By Linus Kristensson, Sasin SEC Intern
The Sustainability & Entrepreneurship Center tries to follow sustainable solutions that are implemented around the world. Countries like my home, Sweden, work towards the Global Goals and are widely known for their work building sustainable futures. A country like Thailand might have a different approach to sustainability than Sweden according to their agreed sustainability priorities.
Sweden, historically seen as a pioneer in sustainability and environmental awareness, has been working to find innovative ways of reaching the Global Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. The economic infrastructure of Sweden gives the country a head start to becoming more sustainable in such areas as transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.
On the other side of the planet is Thailand, with its own concerns. Due to unique social and economic circumstances, there are issues with activities like distribution and waste management across a wide geographic area. Deforestation is another problem. However, the Kingdom has made progress in recent years reducing its environmental footprint. With a growing number of post-COVID tourists returning every month, the economy of the country is on the rebound. This in turn highlights the need to promote awareness about sustainable tourism—for example, in waste management and carbon emissions reduction.
Sweden and Thailand tackle sustainability challenges in dissimilar ways. Sweden has the advantage of a healthy economy and a strong infrastructure with a small population. This opens opportunities for big investments in climate-friendly businesses with low carbon footprints. On the other hand, Thailand has a large population with a struggling economy and infrastructure, leading to a separate set of complications.
In conclusion, my time here at SasinSEC has helped me to understand that Sweden and Thailand do face vastly different conditions for working with sustainability and environmentally friendly development. However, both countries share a commitment to the UN Agenda 2030, and SasinSEC supports all efforts to create a better and more sustainable future.