Eco in Norway: The annual Zero Emission Conference 2011

Lord Anthony Giddens and me / Iselin Rolvsjord Fergestad (photo)

Speakers:
Einar Haandlykken, Executive Director of ZERO
Heidi Sorensen, State Secretary from The Ministry of the Environment
Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative Party of Norway.
Anthony Giddens, sociologist member of Green Growth Council
Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former businessman, investor and politician
Bunker Roy, founder of Barefoot College
Martha Delgado Peralta, Head of the Mexico City Ministry of Environment
Ole Enger, President & CEO in REC Group
Representatives from the ”Powerhouse-alliance”
Johan Rockstrom, Executive Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre

Months have passed, and finally time for delivery again . :) Lots of work has occupied my life in all areas,this blog was a transition from travel to discovery, from meetings to life inventions and insight, and finally from past into presence. In a global, digital age, we need to keep up with the crowds, but not forget ourselves. To bring one`s imagination for real is not very far from computer generated reality of "other self exploration", either, as reality when it appears in nature is completely and fundamentally dependent on balancing energies. Human nature is to create human impact, in positive and negative sence. So the impact must be carefully designed in cooperation with natural flow of life assurements. In no other membership than our "Earth Company" where the executive is not the script writer, but the "structured improvisor".

Zero Conference:
I will give you excerpts from some of their best quotes. The conference http://www.zero11.no/ started out with its executive, Einar Haanlykken from the Zero Organization, and I will further promote his point with the growing abilities of China. As you might guess, Zero Conference is all-business.Or, maybe not. At least, this is macro economy ground zero.

Very similar to the german Econsense (my blog offer: http://ecoiselin.blogspot.com/2010/11/eco-in-germany-econsense-forum-berlin.html ).

Einar mentioned, that China was not the front runners of the industrial revolution. They were not ahead of the technology and media revolution, either. But, they apparently want to be the front runners of the renewables and sustainability revolution! So here they stand first in line, so that they are no longer the country "to be told what to do and where to move". Like Arnold Schwartznegger said at this conference; When we in the western countries have been driving cars for so long, we cannot suddenly tell the chinese to keep biking as usual, when we suddenly found out hundred years later that biking was a very good thing to do.:)

In Norway, we keep waiting for our target group and competitors to grow, before altering into anything like "front running". But with these huge world dominance-competitors and (previously) cold war-enemies like China and the US and Russia (and India), they have another attitude against innovation. We must not forget they are different in strategy than the power we struggle with around in Scandinavian countries.

From his speech to my point: It is important to remember that ethnographic study of innovation and industrial development in Norway, describes domestic innovation as mainly "need driven" . Which means that there are no innovation risks even though innovations exist in big volume (in opposite to Sweden)! As "we argue that innovation activity, by definition, will challenge and sometimes alter established boundaries" (quoted from this very important information of energy innovation and organizational establishment etc.: http://organizinginnovation.wordpress.com/ ).

When something is "need driven", we`d of course not pay attention to the strong rise of solar industry in the rest of Europe, increasing 42 percent in 2010 in Germany alone, with Italy straight behind at 21 percent.  It is soon becoming a competitive source of energy approaching grid parity with nuclear, and we don`t even know it!

In only 3 years, Europe has created 300 000 new jobs in the field of renewables (source: Hedegaard)! Apart from European rise, China wants to be the innovators, so their wind capacity is already on shore as the biggest consumer on earth of wind energy. By becoming a competitive part, China is now no longer a follower of the jet stream, the car industry or the industrial revolution, they are becomming leaders of some kind. And they are dangerously ahead of us, without us even knowing it. That is the price we`ll have to pay , by leaning on some "need driven" activity..

There are much things good, though, about the Norwegian patience. Our hope, is to become the "smartest solution"-maker and marketers. Norway has always been waiting. Always in great observation of others, maybe not carefully, but the observing role has been our brightest function also, with such a great student organization. But what is the fun of experts if experts are singular functional? This is why I cheer formost on entrepreneurs before anyone else.

In our orgs, specialized people with just the brightest ideas and history, remain inside their functional stabs maybe because of their social acceptance fright, and all the gold keep mourning inside with no matrixed crossfading solutions communicated in the public atmosphere to a man-next-door. But I am sure, that we have some golden opportunities here: In 2010, global green revenues increased by 7%,which is more than the Swiss GDP and a world record 400 billion EUR! (Source: Hedegaard)

We just have to look a little above our shoulders for a second, because the EU has a 20 percent renewables target combating the 15 percent emissions in Europe of global emissions, but increased as more industries in Europe are in other countries, so that we are also much more contributing. But the target is set. We have to keep following its tale.

How to develope our agriculture? Take a look at the Barefoot College as example: http://www.barefootcollege.org/ . Why is local contribution and knowledge important? Because, without the local knowledge, such as tribal togetherness, the agricultural spirit will never be delivered from grand-dads to grand-sons, and which is the rutine of the "undeveloped country"-style. So local feed, is needed. Sanitation, clean water, pure local electricity, and fair trade, is necessary. Creativity is not in our hands, but theirs. They already have it, as human beings. Give them the basic standards of life cycling sources, and they`ll soon be your employees! Why should we always think that by holding someone back in line, we come first? By bringing someone down, you hold yourself up?

Reality says: By constructing sustainable agriculture and functionality in developing countries, we give not only them the shed to self-help and sustainability, we also cut our own emissions so drastically, that we could perhaps fly another mile without feeling guilty by doing so. Because this strategy is very similar to Denmark`s shipping sector; pay its oil by offshore windmills giving the same amount ot energy back to the oil company (it is called carbon neutral strategy..), or when I visited the ecovillages last year - almost everyone seemed to agree to have a car in their household - because why not get the goods when you do so much good elsewhere? Like cleaning your waste water from the garage. It is smart - simply that !

Eco in Germany: The Econsense Forum , Berlin 2010

"Are you on the guest list?" Nope, I said. But my interest in the green management is so great that I am skipping all traditional tourist shopping just to come here, join you, and communicate back to Norway what is being said and discussed. Yep, I got in. :) The Econsense Forum, all men in suits, and me - a "journalist" slash blogger from Norway, previously being an editor of my own printed magazine by Art Council Norway for three years, though. No writer anymore, no editor anymore. Just me, an environmentalist. A CRAZY such one, and therefor - I GOT IN! Fabtastic, the Econsense! But seriously: Even though my ears only catched 50 percent of the german language all through the seminars, my eyes and their expressions and the logo "im dialog" made me understand maybe a hundered percent of this fantastic opportunity; a dialogue forum! Finally. The germans know, how to bring awareness to an upper management level. The dialogues between the leaders of firms and multinational companies, it all made me gaze and listen like never before, like my german knowledge from high school suddenly all came back to me. Because, they were on it. The leaders were on, discussing enthusiastically about serious mistakes in business and serious solutions. What immediately came to my mind, is that the movement called Corporate Social Responsibility no longer belongs to just a minor sector in business. Now big businesses are discussing it, too, and at this forum - ambassadors of many countries from all over the world entering Econsense. And this is giving what kind of signals? Of course: They know that they have to change for surviving in the turbulence of today's market and social changes. And of course to keep up with the green trends. Making strategies further from the functional management education. The creative education is on. The hybrid organizations are on. And, finally the social leader is on. This is just one more SIGNAL, that the world is aware of the upcoming changes on ALL areas in life; business and personal. It is on topic.

To get into their discussions abit, I would not put a resumé of their endless talks, but rather give a few examples of a common discussion here which is probably everyone's concern.  One is money and strategy. To change in business, there is always risk. What the leaders of Econsense were discussing, was not that their will of change is lower or less than any other environmentalist out there. Because quite surprisingly, everyone seemed to agree on the same thing; they all want to "become greener". But the question is always "how", and always "at what risk". Then first of all we must not forget, the financial and cost-benefit risks. Before entering these rooms, several leading companies of Germany had published a long report from 2009 with aspects and reviews of their implemented green-social sustainability and improving technologies in environmental-friendly, internal managing. These reports showed the balance and the income and the benefits of the 2009 changes. They also gave some future predictions and ambitions. So when entering the conference, none of these firms came with fresh pen and blanc papers. They were all adjusted and "educated" in their own company experiences. The debate further on, was whether or not the balances showed them any "likes" of taking more ambitious risks. The speekers were a couple of scientists, firm leaders with great background on resources, foresighters and reps from the European Union. To lead the debate, I noticed that they questioned other company managers more in depth on behalf of the science of resources and financial crisis. The negative responses always came when the scientists proved them how easy things are in the logic of what we have damaged and what we easily need to do, while the positive responses and raising eyebrows always came when the scientists told them how much other green companies have gained by improving their corporate responsibility. So conclusion on this observation is: They/We, all know the irresponsible style has damaged the flow. And they/we all want to get back the flow we used to have, and the better and greener solution there is - the more positive. So from talks to practice : It is not very far to walk from the table to the backyard and find all what we are looking for. Everyone CAN be happy, the problem is just to turn around the view and see WHERE is the solution, because it is just there in front of every non-creative businessleader who's just not able to see where the road split. And he or she is always happy when served.

Final conclusion of this bubbly meeting, except delicious meals and talks with ambassadors where I felt I could even touch their tie and stretch it a bit ..:)..is that there is no one out there with inhuman ambitions! Even the most conservative can turn into the greenest car driver if he'd only be presented of a few brilliant pitstops where his car can be restored and charged.

Lufthansa is at it.

Volkswagen is at it.



Vodafone is at it.



Deutsche Bahnhof (the Train service)



Market, People, World, Company. What It Tells We Must Do.