Peter Kjaer Jensen is the Chairman of Green Energy Group. He is the former CEO of PostNord Denmark, Vice CEO of PostNord Group, and was Chief Transformation Officer and COO with A.P. Moller – Maersk. He also serves as Chairman of Eboks and World Tour CPH P/S.
Peter Kjaer Jensen knows a thing or two about transformation. As CEO of Post Danmark, he turned the company around from an annual loss of DKK 1 billion+ to a positive result. As vice CEO of PostNord Group, Kjaer helped transform the group from a traditional, state-owned mail company to a logistics company encompassing parcels, road transport and 3PL solutions.
Today, in one of his roles – as Chairman of Green Energy Group – Kjaer is turning his attention to transforming the renewable energy sector and helping to grow Green Energy from a startup to an industry leader in distributed PV (photovoltaics), which uses on-site solar panels, like on vehicles and rooftops, to generate power locally and reduce grid dependency.
“Transformation is not one big single event. It is the strategic combination of multiple, constant, small changes, towards a strategic objective, that over time transforms a company, an industry, the world. This is how we achieved the successful transformation at PostNord; this is how we will change the transport industry; and this is where I see Green Energy being a part of the larger renewable energy transformation. Green Energy has one of the solutions that will help get us to decarbonisation faster. A solar solution that offers incremental change with less complexity and rapid financial benefits.”
Kjaer also led PostNord in becoming the industry’s reference point in decarbonisation and is familiar with the opportunities and challenges this presents for the transportation and logistics sector. He believes Green Energy’s non-crystalline, thin-film CIGS solar technology provides a quick win for a low margin industry, in improving operational costs and moving the needle on emissions reductions.
“At PostNord, we optimized our capacity utilization, using biofuels, investing in fuel-efficient vehicles and increasing the use of electric vehicles for distribution. There are many great initiatives out there that may be the right choice from purely a sustainability angle, but the drawback is you need to invest vast amounts for an unclear or negative financial ROI. Green Energy Group’s customer promise is different – while it can’t solve everything, it supports businesses in taking action – with a decarbonisation solution that can be implemented today, where the investment is negligible, positive environmental impact is immediate, and the adoption is scalable.”
So what is Green Energy’s solution for transport and how is it different from traditional crystalline solar panels?
“At just 3 mm thick and highly flexible, Green Energy’s solar panel solution is designed to meet the demands of the transport sector. It powers on-board cooling, lighting, and electronics, while reducing the need for idling, lowering fuel consumption, enhancing efficiency, cutting CO2 emissions, and reducing operating costs.”
When Kjaer was approached to become Chairman of Green Energy, he was so impressed by the company and its products, that he also became an investor. Aside from wanting to work with CEO Martin Thaysen again (they previously worked together at A.P. Moller – Maersk), Kjaer was really inspired by Green Energy’s simple value proposition.
“Businesses are heavily focused on reducing Scope 3 emissions, but it’s notoriously difficult to balance the economics of emissions reductions, especially in heavy transportation and logistics, which operate on slim margins. Here’s an initiative that delivers 5% cost savings with payback in 12-18 months, reduces fuel consumption and can cut Scope 3 emissions. That’s the type of simple value proposition I understand – where improved financial results and a positive sustainability impact are in a symbiotic relationship. And that’s the solution Green Energy has – right now. It can give companies something significant now, not in 5- or 10-years’ time.”
Kjaer speaks passionately about the need to act on climate change but is candid about his belief that it won’t be governments leading the charge, it will be business leaders driving it.
“It’s up to us as business leaders to have the courage to take action. It’s our responsibility. Companies need attractive decarbonisation solutions that help make their operations more sustainable, resilient and cost-effective, because ultimately it is a business decision.”
