Nordic Center at UC Berkeley

The Economist asks, "Why are Nordic companies so successful?" in its latest edition at https://lnkd.in/gEcrNxMg. A great question, indeed! I routinely bring MBAs from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business to the Nordic region to explore this question firsthand in the "Sustainable Capitalism in the Nordics?" suite of courses I teach at the University of California, Berkeley. We meet with the likes of Novo Nordisk, Carlsberg Group, Ramboll, Ørsted, SKANDINAVISK, and IKEA, among others. The Economist offers some of the fundamental reasons, including the importance of the enterprise foundation model of ownership that is pervasive across the Nordic region with the likes of Novo Nordisk/Novo Nordisk Foundation, Carlsberg Group/Carlsberg Foundation, and Ramboll/Rambøll Fonden / Ramboll Foundation for which the world seems to be increasingly taking note, but can only scratch the surface in a brief article. For further reading on this important question, check out my recent article "Global Sustainability Frontrunners: Lessons from the Nordics" in California Management Review, available open access at https://lnkd.in/g38krhkd. My forthcoming book "Nordic Capitalism: Lessons for Realizing Sustainable Capitalism" with Cambridge University Press delves deeply into the comparatively strong performances of the Nordics, and my humble hope is we can spark much greater global interest in the Nordic experiences as there are so many valuable lessons to be learned!

Please take ~15 minutes to nominate a paper (self-nominations welcomed!) for the 2024-25 BERKELEY HAAS SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS RESEARCH PRIZE administered by Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas . $20,000 in prizes will be awarded to honor academic research papers with the greatest potential to address urgent global sustainability challenges and accelerate the green transition in society. DEADLINE 15 January 2025. Nominated academic research paper(s) must be either recently published (publication date of 2023 or more recent) or a working paper intended for future submission to a peer-reviewed academic journal. Priority themes: 1) Structuring Companies for Sustainability, 2) Cross-Industry Collaborations and Frameworks for Sustainability, 3) Rethinking the Role of Business in Society. Review the "2024 Call for Nominations" within the link below for further instructions. With 1) Structuring Companies for Sustainability, we invite papers exploring "Foundation Owned Companies. Foundation ownership involves an enterprise foundation holding majority voting rights of a for-profit company in perpetuity. Companies like Novo Nordisk, Carlsberg Group, and Ramboll use these structures, which have the potential to shield businesses from short-term pressures that may conflict with long-term sustainability ambitions. Research is invited to assess how well these foundation-owned models balance for-profit and sustainable business objectives." We also invite research on Perpetual Trusts, Employee Ownership, and Organizational Structures as part of this theme. With 2) Cross-Industry Collaborations and Frameworks for Sustainability, we invite papers exploring "Cross-Industry Collaborations. Analyzing specific examples of cross-sector initiatives, such as the People Positive Renewable Energy Transition co-created by the energy company Ørsted and key partners. Research is needed to evaluate how companies, governments, and community organizations collaborate to overcome barriers to the green transition." We also invite research on Sustainability Frameworks, Collaborative Innovations, among others. With 3) Rethinking the Role of Business in Society, we invite papers engaging with Rethinking Capitalism and Business Leadership, Business Education and Sustainability, and Developing a Modern Business Doctrine. Please, help us spread the word & nominate papers! Onward!!! Søren Staugaard Nielsen Professor Mette Morsing Andreas Rasche Dirk Matten Andrew Crane Andy Hoffman Stuart L. Hart Dara O'Rourke R. Edward Freeman Laurence Wainwright Kai Hockerts Panos N. Patatoukas Jonathan Weigel Jennifer Sturdy Rambøll Fonden / Ramboll Foundation Mads Nipper George Serafeim Rebecca Henderson Robert Eccles Berith Bjørnholm Steen Thomsen Ofer Eldar Dave Whorton Mark Ørberg Dorte Salskov-Iversen Greg Curtis Neel Strøbæk Ingrid Reumert Majken Schultz Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen Matthew Coffay Sveinung Jørgensen

"COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE AND CO-CREATION: THE NORDIC WAY TO GREEN TRANSITION?" Join us for an engaging seminar exploring how Nordic approaches to collaborative governance and co-creation can inspire and inform the green transition. Hosted by the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley in partnership with the Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas , this event brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine the potential of collective action in addressing the most pressing environmental challenges. A centerpiece of the discussion will be Denmark’s groundbreaking 2024 Green Tripartite Agreement, which introduced the world’s first agricultural carbon tax that includes tax for livestock emissions. This groundbreaking policy was developed through collaboration across sectors and the political spectrum, showcasing how partnerships among government, business, and labor can successfully achieve ambitious climate goals. It highlights the potential for navigating political polarization while building broad-based support for transformative change. DATE: December 10, 2024, 10am-1pm PST LOCATION: University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business REGISTER HERE:  https://lnkd.in/gW_JDK4g For further information, see “Denmark announces historic tripartite agreement to cut agricultural carbon emissions and restore nature” at https://lnkd.in/g-kzBqzB. University of California, Berkeley Innovation Centre Denmark Silicon Valley Jesper Kamp Allan Skårup Kristensen Jesper Møller Sørensen Robert Strand Timothy Tangherlini Mark Sandberg Lotta Weckström Ashley P. Spinelli Institute for Research on Labor & Employment (IRLE) Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE)

#1 🇸🇪 Sweden, #2 🇩🇰 Denmark, #3 🇫🇮 Finland in the 2024 World Economic Forum Energy Transition Index. #TheNordics are sustainability leaders worthy of greater global attention. (Do the Nordics have problems? Yes! But can we learn from their examples? YES!)

Looking for a great list of Nordic Holiday events in the San Francisco Bay Area? Our friends with The Scandinavian School & Cultural Center have it at https://lnkd.in/gu_wfJh4!

Once upon a time, Swedish schools were the best in the world, but not anymore. Why not? In a lecture last Thursday at UC Berkeley, Alireza Behtoui talked about Sweden’s shift from an education system once renowned for equality and inclusiveness to one now facing rising inequality. He highlighted that until the 1990s, Swedish schools aimed to offer equal opportunities for all. However, a series of reforms focused on privatization, school choice, and decentralization has led to deeper socioeconomic divides. Teachers face reduced pay and status, while students in underserved communities find themselves in increasingly segregated schools. Alireza Behtoui, a professor of sociology at Södertörn University in Stockholm and currently on sabbatical at UC Berkeley, researches the sociology of education, political sociology, race and ethnicity. Thank you to UC Berkeley’s Institute of European Studies, Nordic Center at UC Berkeley, Scandinavian Department, and School of Education for hosting this event, and to Alireza Behtoui for shedding light on this important subject. Robert Strand Monika Stahler

Ørsted and its CEO Mads Nipper are global leaders in the green transition. We are proud to be a formal collaborator with Ørsted at the University of California, Berkeley via the Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas and Nordic Center at UC Berkeley.

Visiting 🇸🇪 STINT, The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education Professor Alireza Behtoui kicks off the lecture “Once upon a time Swedish schools were the best in the world, but not anymore: Why not?” here at University of California, Berkeley. Introductory words by Nordic Center at UC Berkeley faculty director Mark Sandberg emphasize our approach at the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley how we oscillate between questions of where we in the 🇺🇸 U.S. (and more locally in California) may prosperously emulate/learn from the Nordic experiences with questions of where the Nordic experiences demand our critical gaze.

Visiting 🇸🇪 STINT, The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education Professor Alireza Behtoui kicks off the lecture “Once upon a time Swedish schools were the best in the world, but not anymore: Why not?” here at University of California, Berkeley. Introductory words by Nordic Center at UC Berkeley faculty director Mark Sandberg emphasize our approach at the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley how we oscillate between questions of where we in the 🇺🇸 U.S. (and more locally in California) may prosperously emulate/learn from the Nordic experiences with questions of where the Nordic experiences demand our critical gaze.