News and insights News Changing energy behaviour: Tom Lindberg is stepping down as CEO of Ecohz

Changing energy behaviour: Tom Lindberg is stepping down as CEO of Ecohz

After 17 years with Tom at the helm, the company is starting a new chapter.

Written by Alex Ruelas
Last modified 29 April 2026
Published on 23 April 2026
Written by Alex Ruelas
Last modified 29 April 2026
Published on 23 April 2026

Tom Lindberg is leaving his role as CEO of Ecohz. After more than 17 years, he is handing over leadership of a company that, since 2008, has grown from four to more than 30 employees, transacted 752 TWh of renewable energy, generated 6.5 billion NOK in revenue, and maintained a retention rate of 90% among its top clients. For Ecohz, his departure marks the start of a new chapter.

The following conversation offers a brief look at his time at the company — what his hopes were when he started in this business and what Ecohz has become. What’s next for Tom? You’ll have to ask him directly. For now, let him tell us about his work, the things he is proud of, and how Ecohz has carved out its niche in the industry while helping companies around the world choose renewable energy.

You started working at Ecohz more than 17 years ago. How much of the vision you had for the company has materialised?

I’ll be honest, when I started there wasn’t a clear vision. Back then, the GO market was new, and we were running a purely wholesale operation. We had no corporate clients. So part of the appeal for me was to join a small company trying to grow and see how it would develop. It was also my dream to work in the sustainability and clean energy area.

Steven and Tom 2013 (1)It soon became clear that we wanted to be an active contributor to the energy transition. We engaged ourselves in industry initiatives and made openness one of our values, which entailed a willingness to share everything we learned to build market growth. Our vision became summarised in one phrase: changing energy behaviour. That became our North Star.

The team has grown a lot, with people from all over the world, like me. And everyone seems to work well together. Of course, there can be disagreements, but in general employees collaborate rather than compete. How was that internal culture built?

It sounds silly, but I wanted to build a good place to be, where people were happy to come to work in the morning and where they could thrive. Of course, it was a given that we needed to provide profitable growth, so we had to find individuals who were business savvy. We managed to find people who fit that ideal, but the culture itself emerged sort of naturally and became stronger in periods when it has been challenged.

There is, within the team, an incredible amount of constructiveness and willingness to support and help each other. And it may be hard for you to see, but also within the current management team, which we've had for three or four years now, there is incredible openness. That is something I am really proud of.

Was having such an international company — in terms of the country of origin of its employees — intentional?

This wasn't very obvious at the start. Back then we were not very diverse. We were much more similar in age and background.

We are now very diverse in terms of not just gender, but age, nationalities, and professional experience — some from within the industry, some from outside the industry. Diversity itself isn't necessarily a magic formula, but over time, I think having a diverse team opens up more opportunities. I really do.

Rooftop 1

How about Ecohz’ clients? Do you think corporate customers are different from when you started at Ecohz?

Definitely.

How so?

They just know more. I mean, the GO market was in its infancy when we started. The GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance didn’t exist in its current form. CDP had just started asking for reporting. Those companies we began working with wanted to be frontrunners in everything related to sustainability, back when all this was purely voluntary. But even then, we learned that corporates don’t just want somebody to sell them EACs; they needed discussion partners.

As the documented renewable energy space has become more complex, companies have built their internal competence, making our EAC niche an integral part of the whole sustainability puzzle. They care a lot more about impact, too.

So we had to elevate our own expertise in a much more challenging landscape. We now have more than 65 I-REC countries, emerging policies that influence imports to the EU, international companies with different buying patterns in each location, Scope 3 requirements, etc. For us to actually provide value to our customers, it's not enough to to source GOs; we need a lot of knowledge to guide them.

If there is a comment we often get, both from clients and industry colleagues, it is that Ecohz seems larger than it is. Many are surprised when they learn that we are just 30 people. In my view, that is not an accident. Being outspoken, sharing knowledge, and participating in conferences — those are all decisions that came from you and management. Why did you decide to do this?

To be honest, I almost took for granted the idea that we wanted to do more than just run a company. We wanted to build a market. We wanted to create change. So, we wrote articles and discussed with the rest of the industry. We engaged in policy discussions and had lobbying companies working for us in Brussels.

And, you know, our competitors shook their heads and laughed because we always invited them to our announcements and product launches. Once, we had 200 people packed into a meeting room in the EU Parliament. We invited everyone. And it went great! The whole point of that particular event was to influence the writing of the RED II and show that the GO system was alive and kicking, but that has remained par of our philosophy throughout.

I don’t want to overplay it, but I think we are seen as an organisation that is there for more than commercial interests — someone to go to for real market information and that wants to contribute to real impact.

Tom Lindberg REC Market Meeting

 

With that in mind, what are you most proud of? What are the successes of your time at Ecohz that matter most to you?

The first thing that comes to mind — and this might not be what people expect — is the ability to create and maintain a unique Ecohz culture, where people perceive it as a good place to be. For me, that’s the most difficult thing to leave behind.

Now, if we want to be more business-oriented, I am very proud that we, as a — let’s call it — mid-sized company, have been able to provide our owners with profitable growth almost year after year in a highly changing marketplace. Many companies have come and gone in this space, but we’re still here and continue to work with a client base that includes many in the top 500 corporates in the world, with whom we have long-term relationships.

I mean, clients have stuck with us, right? People don't usually leave, and I think a lot of that is thanks to “the Ecohz way,” if you will. We have spent years building a non-mechanical way of doing things. There is a human element to our approach that means clients actually enjoy working with us.

I am also proud of our positive influence in the market. This was my hope when I started, but it was never a given, and now we have incredible advocates that go way beyond me. Madeleine is on stage talking about stuff I’ve never heard before. Ivar has an outstanding grasp of the AIB and policy issues. Peter’s understanding of clients is remarkable. I could come up with tons of examples. But in general, I think we’ve done it — we have actually made a difference.

...

As I am typing this, right after lunch on a spring afternoon, one of our colleagues is showing others in the office the new house she bought. People are literally jumping and screeching with excitement. Someone else asked a workmate who is soon going on maternity leave how she’s doing and offered to bring her cake from the cafeteria. One more just became a father. More experienced parents have been asking for baby pictures and offering kind words of advice. Tom wanted to build a place where folks enjoyed coming to work and supported each other. It looks like he succeeded.

Tom Lindberg, ECOHZ

 

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