Profile

Registered: 2 months, 1 week ago

The first place in the United Nations sustainable evaluation, the Swedish philosophy of life: not excessive, to be balanced, Lagom is just fine   The "2020 Sustainable Development Report" conducted a survey on the sustainable development goals of 193 member states of the United Nations. The top 10 of the evaluation results are all European countries, among which Sweden ranks first. Sweden has always been a gifted student practicing the spirit of sustainable development. From the government, enterprises to the people, they have shown a consistent pace and are moving towards the goal of sustainable development. The Sustainable Eating and Living Festival invited Sweden’s representative in Taiwan to share with us the Swedish sustainable spirit and philosophy of life.   A fitting Swedish philosophy of life A Swedish vocabulary: Lagom, not only represents the spiritual value of the Swedish people, but also becomes an indicator of the behavior of the Swedish people. Although there is no substitute for Lagom in other languages ​​in the world, the meaning of Lagom is no stranger to us. Representative Kong explained that Lagom means just right, impartial, not excessive, and balanced. In the Chinese world, it has similar but different meanings to "too much to go too far" and "the golden mean". Lagom can be used in various situations. If it refers to meals or food, it can be used to express moderate and mild taste; if it refers to design style, it is similar to the simplicity and neatness of Nordic style, and pursues a simple and reasonable aesthetic feeling; if it refers to the level of life The decision-making is to pursue no more, no less, sustainable and logical choices. Lagom is pervasively hidden in the lives of Swedish people. From this, it can be imagined that Lagom does not only refer to personal attitudes, but extends to groups, reminding us as a member of society and a member of the world, how we should act, A balanced and beneficial outcome is achieved for the group. Starting from the Lagom philosophy, it is not difficult to understand how Sweden can become a leading country committed to sustainable development and environmental protection. Representative Kong mentioned that the concept of Lagom can be interpreted in this way on the issue of sustainability: People should stay vigilant and not over-consume, just like Lagom. Such thinking is also linked to various government policies, such as the sustainable food policy. While pursuing sustainable development, it also ensures food safety and strives to reduce negative impacts on the environment and climate. Relevant policies also include encouraging the purchase of local products, reducing plastic, reusing and recycling, not producing too much, and avoiding food waste. According to the statistics of the Swedish Environmental Labeling Organization in 2018, 60% of consumers in the Nordic region recognize that there is a correlation between their consumption behavior and environmental quality. It means that more than half of consumers will consider what kind of burden their consumption behavior will cause on the environment. Therefore, enterprises must adapt to the expectations of consumers and adjust the direction of company operations for a friendly environment and sustainable development. IKEA, a Swedish household goods retailer, pays attention to the sustainable strategy "People and Planet Positive" and "Sustainable Living Solutions", hoping to have a more positive impact and contribution to the world. Starting from the three major aspects of healthy and sustainable life, moving towards climate positive benefits and circular economy, and social and humanitarian care, we promise to achieve climate positive benefits and transform into a circular economy enterprise by 2030. IKEA launched sustainable business, and gradually "greened" the logistics model, sales service, and waste management, including the use of recycled key materials, the establishment of a green supply chain, and setting more aggressive emission reduction targets for suppliers, and moving toward a circular economy The company's business model is advancing, etc., hoping to provide people around the world with healthier and more sustainable solutions.   Sweden's permaculture trend Representative Kong mentioned that in Sweden, vegetarianism and veganism are a trend. Even regular restaurants have plant-based menus, offering more options for vegetarians. Sweden's plant-based lifestyle is getting better and better in every way. Currently 10% of the Swedish population are vegetarians, 7% of them live a plant-based diet and 3% are vegans. In order to promote a sustainable eating life, IKEA has successively launched vegetarian dishes, such as plant-based meatballs. The climate footprint of making plant-based meatballs is only 4% of that of Swedish meatballs. For meatball lovers, vegetarian meatballs are both delicious and nutritious. Plant-based meatballs have been very popular all over the world. They want to have 50 percent of restaurant meals plant-based and 80 percent of packaged meals vegetarian by 2025. By providing a variety of plant-based products, there are more options for plant-based diets. For vegetarians, another indispensable daily food is plant-based alternative milk. According to scientific research, the production of the same volume of milk produces three times as much greenhouse gas as plant milk. Plant milk is not only environmentally friendly, but also a healthier option for consumers who want to reduce blood fat or are lactose intolerant. In recent years, Oatly, a Swedish oat milk brand, has called for the "post-milk generation" to encourage consumers to choose plant-based milk with the brand spirit of being friendly to the environment. In the past, plant milk was mainly a niche product designed for people with lactose intolerance. Now it can become a popular milk substitute in the world, and even enter the coffee industry. It is accepted by consumers, which shows that the potential of sustainable diet is unlimited. Today, a friendly environment is a global consensus, and what consumers are waiting for may be friendlier, more delicious, and smarter life proposals.   Social Rituals of the Swedes: Fika Culture Fika comes from the Swedish word for coffee (kaffe). Representative Kong reminded us not to interpret Fika as the time to drink coffee and eat cake, it means much more than that. In Swedish culture, there is fika time, whether at home, school or work. This social ritual brings people together to temporarily put down what they are doing and chat with the people around them, and exchange ideas while strengthening bonds. Fika is a different concept from the English afternoon tea we are familiar with. It is not an after-dinner activity, nor does it pursue exquisite tea sets and set desserts. Fika has no fixed time and is arranged by the group itself. Generally speaking, around 10:00 in the morning and around 3:00 in the afternoon. Taking the production line of Volvo cars as an example, Fika is held in the morning and in the afternoon, allowing colleagues to get together for a 20 to 30-minute break. Fika helps you relax and return to work more productively. The principle of Fika is to relax. Therefore, during Fika time, people usually talk about life, share recent family news or discuss social current affairs, and avoid discussing too serious or sensitive topics such as politics or work. Fika is mainly sweet and cold food, usually with coffee, tea, cakes, and Sweden's most famous cinnamon rolls, and sometimes salty dishes, such as savory pies. Some companies or units will arrange for everyone to take turns preparing meals, and some people will bring handmade desserts and homemade flavors during Fika time, which will impress people. Fika is not only a time to relax and rest, but also a social occasion, so don’t underestimate the importance that the Swedes attach to Fika time. A delicious dessert full of sincerity may be able to get people a good impression of you.    

Website: https://techtuba.com/

Forums

Topics Started: 0

Replies Created: 0

Forum Role: Participant