Leadership and sustainability on the agenda as Asian business leaders join SIMP Sweden week

In March, 32 business leaders from Asia were chosen among 1250 applicants to participate in the Swedish Institute Management Programme (SIMP). What is common among them is their drive to  bridge the gap between desire and action on sustainability. They hold various positions; from founders and top management of big corporations to middle-management staff who specifically carry the portfolio of sustainability, research and development. They cover a wide variety of sectors: textile, mobility, retail, city and real-estate development, among others and are all eager to learn from Swedish practices and from each other. Anna Lithagen, Programme Manager of SIMP welcomed the participants to Sweden earlier today and has gotten a great impression of the group:

– SIMP is an opportunity for our participants to become even stronger sustainability leaders and better equipped for driving change in their companies, communities, and society at large. This year’s participants want sustainability to be a priority and agree that we need to create a sense of urgency and take action for our common future.

For the last couple of months, participants have undergone an online learning course focusing on imparting knowledge, sparking discussions, and identifying points of action within their own companies. Throughout the programme participants have been given assignments to implement within their contexts, and this week the on-site part of the programme starts by visiting Sweden for more inspiration and networking.

The participants will meet with Swedish researchers, business and organisations working with sustainability in various ways. The participants are taken to discover business in the Värmland region of Sweden, namely Karlstad Innovation Park (a Swedish business incubator and science park), Karlstad Energi (a regional electric utility company), and Karlstad University.. They will also make a stop in Eskilstuna to visit the world’s first recycling mall, ReTuna Återbruksgalleria, and finish off the week with two days in Stockholm visiting Business Sweden alongside other actors working with sustainability.