ON NORDIC CIRCULAR SUMMIT 2022

LIFE IS AND SHOULD BE CIRCULAR AND REGENERATIVE

What a joy to be looking back on this year’s edition of Nordic Circular Summit. I think we have definitely reached proof of concept and we are now in a process where the Nordics WILL be increasingly coordinated and aligned when it comes to the swift green and circular transition that humanity needs. Huge thanks to Cradlenet and their key personnel and voluntaries. You made Stockholm a very welcoming and inspiring venue.

With almost 30 events during the 3 days it is impossible for me to sum up the whole event. From what I have heard so far, we took several new steps ahead in our ambition to unite Nordic companies and organizations in the exchange of knowledge, experience and strategies on circular transition. Topics and sectors like finance and investment, building and housing, fashion and textiles, sorting and recycling at commercial scale, secondary materials markets and reverse logistics were presented and discussed by practitioners, insightful advisors, and academics – and will surely be topics we shall hear more of in the near future.

I also think that this year’s focus on REGENERATIVE circular economy was spot-on. We cannot save our beautiful blue planet by just reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses. We need policies, that will prioritise and reward businesses, farmers and civil societies who actively contribute to sequestering CO2 by strengthening natural processes that do exactly this. Let us make our Nordic lives circular and regenerative again.

My other personal take-aways:

* Fashion and textiles perhaps should be the first larger market segment where we demonstrate actual Nordic added value in relation to concrete circular transition. Let us use the inspiration from the Danish model of strategic collaboration between government and the industry to get the ball rolling. If we coordinate on a Nordic level we can promote the necessary investment in technologies and the sorting and recycling capacity needed while at the same time limiting and sharing the commercial risks.

* Small and medium size companies will experience an increasing pressure from new regulatory demands and a pull from the market to go greener. The key to succeed in coping with this is collaboration - be it pre-commercial or full-blown. That goes even more for industries like fashion and textiles that are dominated by complex global supply and value chains. SMEs should team up and together approach their suppliers in emerging economies. In places like India, Bangladesh and Turkey the producers and sellers fully understand what is under way in terms of regulatory demands from the EU. What they need are customers with a certain volume and competence that are ready to engage in long-term partnerships to make the circular transition happen in ways that benefit people, planet and profit in both the North and the South.

* We have an immense knowledge and information gap re. circular economy and its necessity at the very top – both within companies and public organizations. This is the conclusion of the work been done so far by the Nordic Circular Transition Group on leadership. Therefore, I strongly recommend all decision makers in company boards, public agencies, universities and business school to prioritise developing and offering education and training modules in ‘Leadership for Circular Transition’. Top management simply needs to have an in-depth understanding of the value and supply chains of their own companies and the environmental impact and problems connected to all processes, scope 1, 2 and 3.

* The presence and active engagement of our youth partners - ReGeneration 2030 and CATALYCST - once again proved to be an indispensable treat of the whole summit. Some of the sharpest and most inspiring words and ideas came from the youth representatives. Keira, Ugne, Zuzana, Floris, Jia et. al.: I am totally blown away by your personal competences, your leadership and indeed your courage.

The next years shall prove themselves crucial in relation to the critical climate targets of 1,5 / 2,0 degrees of global warming. As a managing partner of Nordic Circular Hotspot I shall engage in making next year’s hybrid summit a display of the very best cases the Nordics can offer. I hope the meeting shall turn into a virtual study circle for key decision makers on the demands and promises of a truly circular and regenerative economy. Let us bring forward a program for the summit in Iceland in 2023 that will attract key ministers and officials from all Nordic countries – and let us make them listen and invite them into a process of increased collaboration and coordination across our innovative, but still also highly polluting region.