About the project
The goal of "Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models (Futuring Nordics)" was to address the challenges posed to Nordic businesses by globalization, digitalization, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, through:
- an interdisciplinary analysis of the development and transformation of Nordic business models in an era characterized by globalization and digitalization,
- an exploration of the opportunities and challenges that digitalization and sustainable development goals create for Norwegian business models today, and:
- proposals for policy development to innovate Nordic business models for sustainability.
Through an interdisciplinary analysis drawing on historical sources as well as empirical data, Futuring Nordics examined the potential of Nordic business models in light of the goal to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals within the planet's boundaries.
Special attention was given to typical Nordic governance models and their future:
- large family-controlled businesses
- foundations and public actors
- small and medium-sized enterprises and companies
Involvement of businesses and other stakeholders, as well as broad dissemination, played a central role in Futuring Nordics' activities.
Goals
Through document analysis, case studies, and so-called Futuring workshops, Futuring Nordics aimed to critically analyze the sustainability concepts in Nordic business models, including in small, medium-sized, and large businesses, and their increasingly global value chains and networks.
The analysis identified the prerequisites for Nordic business models to contribute to sustainable development in the Nordic countries in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Finally, Futuring Nordics presented proposals for sustainable business models that can be implemented in Nordic and non-Nordic countries and regions, as well as across global value chains.
Organization
The research group was interdisciplinary, with participants from the Department of Private Law at the Faculty of Law, and the Department of Informatics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
Duration
2019-2023.
Financing
Futuring Nordics is financed by the University of Oslo UiO:Nordic initiative, the Faculty of Law, Department of Private Law and the Department of Informatics.
Events
2023
Futuring Nordics: on a path to sustainability?
After four productive and rewarding years, the University of Oslo Nordic initiative, the thematic research group Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models (Futuring Nordics), is coming to an end, and it is time to reflect and celebrate.
Time and place: Dec. 14, 2023 9:00 AM – Dec. 15, 2023 1:00 PM, Professorboligen, Karl Johans gt. 47 and IFI, 澳门葡京手机版app下载sparken / Zoom
Are the Nordic countries on a path to sustainability? What will it take for Nordic businesses to be part of the sustainability transition? What do sustainable business models look like in the Nordics, taking into consideration their role in global value chains? What is the role of digitalisation?
After four productive and rewarding years, the University of Oslo Nordic initiative, the thematic research group Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models (Futuring Nordics), is coming to an end, and it is time to reflect and celebrate.
On 14 and 15 December, the research group partners, the research group Sustainability Law (Department of Private Law) and Sustainability Lab (Department of Informatics) are inviting to a final one-and-a-half-day conference with a future workshop, a book launch, academic presentations, a morning panel featuring transdisciplinary projects and a jazz concert.
Speakers from all the Nordic countries, from academia and beyond, will reflect on the present and future of the Nordic (business) model in the transition to a sustainable future.
The conference will be hybrid. The physical locations will be in Oslo with events both at 澳门葡京手机版app下载sparken (main campus) and at downtown campus (Karl Johans gate). Zoom participation will be possible for the main events.
Programme
Thursday 14 December (Venue: Dept. of Informatics/IFI and Professorboligen)
Session 1: Future workshop
- Openings remarks:
- Tore Rem, leader of UiO:Nordic and UiO:Democracy
- Jukka M?h?nen, leader of Futuring Nordics research group
- Future workshop
The workshop will be chaired by Andrea Gasparini and Siv ?rsand (Dept. of Informatics)- Main theme: Repair
- 1st phase: Critique
- 2nd phase: Imaginary phase
- 3rd phase: How to get there
Session 2: Futuring Nordic company law
- Launch of Nordic Company Law: Broadening the Horizon (Scandinavian University Press, 2023), Beate Sj?fjell and Jukka M?h?nen (eds)
- Short presentation of the book by the editors (15 min)
- Pitches by authors, based on their chapters and with some broader reflections and ideas: Gudrun Johnsen, Council on Economic Policies, Karsten Engsig S?rensen, Aarhus University, Hanna Alml?f, J?nk?ping University, Ville P?nk?, University of Helsinki, Emma Coulthard, DLA Piper Norway, Hanne S. Birkmose, University of Southern Denmark, Eyvindur G. Gunnarsson, University of Iceland, Niklas Arvidsson, Lund University.
- Prepared comment by Katja Tikka, University of Helsinki and Asle Aarbakke, BAHR.
- Discussion
Friday 15 December (Venue: Professorboligen)
Session 3: Futuring Nordic businesses
- Welcome and introduction
- Beate Sj?fjell, Head of the research group Sustainability Law
- Mette Halskov Hansen, Vice-Rector for Climate & the Environment and Cross-Disciplinarity
- Transdisciplinary collaboration for change
- Sustainable public procurement: a University of Oslo pilot project.
Participants: Ove Kenneth Nodland, Asle Andre Orseth and Beate Sj?fjell. - Sustainable banking: a #SMARTlegacy collaborative project with the savings bank Sparebank1 ?stlandet.
Participants: Hanna Ahlstr?m, Karoline Bakka Hjert? and Beate Sj?fjell
- Sustainable public procurement: a University of Oslo pilot project.
Session 4: Futuring sustainability in the Nordics
- Entanglement of systemic practice and sustainability transitions, Svein Gunnar Kj?de, University of Oslo
- The future of circular economy regulation in the EU and Norway, Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, University of Oslo
- General discussion
- A Nordic roadmap to corporate sustainability, Jukka M?h?nen and Beate Sj?fjell, University of Oslo
- The future of sustainable innovations and their regulation, Taina Pihlajarinne, University of Helsinki
- General discussion
Contact
Prof. Jukka M?h?nen, University of Oslo, Dr. Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, University of Oslo and Prof. Beate Sj?fjell, University of Oslo.
Organizer
Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models, Sustainability Law and Sustainability Lab
2022
Circular Economy and Corporate Sustainability
Futuring Nordics is organising this seminar in which we seek to combine the two parallel debates: how to achieve a circular economy and how to achieve business that contributes to sustainability (corporate sustainability).
Please note: We will now have to make this a fully digital event due to the latest Covid-19 restrictions. Please see updated programme below.
Time and place: Jan. 10, 2022 1:00 PM – Jan. 12, 2022 1:00 PM, Zoom
Seminar topic
The time has come for fundamental change. To ensure prosperity for humanity in the long term and recovery from the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, transformation to sustainability is necessary. Achieving sustainability—i.e., a safe and just operating space for humanity—requires changing the way the business operates.
In this seminar, we seek to combine the two parallel debates on how to achieve a circular economy and how to achieve business that contributes to sustainability (corporate sustainability). While there is some overlap between these two debates, our aim is to integrate them, joined together through the recognition that neither a circular economy nor incremental corporate sustainability initiatives are sufficient if they do not contribute to achieving sustainability.
A circular economy cannot be one that is only more resource-efficient. It must be one that is resource sufficient, one that uses enough resources to facilitate the securing of the social foundation for humanity and does it in a way that ensures that we stay within the limits of our planet. Corporate sustainability initiatives must ensure that patterns of production and selling techniques that foster linear, narrowly focused business models are replaced with circular ones that broadly engage with and promote global sustainability goals. Positioning the corporate sustainability discussion within the discourse of how to achieve a sustainable circular economy highlights that we need to see transformational change in business as a part of a broader transitioning of our economy.
In this seminar, we aim to feature a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research contributions that propose solutions, whether for new policies and legislative reforms, for changes within the business, or for channelling other societal, economic, or financial incentives towards achieving sustainable business as an element of the transition towards a sustainable circular economy.
Programme
Monday 10 January 2022
Setting the scene
- Sustainable Circularity by Sarah Cornell (presenting author), Tiina H?yh?, Celinda Palm and Eléonore Maitre-Ekern
- The role of the circular economy in corporate sustainability law by Beate Sj?fjell
- Joint discussion
Historical perspectives and present challenges
- From market contracts to the circular economy—law and increasingly holistic conceptualizations of production by Jaakko Salminen
- The Economic and Industrial Development in Time of Coronavirus Crisis: What about Circular Economy? by Chiara Feliziani
- Joint discussion
Tuesday 11 January 2022
Regulating the Circular Economy
- Regulation of planned obsolescence in Europe by Taina Pihlajarinne
- The growing regulatory role of industrial alliances in transitioning towards circular plastic value-chains by Amy O'Halloran
- Independent repair and the transition to a regenerative circular economy by Maja van der Velden (presenting author) and Eléonore Maitre-Ekern
- Joint discussion
Corporate behaviours in a Circular Economy
- The ‘greening’ incumbent: Incumbent-entrant collaborations for achieving sustainable business models by Birthe Soppe (presenting author) and Hannah Schupfer
- Designing Sustainable Business Models: The Case of Mobile Phone Start-ups by Ines Junge (presenting author) and Yangyang Zhao
- Tensions in circular business model development - a coopetition perspective by Sigurd Vild?sen (presenting author) and Oda Ellingsen
- Awakening Capitalism: The Promise of the ESG Movement by Alan Palmiter
- Joint discussion
Corporate sustainability for the Circular Economy in practice
- A safety check on circular economy - the case of recycling centers in Antwerp, Flanders by Wendy Wuyts (presenting author), Ingrid Caeyers and Paul Kengfai Wan
- Designing for the Circular Consumer: A design tool for clothing companies to engage consumers in the circular textiles economy by Ina Obernosterer and Erika Thunstedt (both presenting)
- Joint discussion
Wednesday 12 January 2022
Possible ways forward
- Circular Business Strategies – towards an ecological duty of care by Julia Hoernig
- Can Integrating a Sustainable Business Model and Global Value Chains Revive the Value Chain’s Sustainable Growth? By Yuan Li (presenting author) and Jukka M?h?nen
- Exploring circular economy criteria of EU's taxonomy for sustainable activities -a case study from the manufacturing sector by Mathias Irgens (presenting author) and Sigurd Vild?sen
- Joint discussion
Closing session: discussion about publication and possible future collaborations
Organizer
Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models
- Dr. Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway
- Prof. Beate Sj?fjell, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway
- Prof. Jukka M?h?nen, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway
2021
The ‘greening’ incumbent: Incumbent-entrant collaborations for achieving sustainable business models
Welcome to this Futuring Nordics Team meeting.
Time and place: Dec. 1, 2021 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, Zoom
Tackling society’s most severe challenges, including global warming, has become an important field of research. Within management and organization studies, two central insights have emerged:
(1) although it is often young, entrepreneurial firms that drive the change towards more sustainable practices, business models, and circular ways of organizing our economy, it is the large, established incumbent firms that would have the reach and resources to effectively bring about change; however, they often lack the motivation to divert from the status quo;
(2) corporate sustainability can be achieved through collective action and collaboration.
Our study picks up on these central insights and turns attention to interfirm collaborations between traditionally polluting incumbents and ‘green’ start-ups. Building on a case study of a large energy incumbent in the Nordics, we shed light on the development and institutionalization of a new form of corporate venturing that enables incumbents to pursue partnerships with green start-ups.
Specifically, analyzing the collaborative arrangement with two start-ups within the fields of circular economy and recycling, our study provides novel insights into the ‘inner workings’ of incumbent-entrant collaborations and shows how such collaborations, including the venture programs built to facilitate them, can help incumbents to pivot towards sustainability-oriented business models and circular economy.
Presenters
- Birthe Soppe, Associate Professor, Department of Informatics
- Hannah Schupfer, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Informatics
Sustainable Corporate Governance for a Sustainable Future
As we now hopefully start to see the end of the Covid 19 pandemic, a pressing question is how to ensure that we are not heading back to an unsustainable normal but rather towards a sustainable future.
Time and place: June 21, 2021 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM, Zoom
The European Union is taking a lead in this area with the European Green Deal, the Sustainable Finance Initiative, the Circular Economy Action Plans, the proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (reforming the so-called Non-Financial Reporting Directive) and the Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative.
The Commission has released the results from its public consultation on the Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative, showing strong support for mandatory legislation to integrate sustainability risks, impacts and opportunities into company’s strategy, decisions and oversight (including 70 per cent of respondents representing individual companies and business associations). Yet, there is also resistance against the direction of the initiative, including its unprecedented willingness to regulate the role of the corporate board. The Commission has not yet presented its proposal for a directive under the Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative.
The project Sustainable Market Actors for Responsible Trade (SMART, 2016-2020), funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, undertook research identifying barriers and possibilities for sustainable business and finance, presenting research-based reform proposals. The SMART results resonate with the general direction the EU Commission is taking, although we have also suggested to broaden and strengthen several initiatives, notably the Sustainable Finance Initiative.
Amongst our SMART Legacy initiatives is the project Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models, which hosts this event. In this online event, open to all, scholars and practitioners will together into a discussion of the role of corporate law and corporate governance to secure the contribution of business and finance to a sustainable future.
Programme
Sustainable Corporate Governance for Sustainable Business
- Keynote by Turid Elisabeth Solvang, founder and CEO of FutureBoards. Turid Solvang is former Chair of European Confederation of Directors Associations, co-Founder of European Women on Boards, member of Board Agenda’s Editorial Advisory Board, and co-founder and former CEO of Norwegian Institute of Directors.
- The EU Roadmap to Sustainable Business, by Beate Sj?fjell
Sustainable Corporate Governance for Sustainable Finance
- Keynote by Idar Kreutzer, head of Finance Norway. Idar Kreutzer chairs the Board of Norway Post and the Norwegian Refugee Council. He is Deputy Chairman of the Corporate Assembly of Statoil AS and a member of the Corporate Assembly of Norsk Hydro ASA.
- 'The EU's Sustainable Finance Initiative: Limits to Market-Driven Sustainability', by Jay Cullen
Panel discussion
- Panelists: Kiran Aziz, KLP; Monica Mee, KPMG; Michael Ristaniemi, Metsa Group
The future of Nordic labour law - facing the challenges of changing labour relations
Marianne Jenum Hotvedt, Department of Private Law, will present the project "The future of work: Opportunities and challenges for the Nordic models" at this Lunch seminar.
Time and place: Mar. 24, 2021 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Zoom
In the collaborative project, The future of work: Opportunities and challenges for the Nordic models, researchers from the five Nordic countries have studied how the ongoing transformations of production and labour markets associated with digitalization, demographic change and new forms of employment will influence the future of work in the Nordics.
Marianne Jenum Hotvedt coordinated the legal part of the project; a study on how emerging labour relations may affect the foundations and structure of Nordic labour law in the future.
Marianne will present the project and focus on the main findings and recommendations.
Transformation towards low and zero emissions societies
Presentation by Hans Jakob Walnum of ongoing projects at Western Norway Research Institute. Key topics connected to the transformation towards low and zero emissions societies.
Time and place: Mar. 18, 2021 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, Zoom
Hans Jakob Walnum is a research fellow and group leader for the environmental group at Western Norway Research Institute. He will be presenting three key projects of his group:
1. TourRisk project
Tourism Risks (TourRISK): A resilient low-carbon, high-yield tourism model for Norway. Is it possible to have high yields and low GHG emissions in the tourism sector? Despite Norway’s commitment to a goal of zero emissions within 2050, truly effective measures have yet to be implemented. In order to fulfil international climate objectives, Norwegian society will need to undergo a deep transition involving considerable emission cuts across all sectors, including tourism – a sector currently characterized by a high level of energy consumption and, in particular, large transport-related emissions. Interestingly, the same sector is expected to constitute an important part of the post-oil economy. This paradox leads to various challenges at which the research project TourRISK will address."
2. NTRANS project
NTRANS- Norwegian Center for Energy Transition Strategies is one of the social science related centers for Environment-friendly Energy Research. NTRANS is established to deliver world leading research on the energy system in the transition to the zero-emission society. NTRANS focuses on the role of the energy system in the decarbonization of sectors such as energy, transport, industry, and buildings, as well as our everyday lives. Vestlandsforsking is leading a work package on controversies, conflicting visions, and value trade-offs connected to change the society and energy system towards a zero and low emissions society. This implies to address land use conflicts and synergies/trade-offs within sustainable development goals (e.g. SDG 16 on justice vs. SDG 13 on climate) and between sustainable development goals and other goals (e.g. value creation) across sectors such as energy production, industry, and infrastructure development.
3. SHIFT-PLASTICS application
How can sustainable circular value chains be created for handling use of plastics in the fishing and aquaculture sector? What are the technological solutions and policies that are both environmentally and economically viable for handling plastics in the fishing and aquaculture sector.
2020
Sustainability and the future of Nordic business models
The seminar is open to all interested including scholars, students, practitioners and journalists.
Time and place: Nov. 27, 2020 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM, Zoom
This seminar brings together scholars across disciplines to discuss two broad questions:
- What does sustainability mean in the Nordics today? The Nordic countries have enjoyed a reputation as sustainability champions. However, the claim had been made that the environmentally friendly reputation of the Nordics relies on outsourcing much of the ecological degradation to other countries.
- What is the future for Nordic business models with this backdrop? Transitioning to sustainability requires change for everybody, and the seminar discusses what this entails for Nordic business models.
Programme
- Welcome Professor Tore Rem, Director of UiO:Nordic initiative
Keynotes on sustainability and the Nordics
Chair: Professor Jukka M?h?nen, leader of Futuring Nordics Keynote
- 1: How sustainable are the Nordics? Dr Jason Hickel, author and creator of the Sustainable Development Index Keynote
- 2: One planet, one humankind? Dr Sarah Cornell, Stockholm Resilience Centre Questions and comments to both keynote speakers; discussion
Session 1: Sustainability in Nordic law and governance
Chair: Professor Maja van der Velden, deputy leader of Futuring Nordics
- Can Nordic business law encompass sustainability? Professor Beate Sj?fjell, deputy leader of Futuring Nordics Q&A
- Sustainable circularity and influencing business through product regulation. Postdoctoral scholar, Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, Futuring Nordics
- Innovation in the Nordics: Regulatory challenges and possibilities. Professor Taina Pihlajarinne, University of Helsinki Q&A
Session 2: What is the future for Nordic business models?
Chair: Professor Beate Sj?fjell, deputy leader of Futuring Nordics
- What is “Sustainability” in Nordic Sustainable Business research? – A systematic literature study identifying dominant sustainability concepts. Svein Gunnar Kj?de, Doctoral candidate in Futuring Nordics
- Control models in Nordic businesses: the role of the public and the private for sustainability Professor Jukka M?h?nen, leader of Futuring Nordics
Panel discussion: How can we promote sustainability in the Nordics?
Chair: Dr Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, Postdoctoral scholar in Futuring Nordics
Participants:
- Dr Sarah Cornell, Stockholm Resilience Centre
- Pia A. Gaarder, Head of research and analysis, Framtiden i v?re hender
- ?ystein Liver?d, Environmental Manager, University of Oslo
- Professor Taina Pihlajarinne, University of Helsinki
- Professor Beate Sj?fjell, University of Oslo
Concluding remarks Professor Jukka M?h?nen, University of Oslo
Speakers
Confirmed speakers include Dr. Jason Hickel, author and creator of the Sustainable Development Index, and Dr. Sarah Cornell, renowned for her work on planetary boundaries and broader sustainability issues.
Sustainable Business Models and Repair: A Nordic Perspective
Presentation by Maja van der Velden, Sustainability & Design Lab, Dept. of Informatics, UiO.
Time and place: June 3, 2020 1:15 PM – 2:15 PM, Zoom
As a member of the Futuring Nordics research group, I am preparing a study on repair in the context of sustainable business models in the Nordics. The study is set within the notions of a sustainable circular economy and sustainable digitalisation. Transition Design is the proposed research approach. In this talk I will present the objective of the study, its main activities, and the expected contributions of the study. Contributions are expected in understanding the role of repair in sustainable business models, the design of transition pathways supporting Nordic businesses in their transition to a sustainable business model, and policies reform proposals and incentives needed to stimulate repair’s central role in future sustainable business models in the Nordics.
Towards a ‘sustainable rule of law’ for the circular economy
Presentation by Eléonore Maitre-Ekern, Postdoctoral Researcher, Futuring Nordics project.
Time and place: May 20, 2020 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Zoom
The Futuring Nordics project aims to investigate the potential of Nordic business models in the implementation of the SDGs within planetary boundaries. As part of this project, my postdoctoral research shall explore the sustainability of the circular economy (for products) as well as the policy and legal framework to enable and promote sustainable circular business models in the Nordic countries.
Achieving ‘circularity’ is not as such a guarantee of achieving sustainability, and thus it is important to establish the conditions in which a circular economy can be truly sustainable. In the Circular Action Plan released in March of this year, the European Commission puts forward the need to establish ‘sustainability principles’ for the purpose of establishing ‘a strong and coherent product policy framework that will make sustainable products’.
In the first phase of my research, I am to contribute to that discussion by exploring and developing a ‘sustainable rule of law’ for the circular economy. Among the various relevant sustainability principles, I intend to focus notably on the precautionary principle, which should arguably form the basis of any circular economy policies.
Are designers involved in creating the businesses and business-models of tomorrow aware of their responsibilities
- and do they have the means to deal with the issues at hand to help move societies into more sustainable, long term futures?
Presentation by Svein Gunnar Kj?de.
Time and place: May 6, 2020 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM, zoom
My background is from the field of design, with a MA. in Design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (2004). The last 14 years I have practiced in a broad span of industries and sectors, including industrial design, service and systems design and even development work.
During this time I have always been curious about, and often frustrated with, how the logic of business set the premise for design and innovation. As design is moving ever deeper into all aspects of our industries and societies in the form of products and services, and even (design)thinking, its impact increases accordingly. Too often we observe unintended consequences of design, both environmental and social in the race for innovation.
In my talk I will present my PhD proposal, and how my early talks with the industry and dive into the literature are shaping my research moving forwards.
2019
Kick-off: Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models
Join us for the kick-off conference of the new research project Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models. Please register within 11 November.
Time and place: Nov. 15, 2019 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM, "Kjerka", Domus Media, Faculty of Law
Can the Nordic countries continue balancing competition and cooperation and maintain their resilience in this age of globalisation and cultural collisions, with a digital economy, fragmentation of the work-life division? Photo by NRKbeta.
Futuring Sustainable Nordic Business Models is a new research group, funded by the UiO:Nordic programme. Futuring Nordics is created by researchers of the Department of Private Law of the Faculty of Law and the Department of Informatics of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and is led by Professor Jukka M?h?nen of the Law Faculty. Deputy leaders are Dr. Maja van der Velden of the Department of Informatics and Professor Beate Sj?fjell of the Law Faculty.
Futuring Nordics recognises globalisation and digitalisation as crucial challenges for the Nordic countries and the socio-economic order described as the ‘Nordic model’. Especially digitalisation – the increased use, interconnectivity, and networking of information and communication technologies and the data they produce – is affecting all areas of Nordic lives. Rapid progress in the development of hardware and software is moving the Nordics towards a fully digital society.
Can the Nordic countries continue balancing competition and cooperation and maintain their resilience in this age of globalisation and cultural collisions, with a digital economy, fragmentation of the work-life division? What scope do the Nordics have to carve out their own path within European Union law? What role do or can the Nordics play in achieving the global goal of sustainability, understood as securing the social foundation for humanity within planetary boundaries? Also issues concerning Indigenous peoples and their culture has arguably not been integrated sufficiently in the pursuit of sustainability. This is directly relevant for the Nordics, as much of their territory, both on land and at sea, falls within the Arctic Circle. The Nordics are therefore also strongly involved in issues that concern this extremely vulnerable area, including the culture and livelihood of the Indigenous people of the Nordics, the Sámi.
There is a research gap concerning the impact of globalisation and digitalisation on cultural, economic, labour, and regulatory factors of Nordic business models and specially their sustainability. The aim of Futuring Nordics is to contribute to filling this gap through:
- an interdisciplinary analysis of the development of Nordic business models and their transformation in this era of globalisation and digitalisation,
- to understand the opportunities and challenges globalisation, digitalisation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) create for Nordic business models today, and
- to create policies and methods for innovative Nordic business models for sustainability, integrating its cultural, environmental, social and governance dimensions.
The idea of a sustainable Nordic business model is not new. The contribution and added value of Futuring Nordics is an interdisciplinary analysis, forming the basis for developing policies and methods to support Nordic businesses in their transition to sustainable business models. This work will incorporate the transformation of the Nordic model, in light of the challenges of globalisation and digitalisation, and an evidence-based understanding of sustainability.
Kick-off conference
With this backdrop, Futuring Nordics organises its kick-off conference on Friday 15 November at the Faculty of Law of the University of Oslo (downtown campus). Confirmed speakers include Peter Stadius from the ReNEW (Reimagining Norden in an Evolving World) Nordic research hub and Dr. Sarah Cornell from Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Programme
- Opening: Professor Tore Rem (Academic Director, UiO:Nordic)
- Keynote: What does sustainability mean for business models? Dr. Sarah Cornell (Stockholm Resilience Centre)
- Session 1: What is Futuring?
- Futuring? Designing transitions towards sustainable futures Professor Alma Leora Culén (University of Oslo)
- Designing futures we want PhD Candidate Svein Gunnar Kj?de (University of Oslo)
- Session 2: Globalisation, digitalisation and the pursuit of sustainability in a globalised word: what does this mean for the Nordic business model?
- The role of enterprises in Nordic societies Professor Peter Stadius (Project Leader, (ReNEW))
- Towards Sustainable Digitalisation Goals Associate Professor Maja van der Velden (University of Oslo)
- Platform-based business modeling and intra-group trading in cryptocurrency: Where are the Nordics heading? Dr. Linn Anker-S?rensen (Ernst & Young)
- Session 3: Regulating Nordic business models: the role of and interaction between various regulatory modalities
- The regulatory ecology of Nordic business models Professor Jukka M?h?nen (University of Oslo)
- Transitioning Nordic business models towards a circular economy. From eco-efficiency to sufficiency Research Fellow Eléonore Maitre-Ekern(University of Oslo)
- Reforming Nordic corporate law to change business behavior Professor Beate Sj?fjell (University of Oslo) Discussion
- Panel debate / roundtable discussion
- Closing of the conference Professor Jukka M?h?nen