Nordic Day 2015

October 21st the 5 Nordic Embassies in Washington D.C. – Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark – hosted the first-ever Nordic Day.

 The overall topic of Nordic Day was: How cities and businesses can be part of the solution to climate change?

 Furthermore, the purpose was to learn and exchange experiences about Nordic solutions, share best practices, and discuss common goals and challenges in light of the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris. The Swedish Embassy opened the event with the theme ‘Business solutions to climate change’ forum, where visionary Nordic companies spoke about sustainable ways of working and displaying innovations to combat climate change, among them Chris Bender of Novozymes.

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Far left, Chris Bender of Novozymes at House of Sweden on Nordic Day

The Finnish Embassy held round tables and sessions with companies and representatives from the Nordic countries on the subject ‘Cities and Municipalities Tackling Climate Change’. Five green Nordic cities and municipalities presented their ongoing initiatives and discussed how they are leading the way to a more sustainable future.

Following the event all embassies partook in a Twitter session roundtable, where the ambassadors of each country sat ready to answer questions on sustainability and climate, including the Danish Ambassador Lars Lose – see the questions and answers here: #NordicDayUsa

The day concluded with a networking reception at the Embassy of Norway, perfectly summing up the first Nordic Day as a great success and one that is to be continued for many years to come.

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Discussion at the Norwegian embassy on Nordic Day