by Tommy Shih and Miriam Garvi -
From our joint experience of having worked in Asia and Africa for many years, being Swedish nationals, we have noticed how the Nordic countries enjoy a good reputation when it comes to sustainability issues. Naturally, this comes as no surprise as the Nordic countries are often ranked in the top of various global sustainability rankings. But in order to cope with the transition to achieve the global sustainability goals, similar commitment is needed from other parts of the world. The Nordic countries with a high level of sustainability work have a role to play here. Overall, there is an awareness of the importance of sustainability in countries such as Sweden, but we also notice that Swedish actors sometimes have difficulty understanding how others might not share similar values.
It is important to remember that approximately only 0.2% of the world's population reaches Swedish standard or higher when it comes to sustainability (only Finland has a higher standard) according to the Sustainable Development Report from 2021. The remaining 99.8% of the world's population has a lower or a significantly lower level of development looking at the SGDs. But what happens outside of Sweden, will of course have an impact. Hence in order for the developed parts of the world with regards to SDGs there is a simple logic: Continue the good work and keep on improving but also try and understand “the others” in order to increase chances of having a global impact.
Our suggestion to Swedish actors in order to be able to contribute, is important to have a deeper understanding of other contexts and how people there perceive the importance of sustainability work. Without a good knowledge of "the others", there is the risk of preaching to an audience that does not see the benefit of what is offered, or of not being able to meaningfully collaborate in the implementation phase.
However, how to act when the contexts and receptivity in other countries look significantly different is a big challenge. Sustainability work largely means a willingness to critically examine how things are done today - i.e. a distancing from the status quo and from unsustainable values and norms regarding economic value creation, consumption and resource use that have prevailed for a long time. In societies characterized by large power distances and rapid economic growth, it can be particularly difficult for local forces of change to have an impact.
Hence, in order for initiatives related to sustainability to have a broader international impact, we especially see a need for a deeper understanding of the contexts that 1) constitute huge markets, 2) where the need for sustainability work is greatest, and 3) that differ significantly from the Swedish. These contexts are large parts of Asia and Africa. In order to create a more understanding approach, it is important to be able to take more of an inside perspective than an outside perspective on other societies in order to meaningfully interact with change agents in other countries. It is not about lowering one's own goals or accepting that it looks a certain way elsewhere. However, in order to meaningfully collaborate with others here, Swedish actors need to better understand how sustainability work can be conducted in such a way that it becomes of real benefit in countries where this type of development needs to take place, and not primarily focus on the fact that what you do at home should can also happen over there.
As a world-leading country in sustainability, Sweden has an important role to play when it comes to working with others to share experiences, ideas, practices, and innovation. Here we have some suggestions how this work can be improved:
Empathy: It is important to have empathy and an understanding of the local forces of change that exist in other countries with a focus on how to contribute to strengthening their work based on their premises.
Don't focus on preaching: Swedish actors must better understand the contexts where knowledge and solutions must fit in and can contribute to making a difference. We often get the impression that Swedish actors have a poor understanding of how it looks in other countries and that the work with sustainability becomes a "preaching" of how it should be done, rather how it can be done in the context where it is to be used. Unfortunately, this does not facilitate how Swedish actors can contribute and interact.
Internationalization at home: It is necessary both for the world and for Swedish competitiveness that the knowledge available here in Sweden can reach out. This requires improved work in organizations with internationalization at home, with increased understanding of other cultures, not least of what can stifle the will to change in societies that are very different from our own.