SWEDELINK Newsletter Autumn 2023

Hej! This edition of the SWEDELINK Newsletter showcases recent events and member activities, welcomes new members and presents the new Honorary Board Members. A big thank you to all Members, the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra, Business Sweden, sponsors, and volunteer work that makes it all happen. Enjoy reading this first 2023 edition of the SACC newsletter!

Jan Gardberg, President of the Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce

https://www.swedishchamber.com.au/?na=view&id=18

Sweden Innovation Days – Now available Free On Demand

Sweden Innovation Days took place 21-23 March 2023

You can now watch all of Sweden Innovation Days Mainstage program and many of the Side Events on the event platform here: https://event.vvenues.com/sid2023/  

 

This digital event (free of charge) focused on how to enable innovation that has a real impact on our society, environment and economy. Despite Sweden being a climate front runner, we still have a responsibility to contribute to the Global Goals.

During the conference we presented how Swedish agencies and industry are paving the way for the Swedish innovation ecosystem to experiment and grow. Discover some great real life examples of how actors are successfully innovating and finally learn about the impact these innovations have had on our society.

The event is dedicated to fostering international collaboration, so whether you are a startup, intermediary or corporate, working in the public sector, civil society, academia or a government agency, there will be something for everyone.

About the event

Sweden Innovation Days’ primary goal is to provide an international platform to share best practices, knowledge and meet innovation partners from around the world. This year’s focus will be how we can enable innovation that has a positive environmental, economic and social impact. Sweden is a world leader within innovation but we need to continuously strive towards more innovative solutions, both theoretically and practically.

Sweden Innovation Days will feature a digital Mainstage program with key experts, case studies and interviews that go beyond the theoretical to explore the practical ways innovation can address today’s biggest sustainability challenges. Additionally, there will be a broad range of Side Events conducted by our fantastic conference partners to dive deeper into the important topics covered on the digital Mainstage across all three days.

The conference is a cooperation between Vinnova – Sweden’s Innovation Agency, the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas – a Swedish research council for sustainable development, SISP – Swedish Incubators and Science Parks, Ignite Sweden, AI Sweden and Business Sweden. This year Sweden Innovation Days will coincide with Sveriges Innovationsriksdag in Lund.

Sweden Innovation Days has previously taken place in 2022 and 2020. Last year’s event saw over 5000 registered participants joining from 97 different countries.

Daily focus

The goal of this conference is to inspire and exchange knowledge on how we can mobilise innovation projects that make a difference in an impactful way. The program will move beyond the theoretical and present practical methods as well as success cases highlighting how to achieve this. Each day will therefore focus on a different stage of the innovation process.

DAY 1 21 MARCH
Paving the way for innovation

Exploring how government agencies can foster greater innovation at all levels.

DAY 2 22 MARCH

Enabling innovation – The Swedish way

Highlighting how Sweden is working towards a more sustainable future.

DAY 3 23 MARCH

Creating real impact

Measuring how innovation is creating an impact and seeing real results.

You can now watch the entire program for free On Demand until April 11 here:

https://event.vvenues.com/sid2023/register

NEW PREMIUM MEMBER – Polestar

 

 

 

 

Polestar (Nasdaq: PSNY) is the Swedish electric performance car brand determined to improve society by using design and technology to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, its cars are available online in 27 markets globally across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company plans to create a truly climate-neutral production car, without offsetting, by 2030.

Polestar launched in Australia with the Polestar 2 electric performance fastback in 2022. Over 1,500 Polestar 2 models were sold in its first year, making it one of Australia’s most popular electric vehicles. The highly anticipated Polestar 3 – an  SUV for the electric age – will deliver sports car dynamics with a low stance and spacious interior in 2023. Polestar plans to release three more electric performance vehicles through to 2026.

Polestar is a progressive voice of change in the areas of design, technology, and particularly in sustainability, which is a cornerstone of the Polestar brand.

Its goal is to build sustainable electric cars and to help create a sustainable society. These are the four key drivers of its sustainability focus:

  • Climate neutrality – Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
  • Circularity – Design that eliminates waste and pollution
  • Transparency – The whole truth about electric car sustainability
  • Inclusion – A sustainable future for all

You can read more about Polestar’s sustainability initiatives here

SACC Perth WA – Special Business Event supported by Scania on 23 March with the Ambassador of Sweden to Australia

On 23 March SACC Perth WA hosted a special business event in conjunction with HE Pontus Melander Ambassador of Sweden to Australia’s visit to Perth. About 40 representatives from Swedish and Australian businesses attended the event held at the South of Perth Yacht Club.

Lisa Jahrsten, Honorary Consul for Sweden WA welcomed all and introduced guest of honour Ambassador of Sweden HE Pontus Melander.

Ambassador Melander highlighted the priorities of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union – security – unity, competitiveness, green and energy transitions, democratic values and the rule of law – our foundation. The increased importance of friendship with like-minded countries with Ukraine and uncertainty in the world. Ambassador Melander also talked about the sustainable mining opportunities between Sweden and Australia with digitalisation and automatisation happening with increased speed.

SACC Perth WA Chapter Chair, Joseph Olsson, Sandvik introduced event sponsor Scania Australia, Martin Melin.

Martin Melin, Operations Manager Scania Australia presented on E-mobility and customer collaborations in mining, where they have rolled out electrified and autonomous systems. These collaborations included LKAB and Boliden in Sweden and Rio Tinto locally in Australia. Scania highlighted the importance of partnerships to develop and test new technology and how important the collaboration with Rio Tinto has been and still is. Furthermore, Scanias EV Roadmap was presented, as well as more details on battery systems and collaboration with Northvolt regarding battery cells. Another item discussed was the different regulations in different states regarding axle weights, which is causing difficulties for the industry and complicates the deployment of new BEV technology on public roads.

Thank you to all attending the event and a big thank you to our event sponsor Scania Australia

 

 

 

SACC Sustainability Committee Update

The Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Committee is pleased to announce that we welcomed a new Chair at the first meeting of the year in February, Flavia Vaz, Head of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Tetra Pak. We are also pleased and thankful that our previous Chair Carin Varverud Härdin, Vice President of Marketing Communications at Volvo Group Australia (VGA) will stay on the committee representing VGA. A big thank you to Carin for driving the committee and activities since 2021.

We are also happy to welcome SACC corporate member Scania Australia to the committee, represented by Hanna Johansson, Director Business Support at Scania Australia. Furthermore, we would like to thank Mellisa Hamilton, who recently left the committee due to her move with IKEA to the Netherlands. IKEA is now represented by Peter Richmond Sustainability Business Partner at IKEA Australia.

On 20 February 2023, we hosted a very successful and appreciated joint Swedish Chambers APAC Sustainability Committee online meeting. APAC committee representatives presented and discussed how they work in each area, successful projects, and potential joint collaboration. The participating chambers were:

  • Australia
  • Singapore
  • Hongkong
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Korea
  • Philippines
  • Japan
  • Malaysia
  • Vietnam

A few summary points from the meeting:

  • Focus on one topic across the region that we can stand behind, find synergies our countries are lacking and work on those issues jointly.
  • Share communication content and solutions to save cost and efficiency.
  • Share ways of collaboration, how we work with the Embassy of Sweden and Business Sweden. Some chambers have developed the Team Sweden collaboration more than others. Chambers provide the platform or stage for members and Team Sweden partners. Chambers are more connected to the business community network and support the growth here, the Embassy the government connection.

Upcoming Sustainability Committee Events

Virtual events:

4 April    Hydrogen – What is hydrogen? Why hydrogen? How is it produced and applications available today 

8 June  Circularity – Dr Nicole T Garofano, Planet Ark 

Events in person:

Mid June  Sustainability Food and Beverage Roundtable in Melbourne

Find out more about the Committee here

 

For further information, contact:  

Flavia Vaz, SACC Sustainability Committee Chair and Head of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Tetra Pak

Email: flavia.vaz@tetrapak.com

Camilla Jennings, General Manager Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce

Email: camilla@swedishchamber.com.au

Sandvik Australia officially opened its new state-of-the-art 6 Star Green Star warehouse and workshop in Perth WA

On 22 March Sandvik Australia officially opened its 6 star green star state-of-the-art warehouse and workshop in Perth WA. President and CEO of Sandvik, Stefan Widing and HE Pontus Melander Ambassador of Sweden to Australia joined the official opening celebrations.

The new sites are committed to supporting customers future growth in Western Australia. The sites are significantly larger than the previous facilities and feature the latest technology and will help customers meet their sustainability goals. As part of the official opening, Sandvik showcased their latest GET and PPH bucket as well as smart solutions in development that will improve productivity, safety and TCO for their customers.

The opening celebration was attended by local customers, industry representatives, media, and Sandvik staff and included presentations, facility tours and networking with our latest technology on display.

 

Sandvik’s new warehouse at Roe Highway Logistics Park (ROE) in Western Australia is the first industrial facility in the state to be declared 6 Star Green Star by the Green Building Council of Australia.

 The 6 Star rating represents ‘World Leadership’ in environmentally sustainable building practices and the internationally recognised environmental rating aligns with Sandvik’s global commitment to using engineering and innovation to make the shift towards more sustainable business.

A 6-star rating is reserved for highly efficient buildings that meet strict environmental and social issues while contributing to the community.

Sandvik’s investment in the new facility, including ensuring it’s a truly sustainable, signals its ongoing commitment to the Australian mining and construction equipment market. It comprises a 10,500 sqm warehouse, 500 sqm two-level office, and a 220 sqm dock office with 3,615 sqm super awning. ROE is a strategically located 72-hectare industrial park delivered by leading WA developer Hesperia, with Sandvik’s Lot 53 warehouse built by Q Design and Construct.

The sustainability innovations within the facility include the first use of low carbon concrete in a warehouse in Western Australia; 100kV solar generation with 67Kwh battery storage; a dual electric vehicle charging station; energy-efficient lighting; and a dedicated rainwater harvesting system.

Wayne Scrivens, Vice President, Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, Sales Area Australia & New Zealand said: “integrating sustainability into our business model and ways of working creates value for all our stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders, as well as the broader community.”

“We take a holistic approach by including the entire value chain into our sustainability agenda. Our main contribution to sustainability is through our products and we work together with our customers and suppliers for more productive, safer and more sustainable solutions.

Sandvik has committed to targets in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), consistent with the Paris Agreement, with a 50 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. The company’s 2030 Sustainability Goals include Climate, Circularity, People and Fair Play as the areas it considers the most material and where it can make the most difference.

The move to a state-of-the-art warehouse has also enabled Sandvik to implement wide-ranging technological and operational improvements to further support its Australian customers and achieve its sustainability goals: consolidating storage; improving storage density with vertical storage machines; installing conveyors to reduce materials handling equipment (MHE), and an all battery MHE fleet that can be charged from the solar generation at the site.

Niels Reuvers, Logistics Operations Manager – Australia, said: “locating the new warehouse with its improved operations alongside our new workshop will increase internal synergies, alignment and cross-functional collaboration – providing the best support to all of our Australian customers.”

“Our additional capacity in Western Australia will enable us to support the growing demand for around the clock service, qualified engineers and genuine parts on demand.”

Sandvik is among a range of like-minded companies with a focus on sustainable business that have located their operations at ROE because of its environmental goals, including carbon neutrality by 2022. The ROE project is committed to delivering 40kW of solar per facility, utilising low carbon building materials, best practice wastewater management, and the strategic conservation of a Red Tailed Black Forest Cockatoo habitat.

ROE has received national recognition for its industry leading sustainability initiatives, most recently the 2022 Environment Excellence Award from the UDIA.

For enquiries, please contact:

Kate Bills
General Manager – Sustainability, Marketing and Communications
Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions
email:
kate.bills@sandvik.com

World leading 6 Star Green Star Rating for Sandvik’s state-of-the-art warehouse — Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology

www.rocktechnology.sandvik

NEW SMALL BUSINESS MEMBER – B2B Marketing Leaders Forum

B2B Marketing Leaders Forum is founded by Swedish SACC member Emma Roborgh and is APAC’s largest educator and community for Business-to-Business (B2B) marketers.

Two-day educational conferences are held yearly in Sydney in May, Singapore in August and Melbourne in November.

Each conference sees over 60 B2B CMOs speaking including from ABB, AECOM, AMP, ANZ, Aurecon, AWS, Canva, CBA, Cisco, Ericsson, Google Cloud, IBM, KONE, NBN, Telstra, Volvo Trucks and many more, sharing how they lead, build brand, drive pipeline, revenue and growth for their businesses.

Invest in your marketing team, ensure they drive revenue and growth for your business and encourage their attendance.

Contact:

Emma Roborgh, Founder & CEO, B2B Marketing Leaders Forum

Email: emma.roborgh@b2bmarketingleaders.com.au

Website: www.b2bmarketingleaders.com.au

 

EU-Australia FTA Update March 2023

EU-Australia FTA Update

Since the 13th round of negotiations in October 2022, the political stars have aligned with both the EU and Australia have committed to sealing a deal by July 2023, treating it as a top political priority.

Australia’s Minister for Trade, Don Farrell has publicly acknowledged Australia’s intention to finalise a deal by the first half of 2023 and six Australian Ministers visited Brussels and different EU capitals in January 2023, showcasing Australia’s commitment to a deal.

A few days before the start of the 14th round of negotiations, on 1 February 2023, the European Commission released its Green Deal Industrial Plan, which sets an ambitious trade agenda to ensure the bloc does not lose ground in the net-zero tech race – a response, to the US’s Inflation Reduction Act and China’s cleantech dominance. The Plan unveiled the European Commission’s objective to extend the EU’s FTA network and in particular to conclude a deal with Australia by the 2023 European summer.

In this very favourable context, the 14th round of negotiations was held in Canberra between 6 and 10 February 2023, the first time the EU negotiating team could physically travel to Australia since the 6th round of talks in February 2020.

Though the round did not lead to the conclusion of many additional chapters, and a lot of work remains to be done before a deal can be signed, significant progress has been made across the FTA, including:

  • The (sub-)chapters on maritime services, telecommunication services, and on competition were provisionally concluded during the round.
  • The revised offers on services and investment, as well as on goods (tariff) and government procurement, which had been exchanged in the course of 2022, were further discussed. For public procurement, both sides explored options for a final market access package and discussed potential exceptions for SMEs. Sensitive products (e.g. market access for other key agricultural products) were not discussed. Such discussions will be kept for the end game of the negotiations.
  • Progress has been made for sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) and both parties considered introducing a dispute settlement mechanism. Negotiators reached an agreement on the objectives of the dispute settlement and mediation chapter, which include transparent, efficient, and effective dispute settlement procedures.
  • In the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter, good headway was made. It was the first-time negotiators were able to discuss the EU’s revised offer, made in October 2022, which reflects the recent recalibration of the EU’s trade policy to enhance the contribution of the bloc’s trade agreements in protecting the climate, environment, and labour rights worldwide, notably through the enforceability of mutual binding commitments such as the Paris Agreement.

During the 14th round, negotiators discussed the outstanding elements in the TSD chapter including the labour provisions and the EU’s proposals on dispute settlement. Of note, the negotiators agreed on provisions on trade and sustainable forest management and climate change. As important work remains to be done, several follow up actions were agreed.

The TSD chapter is politically important for the EU as the European Parliament, which will be required to ratify the deal, expects ambitious sustainability commitments in all future EU FTAs. Heralded in the EU as the “gold standard” for future FTAs, the EU-New Zealand FTA concluded in June 2022 is the first EU FTA to include enforceability of TSD commitments.

  • For energy and raw materials, good progress was made at the technical level on several issues including an agreement on authorisation procedures, environmental impact assessments, offshore risk and safety and renewable fuels. Parties are looking to pathways forward to iron out energy regulatory provisions as well as energy and resources pricing issues.
  • Though some provisions of the general rules of origin have been agreed upon, further work is required to close key outstanding points. It is similar for technical barriers to trade. Provisions on international standards, transparency and market surveillance were closed, and further text was agreed on the motor vehicle annex. However, it is understood there remains an important volume of outstanding articles and annexes.
  • No key progress on the digital trade chapter. At this stage, it is unlikely that Australia’s consideration of introducing European-style rights (such as the right to be forgotten) as it currently reviews its privacy rules, will impact favourably the negotiations.
  • Finally, discussions continue to advance positively on specific language for First Australian Nations People, on subsidies and on state owned enterprises. Several longstanding issues across the Intellectual Property Chapter, including on copyright, trademarks and border measures have been resolved.
  • Discussions on geographical indications (GIs) focused on the relationship between GIs and trademarks and respective interests on key GI terms. The Australian Government has not agreed to any GI terms and will only agree at the FTA conclusion if the overall package is good enough.

The official report from the EU is available here and the report from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is available here.

Next steps:

  • With the political momentum at its peak and a fast-approaching ambitious deadline, the negotiating teams are under strong pressure to clear voluminous work before the table for political discussions can be set to reach a deal with beef market access high on the menu.
  • A 15th round of negotiations is planned for April 2023 in Brussels. It is hoped to be the final full round, to be followed by a 5×5 round of senior negotiators and finally political negotiations to iron out the most sensitive issues. To ensure both sides continue steady progress in the lead-up to the next round, a high number of follow-up actions have been agreed on, including the convening of inter-sessional discussions in the coming weeks.

 

 

Conversation with Jesper Brodin CEO INGKA Group IKEA – Swedish Chambers APAC Virtual Event 14 March

 

Summary and recording

The world around us is changing – and quickly. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat rather a living reality, which impacts us all – our shared home, the planet and our lives in ways we could never imagine. To preserve a livable planet we need to transform into a net-zero future. At the same time, digitalisation and new technology is changing how industries operate at high speed. All of this means both challenges we have never experienced before as well as many new opportunities.

We were proud to present Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka Group IKEA, as our guest at the recent Swedish Chambers APAC CEO Series  Event on 14 March 2023. In this exclusive session, Jesper shared how the Ingka Group IKEA tackle the biggest transformation in IKEA history, how they approach the global challenges the world is facing today and how they are committed to leading the way towards a more sustainable business model for the industry.

The conversation with Jesper Brodin will be led by Camilla Bullock, Board Director, Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) and CEO, Emerging Payments Association Asia.

LISTEN TO THE FULL RECORDING HERE

 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

JESPER BRODIN

Jesper Brodin is the President and CEO of Ingka Group, IKEA. Ingka Group, formerly know as IKEA Group, is one of the world’s largest home furnishing retailer and owns and operates more than 400 IKEA stores in 32 markets (FY21) under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Ingka Group was founded by Ingvar Kamprad and is a strategic partner in the IKEA franchise systems and in addition to operate IKEA Retail, the company consists of Ingka Centres and Ingka Investments. Jesper started his IKEA career in 1995 as the Purchase manager in Pakistan, IKEA Group. During the years he has held different roles such as assistant to Ingvar Kamprad and Anders Dahlvig, CEO at the time, Business area manager Kitchen and Dining as well as his recent role as Managing Director for Range & Supply, Inter IKEA Group. He has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. Jesper is married to Lena and they have three children. His passion is music and the sea.

Work experience:

  • 2017 CEO, Ingka Group, IKEA
  • 2016 IKEA Range & Supply Manager, MD IKEA of Sweden, Inter IKEA Group
  • 2013 IKEA Range & Supply Manager, MD IKEA of Sweden, IKEA Group
  • 2011 IKEA Supply Manager, IKEA of Sweden, IKEA Group
  • 2008 Regional Purchase Manager China, IKEA Group
  • 2002 Business Area Manager Kitchen and Dining, IKEA of Sweden, IKEA Group
  • 1999 Assistant to Ingvar Kamprad and Anders Dahlvig, CEO at the time, IKEA Group
  • 1997 Regional Purchase manager South East Asia, IKEA Group
  • 1995 Purchase manager in Pakistan, IKEA Group

CAMILLA BULLOCK

Camilla is the CEO and co-founder of Emerging Payments Association Asia. She has a long career in the financial technology industry and often talks about coming home when she started her work in the payments industry. Payments is the part of the financial service’s that touch people’s lives every day, and through EPA Asia work lives can be improved. The payments industry offered her an opportunity to combine her passion for fintech and humanitarian questions. She is loving her role where she can combine intellect, creativity with enthusiasm and energy to connect people, create opportunities and ideas from the apparently abstract connections she sees between situations, businesses, problems and people. When she was twelve months into setting up EPA Asia she was approached and asked the question why there were so few women involved in the program.  She was taken by surprise. Running fast and creating on the go, she had forgotten to reflect if the people they engaged were male or female.  She there and then set the goal of reaching a 50% gender balance in the association. Project Meet-Her started as a series of lunch events with the goal to involve female thought leaders in the EPA Asia agenda. COVID-19 forced EPA Asia to adopt the program, it has evolved and is now an online event series that will result in a book – Meet Her – She knows Payments. 

 

 

THIS VIRTUAL EVENT WAS ORGANISED BY:

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:

 

NEW PREMIUM MEMBER – Volvo Car Australia

 

Rear-wheel drive, more range and faster charging for fully electric Volvo C40 and XC40 models

The first Volvo car rolled off the Gothenburg production line in Sweden in 1927. Since then, Volvo Car Group has been a world-leader in safety technology and innovation. Today, Volvo is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales in more than 100 countries. Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China. Volvo Cars formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The ‘Volvo’ name is owned by Volvo Trademark Holding AB, which is jointly owned by Volvo Cars and Volvo Group. Volvo cars are marketed and sold by regional market companies and national sales companies through approximately 2,500 local retailers in over 100 countries. Most of these businesses are independent companies. Volvo Cars had around 43,000 employees globally, with approximately 29,000 in Europe, 12,000 in Asia and 2,000 in North and South America.