The vision of NORSUS Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research (formerly Ostfold Research) is to provide knowledge for sustainable societal development. We apply and develop knowledge and methods to understand and implement sustainable solutions in society. Together with a wide range of public and private clients, we undertake projects locally, nationally and internationally to enhance environmental performance, often also generating economic benefits.

For more than 30 years (and long before the term was widely known) we have worked with the circular economy. We are passionate about better use of resources, from the product to the societal level. We therefore work with environmental and resource efficiency through a life cycle approach (LCA). We are among Europe’s leading research communities in LCA.

Alongside our focus on environmental research, we also address the social and economic pillars of sustainability. We work with many of Norway’s most innovative and future-oriented enterprises in a number of areas (see research areas). We develop new methods that match the needs of our project partners. The work has given us substantial knowledge and understanding of industrial sectors and service areas.

NORSUS is a private not-for-profit research institute, receiving basic funding from the Research Council of Norway. We started as Stiftelsen Østfoldforskning (Ostfold Research Foundation) in 1988 and restructured in 2006 as a limited company.

See our organisational chart here. 

We are located on the premises of Ostfold University College in Fredrikstad, in the south-east of Norway, and have a project office in Oslo. You can find the Fredrikstad office here. 

Vi har også et prosjektkontor i Oslo i Høyskolen i Kristianias lokaler i Kirkegaten 17. 

We have environmental certification as a Miljøfyrtårn.