Falkenbergs Kommun i Kina

Uppdrag:

På uppdrag av Falkenbergs kommun och tillsammans med deras systerstad Shijiazhuang 30 mil sydväst om Beijing har genomförts en miljö- och energikonferens. Plyhm Kommunikation ansvarade för PR-aktiviteterna. Medialt resulterade arbetet i en helsida i Dagens Industri, samt mycket god exponering (press, TV, radio) i Kina. För mer information v.v. se pressrelease på engelska nedan!

At the request of the City of Falkenberg, Sweden and together with its twin city, Shijiazhuang, 300 km. south west of Beijing, an environment and energy conference was held in Shijiazhuang. Plyhm Kommunikation was responsible for public relations at this event. In addition to a full-page article in the Swedish business daily, Dagens Industri, media exposure in China was very satisfactory, with extensive coverage in the Chinese press as well as TV and radio. For more information, please see the press release in English below!

PRESSRELEASE
Energy and Environment Conference in Shijiazhuang

The Municipality of Falkenberg, in cooperation with political leaders in its sister city Shijiazhuang, hold an energy and environment conference illuminating issues regarding energy and the environment. The main theme of the conference is the necessity of investing in renewable energy by focusing on areas of practical application, global research, legislation and means of finance. The goal is to develop cooperation strategies and to establish business relationships between Sweden and China.

The speakers include political leaders as well as representatives from various companies based in Shijiazhuang and Beijing, along with representatives from the Municipality of Falkenberg and businesses based in Falkenberg. In addition to this, the conference will feature speakers from Swedish corporations already well established in China, and representatives from Swedish and Chinese universities. In total, there will be around 100 participants, representing interests of the Chinese state, the Municipality of Falkenberg, and industry. As a follow up, visits to a number of industries in the vicinity of Shijiazhuang will be made.

Mr. Östen Nilsson, the initiator of this conference and the head of the Falkenberg delegation shares the following insights: “The Municipality of Falkenberg has a long-standing commitment to, and extensive experience of, renewable energy. This means we are well-equipped to embark on joint ventures with Shijiazhuang where, as in Chinese society at large, the extremely rapid development puts issues of energy and the environment in the forefront. With this conference, we aim to create a concrete platform for business opportunities in the form of joint ventures between Chinese and Swedish companies, and we are proud to acknowledge that our long-term efforts have allowed us to reach this goal.”

Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is situated some 300 km south of Beijing, and it is the capital of the Hebei province, which has some 9.3 million inhabitants. Shijiazhuang and the Municipality of Falkenberg are sister cities, and they belong to a network of 30 or so sister cities throughout the world. On the part of the Municipality of Falkenberg, business ties were established as early as 2002, and delegations from both countries have conducted numerous visits to China and Sweden, respectively. These visits have mainly focused on issues of energy and the environment, since Shijiazhuang has expressed the desire for in-depth cooperation in areas connected to these issues. Shijiazhuang has also signed cooperation agreements within such areas as education, table tennis, staff exchange programmes, and industry.

Background
The global market for environmental technology is growing at an annual rate of five to twenty percent, and its turnover is expected to reach SEK 4000 billion by 2010. A recently published survey from Nutek shows that Swedish companies in this sector are among the best in the world, making for excellent export opportunities.
The Energy and Environment Conference in Shijiazhuang is supported by The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions/SALA IDA.
For more information, please contact:

Östen Nilsson
Chairman, Falkenbergs Stadshus AB
+46 705 88 6704

Birgitta Plyhm
Press Officer
+46 707 77 1290
birgitta@plyhm.se

The Municipality of Falkenberg and its companies Falkenberg Energi AB (FEAB) and Falkenberg Vatten och Renhållning AB (FAVRAB) are known for their excellent track record with regard to environmental thinking and investments in renewable energy, wind power, and solar energy. The Municipality of Falkenberg’s upcoming projects in this area include a wind power assembly site in Lövstaviken, to be completed in 2006, and the projection of a larger site at sea, located near Skottarevet. There are also plans for a biogas plant within the municipality.