I think it's important that both the direction and the climate goals are set in stone. Then there are regulatory frameworks that are too complicated and which, in fact, hinder development, says Jacke in a TT interview.
Permit times must be shortened, bureaucracy reduced, to "make it easier to run a business and make it more attractive to invest in Europe", as he puts it.
Europe's competitiveness, or lack thereof, as some claim, is now a hot topic on the EU agenda. More and more business leaders are talking about Europe as a graveyard, a continent that is not keeping up with international competition against China and the USA. This has led to demands on the EU Commission to ease up on the tougher environmental laws, for example, giving the automotive industry more time to adapt.
Tweaking is okay
That you want to tweak things here and there, that's certainly reasonable, but extremely important that the direction remains set, says Jan-Olof Jacke.
The companies have adjusted and invested heavily in the climate policy heading in a greener direction. Unpredictability is the worst thing for business.
From the USA, signals are now coming in every day about revoking one thing after another. The Paris Agreement on climate, for example:
Over time, I'm convinced that it's bad for the USA. Because this transformation is happening with force in American states and in American companies, says Jacke.
Self-evident truths
Sustainability also has a broader meaning. It can be about discrimination laws, work environment regulations, gender quotas, and more. If Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and several of the profiled tech giants' bosses get their way, such "woke" issues will be thrown in the trash.
"Woke" can be described as a collective term for awareness of justice and inclusion, which in some circles is seen as excessive political correctness.
Do you think it will spread here?
I don't know, but I have great faith that an absolute majority of the business community sees diversity and equality as both self-evident truths and competitive advantages, says Jacke.
Dependent on the president
I find it hard to see that individual companies would react dramatically to what's happening now in the USA, he continues.
About some American big business leaders seeming to cuddle up to Trump's opinions:
It can be a bit worrying in itself that there seems to be a very great flexibility in their own standpoints. Depending on what the president says. But I don't notice those forces here (in Europe and Sweden), continues Jacke.
