On 25 April, the CNBA in collaboration with the Brazilian-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, the Colombian-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, and the Norway India Chamber of Commerce hosted a morning seminar at Deloitte's headquarters in Oslo. The event focused on finding more sustainable business practices to meet the global challenge of climate change and continue to develop vibrant and economically successful business for decades to come. More than 120 people attended the event.
The event began with a breakfast mingling session followed by a welcome by Michel Wolfstirn who asked the audience to look differently at how business activities have traditionally been conceived and consider the circular economy as a standard for business going forward. We then moved into the panel portion of the event. The panel consisted of Charlotte Aschim (CEO and Founder of TotalCtrl), Runa Haug Khoury (Aker Biomarine Sustainable Director), Bernhard Stormyr (Yara International's Head of Sustainability Management), Simen Bræin (Stafkraft's Senior VP of International Power Business Area) and Harald Kleiven (Cambi Group's Director of Emerging Markets). The panelists spoke about the efforts their businesses were taking to become more sustainable and then took questions from the audience in regards to specific interests in regards to the environment, sustainability and best business practices.
To complete the event, Hanne Solem, head of sustainability for Deloitte, presented the SDG accelerator for business strategy. This is a new program offered to companies in the Nordics to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals put forward by the United Nations in 2015. Afterwards, people continued to mingle and share ideas and thoughts about creating a more sustainable world.
On 21 March, the CNBA, along with the wine importers Vinarius and Lesero, organized a tasting of Canadian wines. The highlight was a talk given by Mr. Curtis Krouzel, owner of the winery 50th Parallel. Mr. Krouzel's winery is in the Okanagan wine growing region of British Columbia and he did a good job giving an overview of the the different wine regions of Canada and explaining some of the trials and tribulations of growing high quality wine.
Over 70 people signed up for the event demonstrating that it is a topic that people in Norway are very keen to learn more about. After the talk, the attendees tasted a dozen Canadian wines including reds, whites, and sparklings - several of the samples coming from Mr. Krouzel's own winery.
Small plates were prepared by the excellent culinary staff of W7 restaurant and guests were treated to such diverse tapas as mini-bouef bourguignon, various cheeses, and whole crawfish. The food was a perfect compliment to the wine.
CNBA is committed to showcasing the best Canada and Norway has to offer. We look forward to holding similar events to this in the future.
On 17 October, Deloitte hosted an event that was organized by the CNBA jointly with four other Chambers of Commerce. The other organizers were Colombian-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (CNCC), Brazilian-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (BNCC), Canadian Norwegian Business Association (CNBA), Norway India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), Scandinavian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (SGLCC).
Over 120 people signed up for the event demonstrating that diversity is an important topic in today's marketplace. After a morning networking session, the guests were welcomed and Deloitte HR Director Anne Kare Mosaker spoke about "Diversity and Inclusion in Deloitte." Afterwards, Maja Vikan, an advisor at Seema, spoke about "Diversity and Equality."
A panel discussion rounded out the event with speakers Ingibjörg Meyer-Myklestad, Javad Mushtaq, Børge Astrup, Ulla Sommerfelt and Tobias Holfelt.
CNBA is committed to diversity and supporting diversity in all its forms. We look forward to holding similar events to this in the future.
