Opinion

11 strategies for strengthened skills for the green transition in the Nordics

The Nordic's strong position in the global green transition is threathened by growing challenges pertaining to labour and skills. The lack of opportunities in the region affects the position as frontrunners and actions are required to avoide long-term implications. This report identifies three areas to adress to tackle the challenges:

1. Deepen cooperation between Nordic countries to optimise resources and expertise.
2. Restructure the educational system in order to better meet the green requirements of the labour market.
3. Create effective strategies to attract and retain international skills.

Dealing with these issues are crucial in order för the Nordics to continue to drive innovation and strengthen its position in an increasingly competitive global economy.

The report has been produced by the Haga Initiative within the vision project Climate Neutral Nordics. The project is implemented by the Haga Initiative (Sweden), Skift - Business Climate Leaders (Norway) and Climate Leadership Coalition (Finland) as is financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The role of businesses to help reduce consumption-based emissions in the Nordics

The Nordic countries are globally recognized for their commitment to sustainability, yet they face challenges in managing consumption-based emissions. As these emissions are often higher than territorial emissions, it is essential for Nordic businesses to play a pivotal role in reducing them. The report presents some suggestions around this:

1. Strengthen sustainable Nordic value chains with co-benefits
2. Design and implement circular business models
3. Advocate for sustainable consumption patterns amongst customers
4. Invest in green technologies

The global economy requires a holistic approach to emission reductions, even in the Nordics, so focusing more on reducing consumption-based emissions on a societal level is crucial.

Nordic Countries climate targets – short and long term

The Haga Initiative has conducted a survey on the climate targets of large companies on the stock exchange in the Nordic region. The objective is to give an indication of what emission reductions in the Nordic region may look like in the future and provide important signals to investors and the financial sector at large. The survey shows that Nordic countries’ large companies on the stock exchange are generally better at setting long term targets than short term targets. 50% of Nordic companies has a net zero target, but only 39% has a target to halve emissions every decade. The manufacturing sector seems to be at the forefront of setting targets in the short and long term.

Ambitions Index 2023 – 75 per cent of Swedish large-cap companies now have climate goals in line with the 1.5-degree target

For the fourth consecutive year, the Haga Initiative has surveyed the number of large-cap companies on the Swedish stock market with climate goals to halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2032, aligned with the 1.5-degree target. The survey is summarized and presented in the report “Ambitions Index 2023”. Ambitions Index 2023 shows that 75 per cent of Swedish large-cap companies now have goals to halve their scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2032. 75 per cent is a significant increase from 20 per cent in 2020, 39 per cent in 2021, and 66 per cent in 2022. The Ambitions Index 2023 also shows that 56 per cent of Swedish large-cap companies have goals to halve scope 3 emissions by 2032. This is also a clear increase from 34 per cent in 2021 and 38 per cent in 2022.

“It's encouraging to see a rising number of companies adopting ambitious climate objectives, showcasing the business sector's significant contribution to combating climate change,” says Nina Ekelund, Executive Director at the Haga Initiative.“The determination and influence of the business sector demonstrate that achieving the 1.5-degree target is possible, especially if supported by ambitious, long-term, and predictable policies from the political sector,” says Nina Ekelund.

According to the GHG Protocol, scope 1 encompasses direct emissions of greenhouse gases from operations. Scope 2 includes emissions from purchased electricity and heat. Scope 3 summarises indirect emissions from a company’s entire value chain. In the Ambitions Index, scopes 1 and 2 are reported separately from scope 3.

The survey was conducted from June to November 2023. All companies that were not deemed to achieve the halving were contacted in November 2023. The report was completed in December 2023.

Co-benefits of Circular Economy in the Nordics - a great opportunity to gear up sustainable business models

Moving towards a circular economy is an essential part of the sustainable transition, and businesses are at the heart of this, driving innovation and developing new business models. However, the circular transition faces many barriers and progress has so far been very limited. 

In this report, we argue that by making visible the many co-benefits of circularity, policy makers and businesses are more likely to advance their efforts and accelerate the transition towards a more circular economy. We will also present four recommendations to Nordic policymakers: 

• Support Nordic businesses to identify co-benefits of increasing circularity in their decision-making by creating a Nordic circular economy database. 
• Incentivize sharing knowledge and data between stake-holders around identified co-benefits of circular economy in the Nordics and methods for quantifying them. 
• Develop a practice of benchmarking public procurement processes against circular alternatives by considering co-benefits. 
• Designate a permanent coordinator to strengthen circular business solutions and promoting their co-benefits in the Nordic countries.

Accelerated efforts required in order to secure business competitiveness in the green transition

Circular Business Models – Nordic opportunities and challenges in the new geopolitical landscape

The Nordic countries have a long history of being leaders in environmental and climate policy. However, many challenges remain as environmental destruction and climate emissions continue to occur on a large scale. The main reason is the current linear economic model. For a development in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degree target, a transition to a circular economy is required.

The report identifies opportunities for the Nordic region to take global leadership in the transition to circular economy. The report highlights that leadership requires a joint strategy and increased cooperation within the Nordic region.

The report describes three areas where circular business models have a great potential and can provide multiple benefits for many sectors of society: 1) food production, 2) rare earths, metals and raw materials and 3) heat and renewable energy. The report highlights four opportunities where Nordic cooperation can play an important role:

• a common Nordic circular economy strategy focusing on high potential solutions and critical value chains,
• exchange experiences on circular economy tax reform,
• exchange experiences and harmonize standards, definitions and access to data,
• knowledge transfer and learning from the frontrunners.

The report has been produced within the project of the Climate Neutral Nordics, financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Time to step up - Aligning EU policy with Paris Agreement

The European Green Deal, and the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree target, will have a significant influence on EU policy. Both will predominantly have impacts on the Green Deal regulations. Regarding this revision of policies, the Haga Initiative want to ensure that they align with the 1.5-degree ambition. This report covers the sectors of transport, trade, energy, food and forestry as well as the overall climate targets of the Union.

Climate Action Profitable: executive summary

Climate Action Profitable is a report from the Haga Initiative. It is based on a survey where approximately 300 Swedish companies shared their views on climate action and profitability. We asked how each company's profitability was affected by the company's climate change agenda.