Conference Report HAMBURG COPENHAGEN BUSINESS FORUM 2015 TWO STRONG PARTNERS ONE COMPETITIVE REGION

Transcription

1 Conference Report HAMBURG COPENHAGEN BUSINESS FORUM 2015 TWO STRONG PARTNERS ONE COMPETITIVE REGION Organisers Premium Partners

2 Session Partners Conference Partners German-Danish Chamber of Commerce Kongens Nytorv 26 DK-1050 Copenhagen K T: info@handelskammer.dk handelskammer.dk/hcbf

3 Hamburg Copenhagen Business Forum 2015 Summary Hamburg and Copenhagen are natural partners: The cities are only 288km apart, have a similar business-dna and they are innovative leaders in various sectors. The potential for cooperation formed the background of the second Hamburg Copenhagen Business Forum titled Two strong partners, one competitive region. The objective of the Forum is to promote cross-border cooperation between businesses, organisations and political players from both cities to make the joint region between Hamburg and Copenhagen stand out in the European competition in the future. More than 250 participants from both countries discussed similarities and differences in order to address the prospects of a joint region between the metropolitan areas of Hamburg and Copenhagen. Fritz Horst Melsheimer, President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, and Jens-Peter Saul, Chairman of the German-Danish Chamber of Commerce, both emphasised the importance of business cooperation in becoming one competitive region in their welcome speeches. The Fehmarnbelt fixed link will pave the way for a closer cooperation and initiate common projects between the two metropolitan areas. Collaboration on large-scale projects is also among the top priorities of Copenhagen s Lord Mayor Frank Jensen and Hamburg s First Mayor Olaf Scholz, as both stated during the Mayors Talk. In the eyes of Jensen, reduced travel time gives great possibilities for the cooperation between both cities. Scholz stressed the strong support of the federal government and state governments of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein for the Fehmarn belt-link. The opportunities for the joint region were further underlined by the two mayors plan to intensify and formalise cooperation in the coming years by establishing a working group. Jensen highlighted the experience that can be drawn from the Oresund region around Copenhagen and Malmö. In the same vein, the mayors welcomed the Business Forum as an opportunity to learn from each other as role models. Scholz stressed Copenhagen s leading role when it comes to Smart City projects, as the Scandinavian city sets new standards in areas such as urban bicycle concepts and district heating systems. Jensen, on the other hand, praised Hamburg s business culture and its close cooperation with institutions, which, paired with a unique welcome culture and business-friendly politics, plays a prominent role in Hamburg s success story. The Mayors identified energy as one of the key topics for the region and stressed the two cities successful steps towards the energy transition (Energiewende). Scholz underlined Hamburg s position as a wind energy hub, emphasising its potential in expanding the renewable energies grid. Copenhagen s very efficient district heating system drives the city s ambitious aims of becoming the first carbon neutral capital by 2025, highlighted Jensen. These and other approaches combined with best practice sharing will place Hamburg and Copenhagen among the global players within the renewable energy sector. The following panel debate named people, businesses and organisations as important prerequisites for the development of the region. The four speakers concluded that fostering a joint region requires a cross-border mind-set and that therefore the educational level is very important. Hence, a successful region needs to be based on people s positive attitude towards one another. The panellists see the potential of forming such a joint region based on private innovation, which requires training of the region s young people in business and research. The potential for cooperation between the two cities has not yet been utilised, as willingness, rather than action has dominated the public debate and policies. Whilst the first part of the programme explored a broader framework for cooperation between the metropolitan areas of the two cities. The second part presented the possibility to discuss specific sector topics in breakout sessions. The focus was put on energy and smart cities, logistics & IT, real estate investments, health care and life sciences as well as tourism. In the different sessions, the participants could explore shared opportunities and had the chance of learning from each other, gain new insights and make new contacts to relevant stakeholders. At the end of the day, Copenhagen Capacity and the City of Copenhagen invited the participants to a reception at Copenhagen s City Hall. After a few concluding words by the host, Mayor Frank Jensen, the chairman of the German-Danish Chamber of Commerce, Jens-Peter Saul, closed the conference and invited the participants to the next Hamburg Copenhagen Business Forum in Hamburg in 2017.

4 Breakout Sessions Takeaways Energy I Building the Smart, Green and Livable and City HafenCity and Nordhavn are two similar large-scale city development projects that are located near the city centres of Hamburg and Copenhagen s waterfronts. The objective is to transform old industrial areas into attractive new office and living spaces. Those two modern projects bring the concept of smart, green and liveable neighbourhoods to life and due to their similarity, both cities can benefit from sharing best practices. Life Sciences Public Private Partnerships as Drivers of Sustainable Healthcare Innovation and Business Value Rules within the German and Danish life science and health care sector are comparable, thus offering an obvious opportunity for sharing experiences and best practices across the two cities. Public private partnerships have become a common answer to challenges like the demographic change in both cities. The top management of both hospitals and companies play a major role in forming these partnerships. Innovations in this sector are highly needed and are often user driven, since life science is a people-focused discipline. The session identified compliance as the most sensitive topic for public private partnerships in the future in both Hamburg and Copenhagen. Real Estate I Real Estate Investments in Germany and Denmark Today, Europe is downsizing and therefore markets of relevant sizes cannot be left out when it comes to investment opportunities. The real estate market of Copenhagen together with the Oresund region has reached a critical size. The cities strength is its special flair as a young, creative and alternative city offering investment openings in many niche markets that appeal to specific audiences. Energy II A Modern Energy System for a Smart, Green and Liveable City: Due to their efforts in building smart and green cities, Hamburg and Copenhagen have both recently been granted the European Green Capital Award. The energy planning of both cities were among the session topics as well as energy projects and the cities roles as platforms for new ideas. District heating and wind power are strong areas of excellence in both cities, and cases from the regions and their companies were used as international benchmarks for Smart, Green and Liveable Cities. In these areas, there is an intense Danish-German collaboration between Hamburg and Copenhagen in central roles. Logistics and IT Moving Smarter Despite their differences, both cities face similar challenges of increasing urbanisation, congestion and constant changes in infrastructure and digitalisation. Companies rely on IT solutions to connect to the Internet of Things in order to meet those challenges and avoid congestion. Faced with the objective of increasing the efficiency of logistical processes, both cities have found digital solutions to extend the capacity of the existing infrastructure and could benefit from the experiences of the other through best practice sharing. For example, Hamburg has lodged the Smart Port project, from which the port of Copenhagen can learn. Still, European infrastructure regulation remains the highest priority, when it comes to laying down the framework for competitive logistic hubs. Tourism Better Together? Hamburg and Copenhagen are essentially competitors in attracting visitors, especially when it comes to tourists with shorter travel times, as they are prone to visit only one of the cities rather than both. However, by co-marketing their attractions to markets overseas, both cities could benefit from an increasing amount of e.g. Asian tourists. An example of cooperation was a journey made to China, where the two destination management organisations, Wonderful Copenhagen and Hamburg Tourism, jointly promoted both destinations. Further, cooperation should start with specific plans, for example the possibility to host major sports events together. An additional pillar for cooperation in the tourism sector could be an exchange programme for qualified specialists. Real Estate II Offices in Copenhagen Today, the demands for offices are changing immensely. Open offices no longer play a significant role. Instead, dedicated offices will be replaced by flexible workplaces that are characterised by access to daylight and a lively atmosphere. The reasons are that a bad indoor climate reduces efficiency by 10%. In a similar vein, real life contact becomes ever more important for our work life, since most communication moves online. Future offices and buildings need to address those demands. Therefore, the office market offers potential for further investment.

5 Lord Mayor of the City of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, and First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz, arrive at the conference venue, House of Industry in Copenhagen.

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11 Danish TV interviews Jens-Peter Saul, Chairman of the German-Danish Chamber of Commerce.

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14 Moderator Reiner Perau, CEO of the German-Danish Chamber of Commerce, opens the second Hamburg Copenhagen Business Forum and welcomes the more than 250 participants from Germany and Denmark.

15 Fritz Horst Melsheimer, President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, stated during his welcome address that the Fehmarnbelt fixed link will turn Hamburg into Scandinavia s most southern city.

16 Dirk Gerdes, spokesman of the Economic Development Council of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and Michael Svane, Acting Chairman of the Fehmarnbelt Business Council, during the panel debate Building One Strong Region.

17 Moderator Birgit Stöber, external lecturer from the Copenhagen Business School, introduces the audience to the panel debate on how to boost business between the metropolitan regions.

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25 Mayors Olaf Scholz and Frank Jensen with moderator Reiner Perau during the Mayors Talk on the future collaboration of a joint region.

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27 Claus Lønborg, CEO of Copenhagen Capacity, and Philip Goltermann, member of the regional board of the German Property Federation (ZIA), during the panel debate Building One Strong Region.

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31 Mayor Olaf Scholz appointing Jens-Peter Saul as a Hamburg Ambassador.

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33 Mayor Frank Jensen welcoming the participants to the Mayors Reception at Copenhagen City Hall following the conference.

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36 Jens-Peter Saul closing the conference and inviting the participants to the next Hamburg Copenhagen Business Forum in Hamburg in 2017.