The 17 sustainable Development goals set the direction for the course of the coming years
In 2018, it was decided that the Danish business promotion system should be simplified, so that the number of innovation networks and cluster organizations was reduced. Lifestyle & Design Cluster continues its work, although in the future there will be a markedly greater focus on how existing clusters and innovation networks can support each other.
Thursday, January 10, 2019, marked the beginning of a new era for the Innovation Network Lifestyle & Design Cluster. Based on the UN´s 17 sustainable Development goals, the innovation network welcomed nearly 100 participants to BLOXHUB in Copenhagen. The mission was that companies, authorities and educational institutions should discuss, assess and, not least, recommend their combined ideas, which will be the basis for the work that Lifestyle & Design Cluster will do in the coming years with its competence-developing project for SMEs in the lifestyle industry.
Among the participants were Jacob Zeuthen, head of environmental policy at Dansk Erhverv. He was happy with the day.
He hopes that focusing on professional networking and partnerships like this can make a positive contribution to the fact that the many actors in the Danish business community understand the importance of work with sustainability.
-To Dansk Erhverv the sustainable work is about making our members aware of what sustainability is about. We would them to communicate about sustainability, but the results are far more important to achieve than communicating them to the public as branding, Jacob Zeuthen said.
Also KADK´s head og department Mathilde Aggebo attend to the meeting.
-Our most important job is to prepare our students for the world and reality that awaits them when they finish their education at KADK. Therefore it is important that we keep ourselves updated on what is happening in the industry and not least in society -especially with the 17 world goals. It helps us prioritise teaching and research activities. We must constantly look to the needs of the companies and have the latest knowledge so that our students are always updated on how they can contribute to the future world, she said.
Among the many participating companies there was also optimism to track, which, according to Thomas Refdahl, co-founder and CEO of the forward-thinking sneaker brand ARKK of Copenhagen, has to do with the willingness to listen from the attendants.
Thomas Refdahl was also pleased that all the day’s activities were centered on the UN’s 17 world goals, which he believes are inevitable to work with if you want to do buseness in the future.
-At ARKK, we are very happy with goal number 8 “decent jobs and economic growth”. We believe we offer a fantastic workplace and contribute to growth in both home and abroad with our production in Vietnam. While we also try to take our responsibility en relation to goal number 17 regarding partnerships, he says.
Sustainability on the agenda
The partnership day was divided into three tracks -digitisation, sustainability / circular economy and innovation and design.
-We experienced a huge commitment with many relevant and qualified ideas. There was a good atmosphere, and it is really uplifting to see that the time is flying when putting the right people together, who quickly discover that they have many challenges and successes in common, said Frank Engelbrecht, project manager for circular finance at Lifestyle & Design Cluster.
In Lifestyle & Design Cluster, we look forward to see the many new partnerships that will contribute to healthy economy and sustainable growth in Danish business in the future.
Pictures from the day:
