Top 3 take-aways from post COP26-event

Centigo and the British-Swedish Chamber of Commerce co-hosted an event last week about “Post COP26 – What happens next?”. We were very pleased to be joined by HM Ambassador to Sweden Ms Judith Gough as guest speaker as well as sustainability directors, CEOs, specialists, and members of the chamber.

What were our Top 3 take-aways with a British-Swedish business perspective?

• As HM Ambassador opened the presentation, 'the glass is more half-full than half-empty', referring to the outcomes of COP26. The UK as organisers has worked tremendously hard, and there have been major steps forward in areas such as deforestation, reducing coal, clarity of article 6 of the Paris agreement on international carbon markets, Net Zero commitments, direct US-China talks, methane gas reduction, and aviation fuel. The Glasgow Climate Pact may not reach the 1.5 degree target fully but it does include significant breakthroughs – for businesses, governments, organisations and consumers to work further on.
• HM Ambassador highlighted Innovation as a major enabler to achieve the goals: Now, the UK and Sweden are considered world-leaders in innovation, ranked on 4^th and 2^nd place in the Global Innovation Index¹ this year. 
• In June 2022, the next major United Nations conference “Stockholm +50” about a healthy planet for the prosperity of all” will take place in Stockholm. The UK will as host nation for COP26 hand over to the hosts of COP27 in parallel. So both the UK and Sweden will continue to demonstrate leadership and play important roles in the much-needed global changes to come.

Among the participants, there were several world-leading companies in different areas, such as fossil-free steel, green bond pioneers, and sustainable design and sourcing for apparel and fashion. A recording of the event/webinar can be found at the British-Swedish Chamber of Commerce website².

About Centigo: Centigo is a management consultancy which helps companies and organisations to be more fit for the future. “Business Wellness” is our mission and philosophy, and sustainability in different aspects has always been at its core. Based in the Nordics, UK and Ireland, we help clients worldwide in Sustainable Innovation (recycling business model, sharing business model, GreenTech/CleanTech), operational efficiency (waste reduction, supply chain optimisation), governance for sustainability (setup of organisation and processes), and exploring synergies between digitalisation and sustainability (Green IT, digital transformation). For more information, please feel free to reach out directly.

1. https://www.statista.com/chart/18804/rankings-of-the-global-innovation-index/

2. https://bscc.info/post-cop26/