The aim of the project is to bring scholars from the Nordic region, who will work together with researchers from outside the region to analyse critically the idea, if the Nordic states can be viewed as norms for entrepreneurs in the international and regional context when it comes to forming and implementing policies focusing on sustainability. A research network will be created, with representatives from all five Nordic states, as well as from the Faroe Islands. German scholars studying the Nordics will be also participating.

The research network will work on a research project where sustainability policies and practices in the Nordics will be analysed critically. Sustainability will be explored through the lenses of culture, from the perspective of politics and policy, through the role of the private sector and the behaviour of consumers. The same parameters will be used by all the researchers. The project will also involve the comparison of different cases and evaluating lessons learned and how the Nordic experience could be relevant for other regions.

The results will be published in a book called: The Future of the North. Sustainability in the Nordic Countries. The book will contribute to the knowledge base about sustainability in the Nordic countries and be a useful source, for example, as a textbook for university courses which focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

The project established a network of Nordic and German researchers, focusing its research on sustainability practices in the Nordics. The scholars compared case studies from the region through the lens of culture, politics and policy, the role of the private sector and consumer behaviour. A critical comparison was published in Future of the North – Sustainability in the Nordic countries.

Applicant: Bifröst University, Iceland

Countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, The Faroe Islands, Germany

Project start and expected to be finalized in 2016.

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