establish the real carbon footprint of a vehicle. Going from combustion engines to hybrid and electrical vehicles changes the sustainability equation for the automotive industry. When emissions from the tailpipe are significantly reduced or eliminated, it means the true footprint in the automotive industry must be measured by other parameters.Lars André Moen, director of innovation in Hydro’s Primary Metal business area, discuss the true carbon footprint of cars with host Halvor Molland.

Are you building a new structure or renovating an existing building? Hear what experts Katharina Bramslev, general manager of Grønn Byggallianse (Norwegian Green Building Council), and Gøte Nordh from Hydro Building Systems have to say about trends, recycling, reuse, regulations and the EU Green Deal in this podcast on sustainability in construction.

Skal du bygge nytt eller renovere eksisterende bygg? Hør hva ekspertene Katharina Bramslev, daglig leder i Grønn Byggallianse og Gøte Nordh fra Hydro Building Systems har å si om bærekraftstrender, resirkulering, gjenbruk, reguleringer og EUs Green Deal i denne podcasten hvor vi diskuterer bærekraft i bygg.

This episode of Hydro Talks is an excerpt from a seminar at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo in September 2020, part of the ‘Real Business’ series hosted by Hydro and the Nobel Peace Center. Wind power on land is one of the largest areas of conflict in Norwegian politics and society today. Do we need land-based wind power as a source of renewable energy? The participants in the debate are Mikaela Vasstrøm from University in Agder, Andreas Sjalg Unneland from SV (Democratic Socialist Party), Dag Terje Solvang of The Norwegian Trekking Association and Arvid Moss, Executive Vice President for Hydro’s Energy business area and Corporate Development. The host of the debate is philosopher, author, and lecturer Henrik Syse. The debate is in Norwegian.A recording of the full seminar can be seen on YouTube.-------------------------------------Denne episoden av Hydro Talks er et utdrag fra seminaret «Krig, fred og vindkraft» på Nobels Fredssenter i Oslo i september 2020. Seminaret er en del av «Real Business» som arrangeres av Nobels Fredssenter og Hydro. Vindkraft på land er et av de største konfliktområdene i norsk politikk og samfunn i dag. Trenger vi landbasert vindkraft som kilde til fornybar energi?Deltakerne i debatten er Mikaela Vasstrøm fra Universitet i Agder, Andreas Sjalg Unneland fra SV, Dag Terje Solvang i Den Norske Turistforening og Arvid Moss, konserndirektør for Hydros forretningsområde Energi og Corporate Development. Debattleder er filosof, forfatter og foreleser Henrik Syse.Et opptak av hele seminaret kan sees på YouTube.

We see increased interest on sustainability in building and construction, but it is not easy to know what gives the lowest possible carbon footprint. To discuss aluminium as a material in construction, we have Erlend Spets from McKinsey and Executive Vice President for Extruded Solutions in Hydro Egil Hogna. Host is Halvor Molland. This episode of Hydro Talks is in Norwegian.

In this episode we discuss circular economy and the way to a low carbon future with the official Nordic ecolabel “The Swan” (Svanemerket). The podcast is recorded at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo as a part of Hydro and the Nobel Peace Center’s new series of seminars labelled “Real Business”. Guests are advisor Tormod Lien from Svanemerket and head of global brand & marketing in Hydro, Hilde Kallevig. Host: Halvor Molland. This episode of Hydro Talks is in Norwegian.

In this special episode of Hydro Talks, we share a talk from the podcast Aluminium on Air from Aluminium International Today. Host and editor Nadine Bloxsome is talking with Hydro’s head of brand & marketing Hilde Kallevig about greener aluminium. How can we as an industry drive and transform our production and products in a greener direction and by doing so reduce our carbon footprint and that of our customers?

This episode of Hydro Talks is a cyber-attack special. Rikard Bodforss and Robin von Post from the Swedish “Säkerhetspodcasten” (The Cyber Security Podcast) talks to Hydro’s Corporate Information Security Officer (CISO) Torstein Gimnes Are at the CS3 conference held in Stockholm about the cyber-attack on Hydro in March 2019. This special episode of Hydro Talks is in Norwegian/Swedish.

Can ‘green and sustainable’ go hand in hand with finance? What is sustainable finance and why is it getting increasingly important both for Hydro and business in general? Host Halvor Molland is joined by Hydro's CFO Pål Kildemo to dig into the topic.

In this episode we explore and discuss the people perspective of the Coronavirus outbreak. These are challenging times for our colleagues, their loved ones and our local communities. What is Hydro doing to create a safe work environment? Is it normal to be scared in such a situation and what can you do about it? Joining host Halvor Molland we have Hydro’s EVP for People & HSE Hilde V. Nordh, Head of HSE Brian Jones and Lead Business Partner for HR Nina Thue.

What is recycled aluminium and what makes recycling so important for the industry? There is a lot of talk about the importance of using recycled materials and that recycled materials are better than the alternative that is not recycled. Does recycled always indicate that it has a lower carbon footprint? In this episode we look at the advantages of recycling with Head of Hydro’s Technology Office Hans Erik Vatne and Head of Brand & Marketing Hilde Kallevig. Host: Halvor Molland.

How is the Coronavirus affecting global industry companies? In this episode, Hydro’s Head of HSE Brian Jones and Hydro’s Head of emergency preparedness Nick May discuss the measures taken by the company. Host: Halvor Molland.

What is the Green Deal? In this episode we explore how the EU’s new ambitious climate strategy, promoting green growth and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, will affect industry. Guests: Hydro’s Head of EU affairs Rønnaug Sægrov Mysterud and Head of Sustainability Bjørn Kjetil Mauritzen. Host: Halvor Molland.