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DNV has announced that it has joined the Green Growth Leaders initiative to accelerate green growth development globally.

“On behalf of DNV, it is an honour to join this high level multi stakeholder collaboration,” said Bjørn K. Haugland, COO of DNV’s Sustainability and Innovation division. “We firmly believe there is a case for green growth through demonstration and communication, and that sustainable practices will make businesses stronger and the world better.”

The purpose of the Green Growth Leaders initiative, established in April this year, is to accelerate green growth, explore the link between “green” and “growth” and create an open source platform for exchange of knowledge, case studies and communication.

The collaboration is made up of thought leaders including Yvo de Boer, former Executive Secretary of the UNFCC and Lord Antony Giddens, Professor, London School of Economics and top executives from Dong Energy, Realdania, Siemens, Vestas, Velux, and representatives from The International Energy Agency, The EU Commission, European Environment Agency, UC Berkeley, and Korea’s Global Green Growth Initiative.

On October 12-13, over 350 business leaders, policy makers, key opinion leaders and media from around the world will meet in Copenhagen to examine green growth under the heading “Take Lead”, a high level gathering, hosted by Green Growth Leaders. There they will present the comprehensive study by the Pathways Project at UC Berkeley – the first to investigate the evidence behind green growth and displays how different countries have pursued green growth. The aim is to create a broader understanding of the potential and advantages of a transformed sustainable economy – and in doing so influence political discussions and decision making.

”There is a strong consensus among senior executives that sustainability will have a material impact on how companies think and act in the future. Indeed, sustainability will drive innovation and is a real opportunity for the serious companies. Market sources are predicting that sustainability investments and related business is expected to grow significant in the years ahead,” commented Haugland. “Through the Green Growth Leaders alliance, we aim to lead by example and demonstrate that business can indeed profit and contribute to solving global challenges at the same time.”

Green Growth Leaders has a specific focus on communication and is working closely with a group of the world’s leading companies within sustainability, including DNV, to develop a new framework for successful communication. The alliance is called project Green Light.