New Nordic funding stream for sustainable development
Sustainable consumption and production and popular support for the UN global sustainability agenda post-2015 are the two main themes of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ sustainability pool in 2015.
Four projects will receive a total of DKK 2.9 million as part of the Sustainable Development Strategy.
Network, design, education and training
A Nordic network for the development of sustainable production and consumption, run by the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design in Stockholm and the Form/Design Center in Malmö, will encourage closer collaboration between designers, architects, researchers and manufacturers. The idea is to come up with new business models for sustainable production. This project will also receive funding from the pool earmarked for cultural co-operation projects.
Another project involves the Council of Ministers’ environment and education sectors in developing teaching materials about sustainable development. In connection with this, the Norwegian Centre for Science Education at the University of Oslo will take the Norwegian project “the Natural School Bag” to Nordic level, and encourage young people to support the UN sustainability agenda. This will also be linked to the annual Great Nordic Climate Duel, a competition for 12–14-year-old school students run by the Federation of Norden Associations.
Outdoor recreation, young people and combating climate change
The other two projects concern outdoor activities for children and young people, and research into the effect on climate change of grazing and locally produced meat.
The outdoor recreation project is part of the Nordic action plan for diet and exercise, and will be run jointly with the Nordic Committee for Children and Young People (NORDBUK). The project will link up the public and voluntary sectors in order to encourage children and young people to take part in outdoor activities and to look at ways of boosting outdoor tourism.
The project on grazing and meat production is very much climate-oriented. Studies have shown that changes in grazing patterns, i.e. a move to locally produced, high-quality meat, could substantially reduce climate impact and yet still guarantee food security. This project will be run by the Council of Ministers’ Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NORDGEN).
In line with the Nordic Strategy for Sustainable Development, the oldest regional action plan of its type in the world, the Council of Ministers includes a sustainability perspective in all of its activities. All of these projects relate to priorities identified in the strategy.
