Snøhetta
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Sustainability and Responsibility

Our Common Future

Since our founding in the late 1980s, Snøhetta has been guided by a deep commitment to environmental and cultural sensitivity. Inspired by the Brundtland Commission’s landmark report Our Common Future from 1987, we have consistently promoted design as a positive force for change.

Today, Snøhetta integrates sustainability across all aspects of our work—architecture, landscape, interior, product, and brand and experience design—focusing on three core pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and governance.

1 Environmental Sustainability

Snøhetta recognizes the building industry’s significant environmental footprint and takes responsibility for minimizing its impact through thoughtful design choices. Our approach includes:

Designing net-zero aligned buildings and landscapes that incorporate renewable energy, passive design strategies, and climate-resilient features such as flood resistance and heat mitigation.

Read more in our sustainability report (chapter 2) 

Project examples: 

Powerhouse Brattørkaia - The northernmost energy-positive building
Vertikal Nydalen - Norway’s first naturally climatized mixed-use building
Asak Flyt - Permeable concrete paver system

Emphasizing regenerative design and architecture to restore natural habitats and avoid biodiversity loss. We aim to prioritize reuse of existing sites, using certified and local materials, and integrating biodiversity-enhancing features.

Read more in our sustainability report (chapter 2) 

Project examples:

Čoarvemátta - Shared Sámi Theater, High School and Reindeer Herding School
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library - A journey through conservation
The Orchard - Cultural landscape and public park

Also, read more about our approach in our article about landscape architecture.

We aim to designing for longevity, adaptability, and reuse to reduce raw material consumption and waste

Read more in our sustainability report (chapter 2)

Project examples:

Powerhouse Kjørbo - Making old buildings energy-positive
S-1500 - Chair made with 100 % recycled fish-farming plastic
Forite - From electronic waste to glass tiles

2 Social Sustainability

Our social impact extends from our own workforce to local communities and global value chains. Our human-centered design philosophy promotes inclusivity, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity.  

We aim to design spaces that foster well-being, cultural expression, and community engagement through universal design, access to art and education, and strengthening cultural heritage and dialogue with First Nations and local communities.

Read more in the sustainability report (chapter 3)

Project examples: 
Bibliotheca Alexandrina - A library for the public
Norwegian National Ballet and Opera - Giving waterfront back to the people
Lascaux IV - An immersive educational experience of prehistoric cave paintings

We aim to conduct due diligence in line with OECD guidelines to work to uphold human and labor rights, with an emphazis on health and safety, fair wages, labor exploitation, and social dumping.

Read more in the sustainability report (chapter 

We aim to create an equitable and supportive work environment across eight global studios, including almost 300 employees from 40 nations with a strong focus on diversity, inclusion, and employee well-being.

Read more in the sustainability report (chapter 3

3 Governance

Snøhetta is committed to ethical business practices, transparency, and integrity in all operations.

Our main goals are upholding anti-corruption and anti-bribery standards, and fostering a corporate culture of fairness and accountability. Our implemented policies include Code of Conduct, Third Party Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and HSE Policy.

4 Sustainability Reporting

While Snøhetta is not yet subject to mandatory reporting under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), we have chosen to report voluntarily for 2024. By aligning our disclosures with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) framework, we aim to build readiness, foster transparency, and hold ourselves accountable.

Read more in our sustainability report (chapter 4) 

5 Sustainability Processes

We use many tools and methods to lead sustainability efforts towards net-zero impact and a regenerative designs.

Read more about them in the article below.

A selection of projects within environmental sustainability