Europe’s cities, regions, industries and natural resources face significant changes. There is a call for change to achieve global objectives related to climate change. At Koli Forum 2023, we discussed pressing issues on sustainable land use, sustainable choices, and mainstreaming innovation with society at its centre.
Enjoy the quotes from some of our speakers and watch the initial session for a sneak peek into the event’s engaging conversations. Click here here to view.
People
Camilla Sandström, from Umeå University, Sweden, said, “We need to move faster and achieve the objectives of climate change, Paris Agreement SDGs and other commitments”.
“Global changes are collective, and we know that. But for changes to work in society, we must listen to each individual’s voices, elevate them, make decisions and improve our work as best as possible for our communities”, said Marianela Pepe, EarthEcho International, Argentina, talking about the expectations young adults have for the future.
“Change must come from people, and as a leader, I need to enable [the changes] and make sure that a process [is in place]”, said Harri Palviainen, City of Järvenpää, Finland.
Tero Heinonen, Finnish Environment Institute, Finland, “Why are [companies] using the magic words ‘renewable’ and ‘compostable’? […] Misleading green claims undermine consumers’ ability to make the better choices they want and undermine consumer confidence in all claims”.
Forests
Riikka Paloniemi, Finnish Environment Institute, Finland, said, “Forests have an important role in the bioeconomy transformation, and actions aimed at safeguarding biodiversity and mitigating and adapting to climate change must be effective and cost-efficient”.
Antti Asikainen, Natural Resources Institute, Finland, mentioned, “We need innovative industrial policy to promote investments and reindustrialisation of European Union”.
Innovation
“Södra not only wants to invest [in forestry] but to challenge what’s going on and be a force [of innovation] with [investments like] Happie Camp”, said Erik Bengtson, Södra Ädla, Sweden.
“Technology is not enough to attract capital investors. Some elements that make a business model attractive to investors and funders are a good team, ambitious approach, and friendliness”, said Clara Matinez, European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), Germany.
“We understand that people are shifting from dairy to plant-based products for various reasons, and we recognise the change. In our strategy, we have recently decided to be the leader in innovative dairy and food products”, explained Anna Hakulinen, Valio, Finland.
“We had a good and honest discussion about the trade-offs we face when we think about land use and the many demands on forests. Even though we don’t yet have all the answers, we’re getting a good view and understanding of the challenges we face and indications on how we could act [to achieve] a better future”, said Jussi Manninen, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland.
Koli Forum is a top-level discussion platform focused on the sustainable use of natural resources and opportunities available through the bioeconomy. Follow us on X and Facebook, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about our activities.
