The future doesn't just occur. Rather, it's created. By someone. We intend for that someone to be us, preferably among others. That's why we've set a goal to develop, invest in, and establish 10 companies with reparative, restorative, or regenerative principles at the core of their operations, contributing to a better world.

We've embarked on five such journeys so far.

ÆRA

Established: 2015

ÆRA is the first of these 10 companies. Over eight years, we have grown as an innovative partner for people, businesses and organizations with their minds set on sustainable transition.

ÆRA is our cornerstone, where we gather insights, experiences, and the knowledge necessary to achieve our mission with clients: to unlock the next era of business, where growth is achieved within planetary boundaries.

To do so, we work across sectors, industries, fields, and value chains. We engage in numerous experiments and explore various solutions. We are yes people.

What we do at ÆRA turns into significant resources for our next nine investments. Through our own projects and Floke, we possess a multitude of sustainable business ideas and models, as well as a network of people who are eager to bring them to life. Those we strongly believe in, we choose to co-found or invest in ourselves.

So far, we have completed four investments out of the 10 we've set as our goal, and developed but later divested in a fifth. Continue reading to get to know them.

Parkdressen

Established: 2018

Parkdressen is the second company we’ve co-founded subsequent to ÆRA, in partnership with Henrik Hojem.

Designed as a digital service for toddler parents, Parkdressen offers subscription-based rental of outdoor suits for the little ones – an inevitable piece of clothing allowing Scandinavian children to play outside year-round. Renting rather than buying these suits proves very practical to parents whose kids tend to grow out of a piece of clothing after just one season.

The suits are by Parkdressen’s own design, tailored for long-term use throughout many use cycles by different families. The suits are also designed for repair, and can ultimately be recycled into renewed materials.

For 129 kroner per month toddlers are dressed in durable outdoor clothing with unlimited repair and free upsizing. Moreover: Parkdressen provides our children with an early introduction to sustainable habits and circular solutions.

På(fyll)

Established: 2019

På(fyll) is the third company we’ve co-founded, this one in collaboration with Orkla Home & Personal Care and Bakken & Bæck.

It’s a circular service aiming to reduce plastic waste associated with most household products today, by offering a low-threshold, high quantum, easy to return refill-solution for grocery staples such as dish washer soap and laundry detergent.

På(fyll) delivers these everyday products to your door in reusable containers, meant to subsequently fill up your smaller, reusable dispensers of choice. When the large På(fyll) containers are emptied, they’re picked up at your door for a refill, while a new one is ordered through the app.

Each container is 100% reusable at least ten times before being recycled by the manufacturer. This is an example of Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP ).

By choosing På(fyll) over products within the same category using single-use packaging, consumers reduce carbon emissions by a whopping 65-80%, and environmental impact by at least 80%.

Equally important is På(fyll) aim to raise awareness among consumers about their overall usage and disposal behavior, demonstrating that a zero-waste lifestyle is not just possible, but increasingly attainable.

Ærli

Established: 2020

Ærli is the fourth company we've co-founded, this one in collaboration with KPLP and Leif Øverland.

While much was at a standstill during the pandemic, we saw an opportunity to venture into a more sustainable tourism sector. Originating from an idea born during our sixth Floke-season on how to use and protect nature, Ærli offers nature-centric group travels of high quality, aimed at inspiring us to live and work on the planet's terms.

Trips are organized upon request from groups, such as companies looking for a way to kick off the new year or gather their management group for an inspiring seminar. Currently available destinations are nine hand-picked, entrepreneurial driven places, ranging from an arctic hideaway to the famous Juvet Landscape hotel.

Customized arrangements througout the trip are based on the travelers' needs, typically ensuring learning experiences throughout their stay, and often facilitated by ÆRA’s advisors.

In other words: Ærli serves as a warranty for unique experiences, including learning experiences in their most natural surroundings – literally.

Levd

Established: 2021

Levd is the fifth company whose service we developed, but now owned and run by Røde Kors Sirkulært after a successful pilot.

Levd is a platform for donation and purchase of children's clothing secondhand.

Most children go through as many as 12 clothing sizes during the ages 0-6 years. This, traditionally speaking, results in high consumption and subsequently a large environmental footprint – granted parents purchase brand new clothes through retailers.

Levd's ambition is to make second-hand shopping for kids as convenient as the online retail-shopping alternative. To do so, they provide a door-to-door pick-up solution for the donation of kids’ clothes and accessories sized 0-12 years. Items are then sorted at Levd’s facilities, quality checked, washed and minor repairs done if needed, before being published on Levd’s website for sale.

Upon purchase, items are quickly shipped out, preferably with a transportation service committed to minimizing their carbon footprint, such as Porterbuddy.

Levd is, in its purest form, a tribute to all the clothes whose lives have only just begun.

Building a Startup We Should Look At?

We continue to develop our investment portfolio, searching for untapped business potential aligned with our mission to unlock the next era of business, where growth is achieved within planetary boundaries.

So, are you an entrepreneur representing a startup that you believe we should take a closer look at?