Explore the highlights from this co-hosted Cognizant/Stockholm School of Economics event to learn more about collaboration for sustainability. Also watch the past webinars in our Tech for Good series: AI for Good, Efficiency for Good and Innovation for Good.
Is the world finally waking up when it comes to climate challenges? Read this blogpost to get a summary of the overall seminar insights as presented by speakers from Vattenfall, Skanska, Axfoundation and Stockholm School of Economics, among others.
Watch this 1 h video where Vattenfall, Axfoundation and Stena Recycling talk about their sustainablity projects.
Watch this 1 h video where Minesto, Bright Sunday and SJ introduce a startup approach to sustainability.
Watch this 1 h video where Skanska, White Architects and Uppsala municipality share their experiences from sustainability initiatives.
During the event, the audience answered questions linked to sustainability and business. Check out what they said and compare with your own opinion/situation.
How will an offensive approach, a steady vision and an aim for global reach effect sustainability initiatives? What about getting commitment from senior management? Listen to three strong stories behind strategic collaborations with other companies, researchers and society to realize sustainability effects at scale.
Head of Sustainable Business, Stena Recycling
Malin Baltzar is Head of Sustainable Business for Stena Recycling and gets very inspired by the thoughts of creating more circular systems. She holds a master’s in environmental engineering and has been working in the company since 2011. Every day, her team strives to improve the resource efficiency for Stena Recycling’s customers, targeting everything from resource optimization to design for recycling.
CloseHow do we switch from the extensive waste of linear production processes to an efficient, circular economy? How can digitalization and new technology open up economical, raw material smart and energy efficient circular production? And what will be required of future product design and innovative collaborations to achieve sustainable product lifecycles?
Malin Baltzar offers a future journey that shows a whole new thinking and completely new processes for physical product production and resource flows. Through close partnerships with companies such as Volvo Cars, ABB and Electrolux, Stena Recycling is leading its development work towards becoming a key player for the future of a resource-efficient society.
Head of R&D portfolio Industry Decarbonisation, Vattenfall
Mikael Nordlander is responsible for establishing and developing partnerships between Vattenfall and the basic industry in Sweden. He has been working in research and development in the energy sector for more than 15 years, including in the field of solar energy, biomass, financial risk modeling, automatic control and analysis of energy systems.
CloseThe steel industry is one of the world’s largest sources of CO2 emissions. When three Swedish CEOs set a vision for a new, fossil-free steel production method, the vision also paved the way for broader collaboration and investments where industry, authorities and research came together to shape a revolutionary technology that has already created echoes around the world. What was needed to get the strategy in place? How was the comprehensive investment and R&D plan laid out, and how could business and society, at a national level, avoid the pitfalls and unite in a unique solution for good?
Mikael Nordlander gives you an exciting picture of the new technology but also an inside story about how a radical strategy can become reality and form a pathway towards a brand new, fossil-free value chain in one of the world’s most CO2-heavy industries.
Meet two startups whose ideas are based on strategic, market-driven innovation with a global impact. Here, they describe how young companies can connect to international, major players to speed up the market entrance, and to thus effect climate and the environment. This session will also include a presentation of Cognizant’s case cracking with SJ.
CEO, Minesto
Dr Martin Edlund is CEO of Minesto, a leading marine energy developer listed on Nasdaq First North Stockholm with operations in Sweden, UK, Taiwan and the Faroe Islands. Martin Edlund has been working in the marine renewable energy sector for the last decade. His professional focus for more than twenty years has been on turning technology into business. He has been engaged in research and management consulting with leading companies such as GE, ABB, LM Ericsson, Atlas Copco and SKF.
Martin Edlund holds a PhD in Innovation Management and a master’s degree in Engineering Physics from Chalmers University of Technology.
The world’s energy systems are in rapid transition to move from the old energy, based on fossil fuels, to the new energy based on renewable sources. Technologies and clean energy sources of all kinds are needed in the fight against climate change. Yet the largest renewable energy source on the planet – the ocean – remains untapped.
Swedish technology developer Minesto is on a dynamic journey with the mission to change that. CEO Dr Martin Edlund will share how the company is working to unlock predictable and cost-effective clean electricity production from underwater currents, How nations like the UK, Faroe Islands and Taiwan can add renewable baseload power to meet both climate and energy security objectives, and how Swedish technology can play a vital role in the global transition to sustainable energy systems.
CEO, Bright Sunday
Niklas has 20 years of experience equally split between management consulting and from C-level positions in large cap Nordic companies. Niklas holds a Ms.C in Industrial Economics and Management from KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
CloseIn many parts of the world solar energy is now cheaper than any alternative energy source. The pace of change to solar power is picking up day by day, and that’s a good thing. The problem is that the shift needs to be even quicker, and Bright Sunday has a solution to that challenge.
Director Business Development and Digital Transformation, SJ AB
Claes Lindholtz has held several management positions within companies such as Vattenfall, Milagro and now SJ. There, he held the previous role as Director of Programs and Customer Analysis, and Director of Strategic Product and Service Development – and is now taking on the challenges of digitalization in the role as Director of Business Development.
CloseWhat happens as students from Stockholm School of Economics get together with representatives from SJ and Cognizant to address business travelling challenges? After four guided workshops, the teams are now ready to present their results and to announce a winner.
Cities and regions are rapidly becoming important real-time arenas for sustainable development. Representing an increasingly dominant part of the world’s population, characterized by high consumption and facing major infrastructural challenges, cities are also a playing field for sustainability through partnerships, digitalization and new business models.
Project Manager within Business Development, Skanska
Sofie has experience from working strategically with sustainability within the transport, energy and construction sector. Currently, she is working with Skanska's “Sustainovation”-initiative, which is about development and innovation towards sustainability through partnerships. She has a Master of Science in Engineering and was appointed Female Leader Engineer in 2015.
CloseWith group decisions on ambitious climate targets affecting the entire value chain, new solutions were required to enable Skanska’s journey towards strengthened sustainability. How do you deal with such an extensive challenge in an industry characterized by numerous partners, geographical spread and decentralization? How can smart digitization help achieve the sustainability goals?
An important initial action was to establish “Sustainovation” – a structured internal approach to drive development and innovation for sustainability, as well as a platform for new collaborations with external parties from diverse industries. Sofie Jonsson, project manager at Sustainovation, offers an exciting insight into an offensive initiative towards real sustainability.
Architect, partner & senior advisor, White Architects
Monica von Schmalensee is a senior partner and architect at White Arkitekter. As CEO of the company 2010-2017 she established the practice internationally and doubled its size. Monica continues to develop the practice in her current role as strategic advisor. She is currently one of the Mayor's Design Advocates, a collection of individuals who support the Mayor of London and his staff in the delivery of the Good Growth by Design agenda.
Monica is also former chairman of the Government Council for Sustainable Cities and one of the founders of the Sweden Green Building Council as well as member board of IVA, member of Global Challenge and now chair of the Form & Design Center Malmö.
What will be required for the cities of the future to take new, important steps towards real sustainability; environmentally, financially but not least socially? What needs to be added to the concept of “responsibility” and what role can businesses of the city play?
The sustainable cities of the future will need to develop a stronger social ecology and even shape entirely new business models, with increased capacity to ensure sustainability at all levels. Monica von Schmalensee shares insights from years of experience in sustainable urban development and trend insights from her many national and international engagements.
The City of Uppsala is moving forwards from climate initiative to SDG goals and environmental holistic strategy. Already in 2010, Uppsala initiated a qualified journey towards sustainability by initiating Uppsala climate protocols. The city engaged the business community and other community actors in the work for sustainable development. Today, the protocol has 40 members with a total of 38,000 employees. During the years afterwards, ambitions and initiatives have followed each other and today Uppsala is one of the larger cities with the strongest overall grip on sustainable development.
What are the most important lessons learned? How do you succeed in building a strong collaboration between the public and business community? How can a city be an active facilitator that stimulates offensive company efforts? What are Uppsala’s future plans for innovatively driven sustainability?
Hannes Vidmark has had an active role, both strategically and operationally, and shares inspiring insights and success factors, the pitfalls to avoid and key factors for succeeding with lasting and sustainable collaboration.
CEO, Minesto
Dr Martin Edlund is CEO of Minesto, a leading marine energy developer listed on Nasdaq First North Stockholm with operations in Sweden, UK, Taiwan and the Faroe Islands. Martin Edlund has been working in the marine renewable energy sector for the last decade. His professional focus for more than twenty years has been on turning technology into business. He has been engaged in research and management consulting with leading companies such as GE, ABB, LM Ericsson, Atlas Copco and SKF.
Martin Edlund holds a PhD in Innovation Management and a master’s degree in Engineering Physics from Chalmers University of Technology.
Head of R&D portfolio Industry Decarbonisation, Vattenfall
Mikael Nordlander is responsible for establishing and developing partnerships between Vattenfall and the basic industry in Sweden. He has been working in research and development in the energy sector for more than 15 years, including in the field of solar energy, biomass, financial risk modeling, automatic control and analysis of energy systems.
CloseVP Center for the Future of Work
EMEA Cognizant
Euan is a long standing expert in the business and IT services landscape. A respected speaker and thinker, Euan has guided many Fortune 500 firms into the dynamics surrounding business, technology and sourcing with his thought provoking research and advisory skills. The Center for the Future of Work examines how work is changing in response to the emergence of new technologies, new business practices and new workers.
CloseStar-analyst and expert in the business and IT services landscape, who has guided many Fortune 500 firms into the dynamics surrounding business, technology and sourcing with his thought provoking research and advisory skills.