Followed the heart

Multiconsult has a strong professional community within environmental mapping and impact assessments.
– Some assessors are specialists in their fields, while some, like me, are generalists. My role is to keep the interdisciplinary overview, he says.
A typical assignment for Gunnar is to be a project manager in interdisciplinary projects in the early phase of impact assessments.
– I am currently involved in projects for onshore power to a number of oil fields for Equinor. I also work a lot with urban development, for example now as a project manager in the framework agreement for the urban development area Skøyen, for the Urban Environment Agency in the municipality of Oslo. I contribute at various levels of detail, but the primary role is in the early phase, he says.

Getting involved in project development early has both advantages and disadvantages.
– The advantage is that I get to help develop good solutions, while the disadvantage is that I sometimes work on projects that never come to fruition because the assessment concludes that it will be too expensive, or that it was not a good idea after all. It is also important knowledge, he emphasizes.

Strong professional environments

As a nature manager, Gunnar often has the role of trying to optimize for the fewest possible interventions in nature.
– For example, I can ask critical questions to customers and others about the necessity of various interventions. Sometimes things can be done in a slightly different way that preserves nature to a greater extent. We work every day to become better at reducing climate emissions and land use in projects, he says.

Gunnar has been involved in developing the software MultiZero, which is a management tool where Multiconsult and the industry can easily present consequences for biodiversity in development projects.
– With MultiZero, we can make automatic calculations and quickly get answers to how much nature various measures will seize, and how we can optimize it, he says.

The focus on environmental management is becoming increasingly stronger in Multiconsult.
– I recently held an internal professional lunch where trends for land use plans and studies were the topic. The trend shift towards saving land by using what we have has been very clear in recent years. Multiconsult has strong professional communities in nature and climate, and has ambitions to be at the forefront of the field, he says.

Enriching everyday life

Gunnar led, among other things, the preliminary project for Ring 1 in Oslo, which is being rebuilt to meet safety requirements in the new government quarter.
– Multiconsult was a key piece in the team responsible for the study and zoning plan for the government quarter for many years. The Ring 1 part may be a heavy technical task to lead for a nature manager, but fortunately my role primarily involves leading a very competent team, he says.

One of the best things about working at Multiconsult is that there is always a colleague to ask if you are wondering about something, says Gunnar.
– I am curious by nature and like to get to know what others are doing. As a project manager in interdisciplinary projects, I gain insight into other subjects, and it allows me to understand more of the whole. It is a lot of fun, and it enriches everyday life to constantly learn from the best people, he says.
Sometimes it can be healthy to get an outside perspective on projects.
– As a project manager, I quickly get involved in solution development, and I like to participate in professional discussions at the intersection of professional knowledge and good solutions, he says.

The heart won

Gunnar grew up in Florø, and became politically active at an early age.
– I was county leader of the Norwegian Labour Union for a few years, and also sat on the municipal council. The background was my strong commitment to the environment. I have always loved hunting and outdoor activities, and my interest in science probably stems from there. I was very doubtful when I had to choose an education – I was between computer technology at NTNU and nature management at what was then called the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Ås, he says.
Gunnar was accepted to both studies, but in the end he went to the nature management study in Ås.
– Common sense would have chosen to focus on data, but his heart won out. I have never regretted that, he says.
Gunnar's main thesis was about the competition between red deer and fallow deer in terms of activity patterns and habitat use.
– The education was very interdisciplinary, so unlike many of my colleagues, who have expertise in one specific field, I know a little about a lot, he says.

New challenges

After completing his education, Gunnar got a job at the consulting company Fjellanger Widerøe Plan, where he worked on impact assessments of planning matters, especially within road projects.
– I then worked for five years at the Norwegian Environment Agency with a focus on noise and air pollution. After I had completed an exciting project there, I was ready for new challenges, and the temptation of a slightly larger consulting environment with good interdisciplinary expertise was tempting. That led me to Multiconsult in 2006, he says.
Gunnar works at Multiconsult's head office in Oslo, and lives at the edge of the forest in Bøler. After the three children moved away from home, Gunnar and his wife have had more free time – also because many years as a coach and team manager in Bøler football then came to a natural end.
– Just under a year ago we got a new dog, a giant schnauzer puppy, and have spent a lot of time walking and training with it for the past six months. We use Østmarka a lot and also have a cabin in the mountains in Telemark. In addition, every year I try to go deer hunting in my home region, and some skiing in the high mountains, he says.