The meeting was organized by Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future, a network consisting of nine of the largest companies in the Nordics, including Islandsbanki, Telenor, Yara, Storebrand, Posten Bring, Marel, SAS, Swedbank and GSMA. The network was established in 2018.
On the agenda was collective efforts to achieve the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted by all UN member countries, except the USA, in December 2022.
Demanding closer dialogue with politicians
In addition to Bjelland Eriksen, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister of Climate, Energy, and Environment in Iceland, Romina Pourmokhtari, Minister of Climate and Environment in Sweden, and Ola Elvestuen, Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party and former Minister of Climate and Environment in Norway, also participated.
During the meeting, all CEOs presented the status of their companies' work on nature and their expectations from politicians. Closer dialogue and more collaboration in the significant work ahead were important messages from the network.
The participating politicians also presented their political plans for nature in the Nordic countries.
Nature commitments among the Nordic companies
In 2023, the network launched a set of updated, mutual commitments for sustainability, including nature. Next year, the network has significant plans for further efforts to achieve the goals and inspire other Nordic companies. They recently released a guide on how companies can get started and work on sustainable procurement, the third in the series.