18 April –
Conference
Sustainable Business
in the Arctic
Stockholm
Conference on Sustainable Business in the Arctic
12.00 – 13.00 Light luncheon will be served for participants:
I was lucky to blow into Stockholm noontime, to make the start of the meeting.
Visitor reception at the Arlanda airport leaving baggage claim.
Everyone is reminded of the prominent role of Stockholm as capital of Scandinavia, expressed in a “Hall of Fame” — large photographs of stars, recent and old, ranging from the sciences to sports adorn the walls as we all debark on our destinations.
13.15 Start of conference
Moderator: Johan Kuylenstierna
Sustainable business in the Arctic – 3rd workshop
Introduction by the Swedish Arctic Ambassador, Gustaf Lind
The challenges ahead – Lloyd’s report “Arctic Opening: Opportunity and Risk in the High North”
Erik Börjesson, Lloyds
Insurance markets needs to understand risk exposures in the Arctic, first was aviation — appraise the risk carefully – protect claims, environmental and financial risks at stake. In Lloyds – we have a team that produces these kinds of reports – cyber risk, nanotechnologies. Our Arctic report was produced with Chattham House, launched in Oslo 12 April 2011, Greenpeace forced themselves into the event and contributed extremely professional – a set of summaries.
Great opportunities and enormous risks.
“Met a senior guy from Arctic Risk” –
In Norway, you have to change your idea and not only mention risk but the word “opportunity” – extreme opportunity from the Norway point of view. No one really knows the “exact” exposures. Asking operators to tell the truth about exact exposures – What would happen if we have a Macondo incident just before the stop of the drilling season, and oil goes out for 3 months. No one knows, there is no answer, no one is asking questions about this.
Insurances classes.
Property damage can be figured out and expected cost, but liability (oil pollution) can not be numbered. Removable wreck liability is extremely important. Size of ships bigger and bigger more difficult to remove. Extremely high cost on removal. Seminar in Oslo in June – a lot of industry people at the event. Lloyds and arctic on drilling risks.
Drilling in arctic conditions —
What happens if a rig becomes a wreck. Disasters push for new regulations and best practices [he goes through a variety of disasters and demonstrates how in each case – disasters first and then best practices afterward]. Their recommendation is establish best practices first — they want the same standard for the whole arctic.
They want one regulatory regime across the Arctic.
One regime in the whole of the Arctic. Insurance and banking industry needs to be involved. Our report was the first step to improve this situation. More industry involvement – requires a framework for knowledge sharing. Insurance industry is key to participate in knowledge sharing. Hopefully the Canadian chairmanship will take initiative. Industry led initiatives for best practices.
Question: Moderator Johan Kyulenstierna –
What’s the balance between risk and opportunity?
A: Extremely complicated – if we compare with investments in pharmaceutical area. There are certain rules and traditions on taking investments, how they evaluate risk. Also, insurance market needs to play a serious role to demand how regulations will be done. Have to be extremely careful.
“Arctic council is not a regulatory body” – so that would be a big step even though we are taking small steps in regulation. It is a dynamic body, and can find wasy for operating.
The shipping sector – towards an Arctic shipping declaration?
Åke Rohlén, Arctic Marine Solutions
“Voluntary Arctic Marine Declaration”.
Arctic is pretty much about exploring new areas, and going into areas not known before. At the same time, it is not unknown how to work in the Arctic – icebreaking companies, who can tell you how to operate in the Arctic and do so safely. A lot of knowledge exists, but you have to spread it. Arctic is a very cooperative area.
An image of Arctic cooperation – operators are industry and one is tourism. It is not a zone of conflict but one of cooperation.
Background to this declaration— long-term investments require stability.
Stability –Arctic –new projects, new practices. We see different efforts in industry. Follow IMO polar code.
Basically talking about different judgement decisions that can be made before doing work in the Arctic. Also, is there appropriate expertise within the company for making informed decisions? How do we make sure knowledge exists in your company and how do we share that knowledge. –How do we make sure we are not repeating mistakes.
Share environmental data collected during operations – in support of environmental research. Support forums for sharing best practices. Make own resources available in case of accident. Do not use suppliers or use data from companies, that does not operate according to declaration. So buying data from best practices company.
A lot of money, effort involved in data collection and data analysis. Perhaps there can be a Forum – provide by the Arctic council for dealing with these developments? Influence by Industry—Oil companies already operate on ultra low sulpher diesel in Arctic—many other icebreakers still run on fuel oil (government). Oil companies operate with SCR and pay for fitting them (Many research icebreakers operate without SCR)
So Oil companies are part of the solution more than government. We would dare to say that companies have higher standards than researchers, because they live in a world where they are constantly criticized. Going out for support from folks. Around in the arctic –Voluntary, practical steps for good examples.
“We have no agenda, other than being concerned peoples”
Johan Kuylenstierna speaks: “hate to putting you on the spot but this is the role that I have”.
Arctic Council role; not everything has to be run by governments, a good example of the good work of corporate social responsibility – but not only talk but to do something in practice. “Clarifying questions – but not going deep and we will have discussion later”. Who can ensure enforcement when someone signs up on this?
Response: The group of people working in the arctic is very small because it is so expensive. If you get people to sign up for this, they want to see consistent high level , not that many companies and drilling – no answer. No need for universal policemen, other regulation can take care of it,
How do you make folks commit to this process?
We are approaching other folks in the Arctic through ??? [personal connections?]. A collective document held by everyone? Owned and understood by all who signed.
Arctic mining – specific features of Arctic mining
Åsa Borssén, Research Analyst, Raw Materials Group
Mining focus. Mining is focused around the ring of fire – the Pacific. But not much in Arctic. Scandanavia has some mining. Resources and reserves found in the world, potential coming up. These are more of an economic definition than geological. As long as economics for prices are high.
Harsh conditions and remote, not a lot of infrastructure, lower grades iron ore. Will mining be viable? Is it a new frontier? Is there room for high cost mines in the future? Extremely important matter of the environment, will it be sustainable.
Trends – world population growth, urbanization, will continue to keep mining prices high. How copper use is linked to GDP per capita. This will keep mining prices high. Leading to cooperation – licenses etc. Challenges, what happens when prices go down. Other suppliers, better grades, environmental sustainaiblities.
WWF question – environmental problems today will be different that environmental problems 50 years from now. Also rehabilitation phase is very long term, as mining is itself a long term plan.
Arctic mining – specific features of Arctic mining
Frank Hojem, LKAB
Can a mining company be sustainable? That is the question we have been asking ourselves, some concrete and practical examples of challenges and opportunities of moving in a sustainable way. People are moving from poverty to middle class – 3 billion people will be moving from poverty to middle class – UN report. Trying to be sustainable – produces 90 percent of iron pellets for Europe – North Sweden – largest underground projects in the world on iron ore in upper north Sweden, somewhere up there.
Performance in iron making – bringing things to Norvik harbor. Visit Lulu Technological University – building a research cluster, have the world’s only glass furnace to lower the co2 emmissions.
Creating wealth and growth in the region through mining. 30 billion kroner, creating problems in fact, so much growth. Urban transformation. Kirina – slopes into the city – they need to “move the city” in order to take advantage of the city.
Building a new Kirina – nothing there 100 years ago, pay for a new city, in a sustainable way. Creating a lot of wealth and faith in the future. Hiring 1000 people within the next 2 years. Creating a more attractive community. Create Sweden’s best school in the north in Sweden; LKAB academy.
Working DEEP underground; Mining already has in place a regulatory situation. Not sure it always sure that government has in place the capacity to make decisions that industry needs. Labor is completely different when talking about mining from oil and gas. Mining is so long term that they have a material responsibility more than the oil and gas industry.
Who should be allowed to be active in the Arctic? Anyone? Or should we have standards.
Supporting security – insurance –
[Kirnia – there is nothing there for 100 years—was caught by someone talking about Saami- -and so the speaker has to back track and talk about longer term dialogue “many of my workers come from Saami communities”] KLAB – europe’s biggest company in iron ore, that new business understands the specifics that they are coming into, Sweden has fabulous iron ore – the reaction from the local communities will be harsh.
[Oil and gas seems much more speculative endeavor than mining. Rates of return are different in terms of timing and profit, the requirements of labor itself seem completely different, 100 fish versus 100 human deaths are different, ed.].
15.00 – 15.30 Coffee break
Good discussion with Håkan Tarras-Wahlberg. He has apprehensions that government will allow industry to develop movement forward, when it should be society that determines how development moves forward.
New Panel: How to apply international frameworks for sustainability in the Arctic
Mari-Lou Dupont – OECD
How to apply international frameworks for sustainability in the Arctic. Human rights and social dimensions—environment – meeting in Paris in June.
Anita Househam – UN Global Compact
Global Compact clarified est. 13 years ago with 40 companies, today, 10k participants representing 145 companies. SMEs scaling up corporate sustainability. Caring for Climate – a group caring for climate.org
Looking for solutions on climate change, working with governments at UN, ensuring that they engage in dialogue with stakeholders. The CEO water mandate: looking at sustainable water use. Ultimately the state has the responsibility to affect and make better human rights.
Leontien Plugge – Global Reporting Initiative
Disclosure and reporting. You cannot manage what you can not measure. What you cannot measure, you cannot manage. Sustainable reporting – insights into financial impact, but also environmental, social, governance. GRI guidelines give stakeholder what they want to know about their performance.
Quotes Al Gore on “when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” – improving management practices. Network based organization, experts from all over the world, and create “responsibility”. GRI’s vision – Sustainable Reporting Framework — in 23 languages, guidelines. Specific sector guidance (Oil and gas)
KPMG conducting every three years – to see who reports a sustainability report. Sweden, Netherlands, China, – all state owned companies need to issue sustainability disclosures.
Cross Sector Business Coalition for Sustainable Development in the Arctic
Martha McConnell, International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN)
Sharing of knowledge, compliance, reporting.
Okay, now Questions:
Different and too many frameworks – is there a risk of too many frameworks? Bringing people into their framework. What do these people want. Futures require bringing people into their own network [period].
Panel discussion and Q&A’s
Tom Arnbom, WWF
Pre-coffee session – lack of social rights – risk assessment – connected to people needs to be discussed more, Risk perspective in a cumulative perspective. Lloyds is a brilliant talk – can’t talk risk assessment without the cumulative assessment. Second session – we could see a lot of discussion on human rights and Indigenous peoples. How do you measure Human rights? And how do you punish it if there is violations. You need capacity among indigenous people.
Anders Blom, Protect [?]
Reflections – future, and how the future will look like. The Arctic will look totally different in the future – and I wonder if business will look totally different tomorrow. If you are building infrastructure, that could be the hinder for animals to move in the future. Environmental risk assessment – Lloyd and military report about the future of what the risks are. A logical problem, business co2 neutral or friendly. But whose taking responsibility for shipping all these resources away from the Arctic. Oil business, exportation is not his business, someone else is taking care of that. Ecosystem based management – what people needs, what nature needs and business needs. 4 million people in the Arctic.
40-50 years are planning for different than what it will be today. What is Ecosystem based management? How do people fit into that? We have people living in the Arctic for thousands of years, very adopted to the ecosystem itself.
Tero Vauraste, Arctic Shipping
Gaps of the discussion – lack of business community, no one here representing business, need to improve dialogue between Arctic Council and business community, most of the operational issues whatever they will be done, will be done by the business communities. Discussion very important. Mentioned that we need companies to do sustainable development – what is that? Obeying the law or? Taking Talibara mine – a big spill, they did obey the law, but now there’s a huge spill, so we need companies to be willing to find the gaps, and ensure that things are right. In other cases, there is too much regulation, where nothing is happening. Insurance is not risk management.
Leontien Plugge, Global Reporting Initiative
A lot of the good points were already made. What about these multiple initiatives, frameworks, principles—all of this are ever evolving field.
Anders Backman – Arctic Marine Solutions
The confusion among professionals about the rules of regulations – I’m doing my best daily to try and sort it out. We can have rules and regulations but how translate that into actual ??? seems important. What is unique of the Arctic in comparison to other areas?
Next steps
The Arctic Council agenda, the Canadian chairmanship
Patrick Hébert, Counsellor, Canadian Embassy in Stockholm
Comments
Futures and development, is it necessary— Large scale and small scale development—sustainable development, having a fourth leg, Culture. Cultural aspect is not necessarily a social aspect. Greenland. Very expensive up into the Arctic – I don’t think we will go as an industry because we want to, but because there is a demand from society – we will because there is a demand.
Johan Kuylenstierna—politics is important – in May, Sweden hands over the Arctic Council gavel to Canada.
The Arctic business agenda
Patrick Herbert, Counselor, Canadian Embassy in Stockholm
Overall theme of Canada’s chairmanship – development for people of the North: 1-responsible arctic resource development; 2, safe arctic shipping, effective ocean governance; 3, sustainable circumpolar communities. Business community is increasingly looking to the circumpolar region to build ties. We Canada, propose that the council facilitate a circumpolar business forum – CBF – this proposal is now consultated with Arctic Council folks and business communities. Once established the CBF could take on a number of activities, a webpage for inclusion of community engagement, an expo on investment and indigenous involvement—creation of a task force under the arctic council as a mechanism for…
Arctic policy and economic forum – 25 november – in Copenhagen, a yearly forum for economic and political stakeholders.
Conference conclusions
Mikael Anzén, Chair of the Sustainable Development Working Group of the Arctic Council, Swedish MFA.
Cocktail and dinner
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Gustav Adolfs Torg 1
ed. note: Everyone was quite gracious, intellectually curious, and open about their interests. Of course, the Swedish Ministry provided a fabulous banquet which began with a few glasses of champagne and a speech by Mikael Anzén
On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 1:11 PM, wrote:
> Dear all,
> It’s a pleasure to see so many participants to this conference. Since we are
> offering a light luncheon and a dinner in the evening I would kindly ask you
> to:
> 1. Inform me if you are NOT participating in the luncheon and the
> dinner.
> 2. Inform me about any allergies or other diet restrictions.
> Welcome on the 18th.
> With best regards,
>
> ———————————————————-
> Swedish chairmanship of the Arctic Council
> Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
> Ministry for Foreign Affairs
> 103 39 Stockholm
> Tfn: +46 8 405 32 47 Mob: +46 733 946 126
> www.regeringen.se
Paparazzi Ethnography 
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