KONE Participates in “Decarbonization Catalyst” Workshops

Finnish OEM KONE recently participated in a series of workshops that brought together members of the Nordic Superblocks as Decarbonization Catalysts consortium (NSDC) to brainstorm innovation opportunities and consolidate more than 200 ideas into a few specific areas, align on shared goals and identify key success factors and roadblocks, the World Alliance for Low Carbon Cities reported on January 19. Sponsored by Business Finland, NSDC consists of KONE, Skanska, Tietoevry, Granlund, Integrio, Synocus and Tampere University. With a common goal of supporting sustainable urban planning and development, as well as building life-cycle management through breakthrough research, NSDC used the “strategic foresight” process adopted at KONE to create a vision for an internationally scalable and viable city block design concept supported by four pillars: zero-emission energy, harmonization with nature, social inclusivity and cohesive collaboration. Strategic foresight is “a structured and systematic way of using ideas about the future to anticipate and better prepare for change,” according to The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The workshops took place in Helsinki, Finland, in October-November 2023. KONE Veturi Project Manager Ulla Tikkanen and Jaana Hyvärinen from the Strategic Foresight team said the workshops provided a solid base for a program that will continue through 2025. Co-founded by Business Finland, The Flow of Life innovation program brings together global international companies to solve some of society’s most pressing challenges through R&D, innovation and investment.