| | | | | | The Swedish Chamber of Commerce proudly presents our Monthly Digital Magazine Swedish Chamber Insights! With the new Swedish Chamber Insights, we will bring you deep-dive interviews, highlight sustainability features, and present opportunities to connect with our members and relations within our business community through the Get to Know-series. We are happy to offer our community an unparalleled glimpse into the activities within and around the Swedish Chamber of Commerce’s network for you to interact, connect, unveil business opportunities, learn from each other, share new ideas – and, as the title indicates – gain Insights. We hope you enjoy this new service and wish you a pleasant reading. As always, we are happy to receive your feedback. Welcome to reach out to us with your input, questions and thoughts about our upcoming Swedish Chamber Insights and information on how you can present your company by contacting communication@swedishchamber.nl.
In September's Swedish Chamber Insights, you can read: | | | | | | Exlusive Interview: Our conversation with H.E. Ambassador Johannes Oljelund, about the Swedish Presidency in the EU, current opportunities and challenges for Swedish companies, and the future of Swedish-Dutch Business relations. | | | | | | Sustainability Insight: Learn about the unique sustainability strategy and Swedish Chamber member NORNORM, the fully circular furniture company. | | | | | | Results: Read about key findings from the Netherland's performance in the Global Business Climate Survey 2023, where the Dutch market is in the lead in areas such as sustainability and growth. | | | | | | Get to Know: Meet Swedish Chamber Patron member Polestar through a conversation with Willem Baudewijns, Managing Director of Polestar Netherlands.
| | | | | | | | “My assessment is that the turbulent economic and political times only makes both the Chamber and the Embassy more relevant.” | One by one, the staff at the Swedish Embassy of the Netherlands are returning from their vacations to the office in central The Hague. The summer break was well needed after an intense spring semester, when the Swedish presidency of the EU significantly ramped up the level of work. At the same time, we are in a turbulent phase in Dutch politics and a challenging context for Swedish foreign policy.
| | | | Swedish Chamber Insights sat down with H.E. Ambassador Johannes Oljelund to gain insights on his reflections from this intense period, and to hear more about his view on the future of Swedish-Dutch relations. | | H.E. Ambassador Johannes Oljelund punctually enters our Zoom meeting with an energetic smile and greets us by jokingly saying that he himself feels like a member of the Swedish Chamber team too. He recently returned to the Netherlands after a few weeks’ vacation back in Sweden, where he spent most of his time out in nature or reading. Now, he feels excited to be back at the office and getting back to work at the Embassy.
Ambassador Oljelund attained the position as Ambassador in 2021, coming with experience from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, service at embassies in Tallinn and Pretoria, and previous peacebuilding work with the UN.
During the spring of 2023, Sweden held the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The four priorities... | | H.E. Ambassador Johannes Oljelund and Mark Rutte, demissionary prime minister for the Netherlands | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fill the Office - Not the Landfill | | Tons of office furniture end up in landfills every year. Perfectly usable pieces that with a little love and care could have lasted for decades. Ever since the days of the Industrial Revolution, humanity has embraced this linear model of economics, which involves extracting resources from Earth, making things from them and dumping those things when they become surplus to requirements. This model has generated jobs and lifted many people’s living standards - but it also has created the climate crisis, driven biodiversity loss and left behind mountains of waste. But now we’re running out of both resources and ways to dispose of waste. That’s why we need to transform our linear way of thinking to a more circular approach, turning trash into treasures. NORNORM’s purpose and vision is to apply a circular approach to office interiors. To offer flexible, affordable and inspiring work environments through using, and reusing, resources intelligently in order to promote the well-being of employees, businesses and the planet. In our Sustainbility Insight feature, we aim to tell you how we want to achieve this – and why it’s necessary. | | | | | | | | | | The Netherland's performance in the Business Climate Survey 2023
| Last week, the annual Global Business Climate Survey 2023 was presented at Stockholms Chamber of Commerce. The Business Climate Survey is conducted by Team Sweden annually in 23 countries around the world. It serves to find out how Swedish industries are performing on global markets, in order to offer assistance where needed. In the Global Business Climate Survey 2023, we were very pleased to see that the Netherlands ranked very high in areas such as growth and sustainability. | | | | - In 2022, an impressive 83% of Swedish companies in the Netherlands reported profitability, surpassing the global average of 68%.
- The Netherlands stands out as one of the top countries, with a remarkable 87% of customers expressing high interest in environmental matters.
When it comes to the local results, the Business Climate Survey the Netherlands 2023 will be presented on September 7, 2023, at the Swedish Embassy in the Hague. Read more about the event here.
You can also find more information by downloading the Global Business Climate Survey 2023 here, and the Business Climate Survey the Netherlands 2023 here. | | | | | | | | | | | | Get to Know: Polestar
In each issue of Swedish Chamber Insights, readers will have the opportunity to get to know one of our members better. First out is Swedish Chamber Patron member Polestar.
Swedish Chamber Insights asked Managing Director of Polestar Netherlands Willem Baudewijns about the company's view on sustainability, the automobile sector, branding as a Swedish company, and their engagement in the Swedish Chamber's fall calendar.
| | Willem Baudewijns Managing Director of Polestar Netherlands | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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