Last week, the Norwegian energy company Hafslund organized the Nature Conference, a forum focused on nature as a strategic and economic issue—the first of its kind in Norway. One of the things the organizers sought to draw inspiration from was how others have addressed nature-related issues, particularly in Sweden.
Interest in the new Nature Conference was high. The event sold out quickly and brought together leading voices from the business community, government agencies, and the research sector. The conference filled Sofienberg Church, with nature physically incorporated into the stage design and a positive energy filling the hall.
Is Sweden better at quantifying nature?
There, Tove Hägglund from Ecogain was asked a somewhat challenging question: “The Swedes are better at environmental accounting. Why?”
Among other things, Tove discussed how Sweden measures and monitors biodiversity initiatives, and how tools like CLIMB are used in practice and have come to play a crucial role when companies and government agencies factor nature into their decisions.
Consensus and unity in the business community
The fact that a Norwegian organizer is turning its attention to Sweden shows how our work on these issues is generating interest precisely because it is concrete and has been tested on a large scale.
“Business leaders took the stage and took ownership of the issue. There was a strong consensus that we don’t have all the answers, but that we know enough to act now,” says Tove Hägglund.
