Search

The need to view innovation policy through the lens of policy mixes has gained momentum given the growing complexity, the dynamics of real-world policy and the wide array of difficulties to address the current great societal challenges, notably the increasing pressure on the ecosystems that support our society. One of the main challenges concerning the transition towards bioeconomy, is to gain a more in-depth understanding on the policy mix to stimulate innovation in sustainability transitions. Our paper aims at enriching the portfolio of empirical case studies on policy mixes for innovation and sustainable transitions, by investigating the development of the policy mix underpinning the sustainability transition of the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. We apply a case study approach which draws on event history analysis, semi-structured interviews with industry and policy makers, literature reviews, a participative workshop with stakeholders from the pulp and paper industry, as well as on the IEA databases on climate change and energy efficiency policies and measures. Our analysis emphasises coordination, timing and scale in policy mixes as important elements to understand how instruments interact to accelerate sustainability transitions. The mapping of the policy mix shows that destabilising policies were crucial for accelerating the transition process of the industry. Prior to novelty creation policies, destabilising policies (e.g. environmental policies) were needed for 'innovation policy instruments' to be effective. More specific instruments (e.g. carbon tax), targeting particular functions of the innovation systems, require 'on-the-ground' policy intelligence and benefit from close interaction with industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulp and paper industry faces several challenges linked to climate and environmental impact, resource efficiency, rising energy prices, increased competition for biomass resources, and declining demand for traditional printed paper products. However, these challenges also offer strategic opportunities for the industry to develop into a competitive, resource-efficient, and low-carbon industry in line with a biobased economy. Against this background, this paper aims to analyse current energy strategies in the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Specifically, the paper analyses how companies combine continuous process efficiency to reduce energy costs with activities that could be developed into new energy-related products to increase revenue. Most of the analysed companies work to various degrees with both these strategies, employing methods that include improving energy efficiency, energy security, and energy conversion, as well as developing a wide range of biobased energy products. However, our study indicates that there is an untapped potential associated with energy product development, and we conclude that energy efficiency measures can free up resources, enabling the development of new energy products. Finally, several potential managerial outcomes and implications are outlined. • The paper analyses the energy strategies in the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. • Energy strategies focus both to improve energy efficiency and develop new energy-products. • The companies' energy strategies combined exploitation and exploration. • A number of managerial implications are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union has set strict recycling targets for municipal solid wastes, but the implementation of circularity is still hindered by a variety of present set-ups. This paper addresses the recycling transitions and their complex nature in Austria, Sweden and Finland and points out the differences that are connected to the level of success in recycling. Furthermore, this study identifies present lock-ins in the waste management regime to provide an understanding on the factors preventing further development towards a recycling society. This is done by analysing different waste policy documents and interviews of national waste experts. The study employs the multilevel perspective (MLP) framework that is a commonly used approach in sustainability transitions research. The results highlight the variety of social, political, technical and economic elements, but also the connections between them that result in a stable regime. The pathways to achieve the recycling society differ between Austria, Sweden and Finland. National waste policy, the division of responsibilities, the variety of infrastructure and collection systems in waste management, the level of general awareness, public-private co-operation and the quality of waste data act as key characteristics that reflect the success in the recycling transition. Identified lock-ins for recycling seem to be slightly stronger in Finland compared to Austria and Sweden, while some of the lock-ins are the same in all countries, such as incineration capacity, malfunction of markets of recyclables or lack of product design for recyclability. • The pathways to a recycling society differ between Austria, Sweden and Finland. • Pressure for recycling has been explicit in Austria at the landscape level. • There are more identified lock-ins in Finland compared to other countries. • Clear responsibilities, a variety of practices, public awareness and quality of data reflect success. • Bottom-up approaches could be utilised in solving the frictions between public and private actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous studies point out a large (untapped) potential for energy efficiency in industry through the adoption of energy management practices. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze energy management practices in two different Swedish energy-intensive industries: the pulp and paper industry and the foundry industry. The results show that one third of the studied mills and about two fifths of the studied foundries do not allocate energy costs by means of sub-metering, which probably contributes to reinforce the split incentive problem. Moreover, about one fifth of the mills and about half of the foundries lack a long-term energy strategy. The results also show that only about 40% and 25% respectively of the studied mills and foundries may be categorized as successful when it comes to energy management practices. If energy management is not fully prioritized even in energy-intensive industries – such as the studied foundry and pulp- and paper industry it will, in all probability, not be prioritized in less energy-intensive industrial sectors or countries either, indicating a large untapped potential in regard to cleaner, more environmentally sound, production in the industrial sector. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development paths leading to the transition to cleaner bleaching technologies in the pulp industry. It devotes particular attention to the key features of the Swedish transition, but also compares this to the Finnish experiences. The empirical investigation builds on an analytical framework highlighting the conditions under which pollution regulations can provide efficient incentives for deep emission reductions at industrial plants. Existing and new archive material, including not least comprehensive license trial acts for Swedish pulp mills over an extended time period, are studied. Based on this historical analysis our findings contradict previous literature, the latter emphasizing that pressures from consumers and the public were the most significant driving forces behind the adoption of–and innovation in–alternative bleaching technologies during the late 1980s. Instead, this paper asserts, the green pulp transition was characterized by regulation-induced technological change and was made possible by long history of industry-wide cooperation in environmental R&D. Furthermore, while previous research has emphasized the leading role of the Nordic countries in green pulp innovation, we identify a number of profound differences between Finland and Sweden. These emerge from various national contexts in terms of, for instance, industry structures and strategies, political cultures, and regulatory styles. Finally, at a more general level the paper provides a few policy implications for supporting the ongoing transition towards a forest-based bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a directionality framework that highlights goal, sector and solution as key dimensions of transformative policy missions. The framework is used to investigate the directionality of process industry decarbonization in Sweden, by analyzing the orientation of projects supported by the major national funding program the 'Industry Leap' between 2017 and 2022. The results show that innovation activities (i) mainly aim to reduce fossil emissions rather than produce negative emissions, (ii) focus on the steel and chemicals industries, and (iii) engage mostly with carbon capture, electrification and hydrogen. This indicates that innovation activities are somewhat narrow and imbalanced, which suggests that policymakers should promote broader experimentation. The theoretical and empirical contribution of this paper supports academics, policymakers and other actors in understanding, evaluating and shaping the directionality of transformative policy missions. [Display omitted] • Transformative policy missions unfold in goal, sector and solution dimensions. • The directionality of process industry decarbonization in Sweden is analyzed. • Innovation activities focus on decarbonizing steel and chemicals production. • Carbon capture, electrification and hydrogen are the main solution pathways. • Swedish policymakers should promote broader experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating carbon dioxide (CO 2) capture in biomass or waste-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants has been considered a key measure to achieve negative emissions. To support decision-making, an accurate assessment of the potential contribution and the associated cost from the national perspective is urgently needed. This paper proposed a bottom-up approach based on a dynamic modelling to evaluate the potental of nationwide negative emissions. As heat supply is often prioritized by CHP plants, unchanged heat generation is a prerequisite of this study. Two operating modes (OMs) for the integration of CO 2 capture are investigated, which can represent the upper and lower boundaries of CO 2 capture: OM1 aims to maximize the amount of captured CO 2 , while electricity generation can be sacrificed; OM2 aims to maximize the amount of captured CO 2 , while the electricity generation is maintained unchanged. Sweden is employed as a case study. Results show that operating CO 2 capture in OM1 can achieve 8.7 million ton CO 2 nationwide negative emissions a year, while operating CO 2 capture in OM2 can generate 4.3 million ton CO 2 positive emissions a year, which represents a reduction of 6.3 million tonCO 2 a year compared with the reference plant without CO 2 capture. The levelized costs of CO 2 avoided are 36.9 USD/tonCO 2 and 52.0 USD/tonCO 2 for OM1 and OM2, respectively. The biogenic fraction of waste has a significant influence on negative emissions. According to the Swedish climate goal about bioenergy with CO 2 capture and storage (BECCS), to achieve 3 million ton negative CO 2 emissions a year, the minimum biogenic fractions should be 32.8% and 84.3% for operating CO 2 capture in OM1 and OM2, respectively; in contrast, to achieve 10 million ton negative emissions a year, biomass and waste-fired CHP plants have to operate CO 2 capture in OM1 and the biogenic fraction needs to be over 59.9%. • The potential range of negative CO 2 emissions from CHP plants is identified. • The costs associated with capturing CO 2 from CHP plants are evaluated. • The biogenic fraction of fuel shows a large impact on net CO 2 emissions. • CO 2 capture is operated based on the prerequisite of unchanged heat generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy demand in Sweden is increasing due to the growing electrification, and to meet this need, the generation must be expanded. Wind power generation is a very attractive renewable power production alternative for Sweden because of the favorable weather conditions. Research looks at how much wind energy may be deemed sustainable. Increased energy demand puts pressure on the government and industry to build more wind farms and, as a result, produce more wind turbines. Raw materials are necessary for wind turbines to provide a secure transition to green energy technologies. To meet these demands, the materials from various countries should efficiently contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper gathers information about raw resources from diverse nations worldwide. All materials are mapped to the country where they are produced using social science criteria. A few nations are chosen based on a sample approach for further analysis, and the implications of mining operations are investigated. Finally, the direct and indirect effects of the SDGs are considered. Based on the data gathered, recommendations and considerations are given to avoid or mitigate the repercussions of raw materials mining and make wind power generation more socially and environmentally sustainable. • Evaluation of side effects of wind turbine raw materials. • The extraction of raw materials often violates human rights. • Mining of raw materials for wind turbines negatively affects the environment. • Extraction of wind turbine materials affects several Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the role of agency is widely acknowledged in socio-technical transition research, there remains a research gap on agency in transitions and a call for studies using an actor-centred approach to transition studies. In response to this call, this paper addresses the role of actors and, particularly, organisations in transitions. It examines the role of organisational change in socio-technical sustainability transitions and, more specifically, how transition initiatives may trigger and support these changes in organisations and systems. For this purpose, the paper draws on literature from both transition studies and organisational change management (OCM) to build a multi-scale, integrative theoretical heuristic. This addresses drivers and barriers for organisational change as an integral part of transition processes, connecting the micro level of the individual, the meso level of the organisation and the macro level of the broader system in which the organisation is located. With the goal of illustrating the links between OCM and transition studies, this paper empirically examines the impact of Region 2050 , a large, multi-organisation transition initiative in Sweden, in terms of creating change within the organisations involved. The main focus is on how the organisations acquire the new knowledge and capabilities required for improving regional planning for sustainability. The empirical study identifies leverage points at the micro-, meso- and macro-levels, which may be used in order to change strategic planning processes. Three different theoretical concepts from transition studies and OCM that could help to foster long-term planning are also identified: (1) the macro-level of institutional plurality and its connection to the meso- (organisational) level; (2) collaboration as a key success factor on the organisational level; and (3) at the micro-level, the roles of individuals as change agents and boundary spanners. Overall, the case highlights the merits of the OCM literature for transition studies and their emphasis on understanding interacting processes operating at multiple scales. • Organisational change as part of socio-technical transitions is under researched. • This study shows the use of organisational change management (OCM) literature for transitions. • A sustainability transitions initiative is examined from an OCM perspective for illustration. • An integrative, multi-scale theoretical framework is proposed. • The framework connects individual, organisational and system levels of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publicly funded demonstration projects represent a critical intermediate step between basic R&D on the one hand, and large-scale commercialization of new sustainable technology on the other. However, these projects often suffer from various technical and nontechnical difficulties, frequently fail to meet objectives, and sometimes stall despite the best intentions of their facilitators. This paper reports on a multiple case study of 21 demonstration projects in the area of sustainable technology set in Sweden and offers two contributions. First, it maps the project-internal and external factors that allow or prohibit demonstration projects to reach their goals. Second, it suggests a process model outlining the key activities for setting up a new demonstration project. By doing so, the paper provides important implications for the process of developing and commercializing sustainable technologies. The escalating environmental crisis in particular underscores the need for new knowledge about how cleaner and more sustainable technologies can be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden has a policy goal of solving major environmental problems in Sweden within a generation, without increasing environmental or health problems in other countries. Following up this goal requires indicators for domestic and external footprints of Swedish consumption. This paper presents such macro-level indicators for the years 2008–2014. The new indicators are consistent with Swedish statistics from the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts. They combine a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) database, to capture the external components of Sweden's consumption, with national input-output, trade and environmental statistics. The hybrid MRIO-Sweden model provides a comprehensive environmental account for follow-up of the Generational Goal. This paper presents impacts from household consumption, government consumption and capital formation, covering emissions of greenhouse gases, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), land use, materials consumption, and blue water consumption. Except for land use, the majority (60% or more) of the environmental pressures due to consumption occurred outside Sweden in 2014; more than 90% of sulphur emissions and more than 80% of the water use fell abroad. The environmental pressures from consumption decreased over this period for all indicators (except materials consumption). This suggests an absolute decoupling between environmental pressure due to consumption and economic growth, which rose over the period. It is, however, too early to determine whether this is a genuine trend or a temporary stabilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon calculators can potentially help people understand and reduce their climate impact. This paper describes the features of Svalna, a mobile application that estimates users' greenhouse gas emissions by means of a hybrid approach that relies on financial transaction data from the users' bank paired with environmentally extended input output analysis; data from official registers of governmental agencies, and data entered by the users themselves. Applying financial transaction data in carbon calculators is increasingly popular, and I discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using such data in order to estimate greenhouse gas emissions. The paper also describes how design features have been developed based on insights from behavioral science and previous research on carbon calculators. The mobile application is available for use in Sweden and had approximately 15,000 users in December 2019. • This paper describes a carbon calculator that uses financial transactions and EE-MRIO data to estimate users' carbon footprint. • The methodology is presented and the benefits and drawbacks of this approach are discussed. • The design of the mobile application and how it builds on insights from behavioral science is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The iron and steel industry accounts for one third of global industrial CO 2 emissions, putting pressure on the industry to shift towards more sustainable modes of production. However, for an industry characterised by path dependency and technological lock-ins, sustainability transitions are not straightforward. In this study, we aim to explore the potential pathways for sustainability transitions in the iron and steel industry. To do so, we have conducted a case study in Sweden where there are policy and industry commitments towards fossil-free steel production. Our theoretical points of departure are the technological innovation system (TIS) approach and the multi-level perspective (MLP), and our paper presents the dynamics behind an emerging case of transition towards a hydrogen-based future. The paper has two major contributions to the literature on sustainability transitions. First, it attempts to borrow some concepts from the MLP and integrate them with the TIS approach. Second, it empirically presents an in-depth case study of the iron and steel industry – an understudied context in the field of sustainability transitions. By doing so, it sheds some light on the dynamics between an emerging TIS and potential transition pathways of a regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green public procurement is believed to have the potential to contribute to environmental improvement and diffusion of green technologies. The aim of this paper is to compare and analyse how two Swedish regions use public procurement to promote the introduction of renewable fuels in their public bus transport systems. The method is a qualitative comparative case study, based on interviews and document studies. The paper addresses the questions of what the strategic motivations are for using public procurement to stimulate renewable fuels, and what the practical challenges have been in relation to five important factors identified from previous research: strategies, requirements, costs, size and knowledge. In one region, procurement is used in a strategic way to create a local market for biofuels, which poses higher demands on political backing, information and knowledge, the way requirements are set, and an acceptance of increased costs. In the other region, procurement is used instrumentally to increase the share of biofuels in a cost-effective way that gives room for more flexibility and reduces the demands on the procurers. This paper highlights the importance of context when assessing green public procurement schemes and analyses the case-specific influence of factors on the outcome of green public procurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved energy efficiency is one of the most effective strategies for achieving energy sustainability and independence locally, regionally and globally. Industry accounts for 40% of global energy usage each year, which suggests its potentially significant impact on overall energy use. The rapid development of standards for more efficient equipment and components are pushing manufacturers towards further improvements on a component level. However, it has been shown that the largest efficiency potential is actually found in higher system levels in which components serve, such as production processes, ventilation or hydraulic systems. Even though the importance of increasing energy efficiency at a systemic level has been widely acknowledged in recent years, practical approaches are seldom discussed in the literature. This gap between aspiration and achievement calls for the development of new approaches to foster system efficiency in industrial systems. This paper presents a systems analysis and corresponding model to increase the energy efficiency of industrial processes that involve intensive usage of electric motor systems. The model originates from traditional value stream mapping. Three case studies representing three different industrial processes were conducted to develop and validate the model. In total, 31 energy efficiency measures were identified, 29 of which address actions beyond component levels. Alongside identifications of energy efficiency measures, the model promotes the creation of conditions for cross-functional worker participation. By applying this model, the knowledge and skills gained by industrial personnel working with improved energy efficiency, maintenance and production processes can be used immediately to generate improvement suggestions. The paper concludes that this model, based on a simplified energy-focused value stream mapping, could broaden the scope of energy efficiency actions, engage a larger group of workers within the organisation and increase systems efficiency. This can be further used as a practical tool for finding continuous improvement possibilities that will result in strengthened competitiveness and more cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles seem to offer a great potential for sustainable transport development. The Swedish pioneer project GreenCharge Southeast is designed as a cooperative action research approach that aims to explore a roadmap for a fossil-free transport system by 2030 with a focus on electric vehicles. In the first paper of this tandem publication, the authors propose a new generic process model embedding the Framework of Strategic Sustainable Development. The purpose of applying it in an action-research mode as described in this paper was twofold: (i) to develop a vision for sustainable regional transport and a coarse roadmap towards that vision, and, while doing so, (ii) get additional empirical experiences to inform the development of the new generic process model. Experts from many sectors and organizations involved in the GreenCharge project provided vital information and reviewed all planning perspectives presented in Paper 1 in two sequential multi-stakeholder seminars. The results include a sustainable vision for electric vehicle systems in southeast Sweden within a sustainable regional transport system within a sustainable global society, as well as an initial development plan towards such a vision for the transport sector. The vision is framed by the universal sustainability principles, and the development plan is informed by the strategic guidelines, of the above-mentioned framework. Among other things, the vision and plan imply a shift to renewable energy and a more optimized use of areas and thus a new type of spatial planning. For example, the vision and plan implies a lower built-in demand for transport, more integrated traffic modes, and more multi-functional use of areas for energy and transport infrastructures, for example. Some inherent benefits of electric vehicles are highlighted in the vision and plan, including near-zero local emissions and flexibility as regards primary energy sources. The vision and plan also imply improved governance for more effective cross-sector collaboration to ensure coordinated development within the transport sector and between the transportation sector and other relevant sectors. Meanwhile, the new generic process model was refined and is ready to be applied and further tested in the GreenCharge project and in other projects within the transport sector as well as other sectors. The study confirmed that the new generic process model suggested in support of sustainable transport system and community development is helpful for giving diverse stakeholders, with various specialties and perspectives, a way of working that is goal-oriented and builds on effective, iterative learning loops and co-creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial sector accounts for 35%–40% of total energy use in Sweden, where 30% of industrial energy use comes from non-energy-intensive small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This sector has not historically received much attention when it comes to improving energy efficiency due to limited resources, lower priority given to energy issues, rather small energy-saving potential for a single company, and great heterogeneity of the SMEs. However, the accumulative energy-saving potential for SMEs can be quite high and achieved at very low costs, partly because most improvements are found in support processes and are relatively easy to implement. Various public policies, such as industrial energy audit programmes, serve as a means for overcoming barriers to energy efficiency in the sector of SMEs. One example is the Swedish Energy Audit Programme (SEAP), a stand-alone audit programme functioning between 2010 and 2014. The aim of this paper is to examine the programme by means of process and impact evaluation. The results show that the programme resulted in annual net energy efficiency savings equivalent to 340 GWh/year or 6% of the 713 participating companies' energy end use. The implementation rate in the audit programme was 53%. On average, the public cost of one implemented measure was € 700. Derived from the amount of energy saved, the audit programme's annual cost-effectiveness is €7/MWh saved energy. This paper adds a significant scientific contribution due to the method used for evaluation. Multiple company visits and availability of quantitative data from 713 companies gave the possibility to address the additionality effects and estimate net energy savings more precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Packaging can play a key role in reducing food waste and enabling resource efficient logistics operations. This paper offers insights into why this potential is not fully adopted by companies in food supply chains by exploring adoption barriers for sustainable packaging practices in ten companies in South Africa and Sweden. The paper develops an analytical framework from theory and applies it to the empirical data. This resulted in ten propositions that structure adoption barriers for sustainable packaging practices in food supply chains and explain the reasons for their occurrence. The propositions can form a basis for researchers to understand why the adoption of sustainable packaging practices in food supply chains may be lacking. Corporate decision-makers can use the propositions to form strategies and initiatives to overcome adoption barriers. The study also identified some contextual differences, but overall, the contextual impact on adoption barriers was surprisingly low. To deepen research and practice insights about the complexity of adopting sustainable packaging practices, the paper offers a process view on the adoption barriers in which their relationships are linked. The analytical framework and the process view offer integrative views on adoption barriers for sustainable packaging practices that enable researchers and practitioners to address them with a structured approach. This explorative study finally unfolds further research opportunities. • Explore adoption barriers for sustainable packaging practices in food supply chains in South Africa and Sweden. • Ten propositions structure adoption barriers explain the reasons for their occurrence. • Help to understand why the adoption of sustainable packaging practices may be lacking. • Support corporate decision-makers to form strategies to overcome adoption barriers. • Identify contextual differences, which overall were surprisingly low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunities for online shopping are transforming travel behaviour related to shopping, and they have the potential to reduce overall travel demands. This paper analyses the potential for reductions in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from passenger transport due to an increased use of online shopping in Sweden and adds to the broader picture of what potential growing online shopping might have on transport sustainability. This paper shows that there is a sustainability potential related to more sustainable travel habits by those who shop online more frequently. Calculations indicate that the predicted increase in online shopping behaviour together with the predicted increase of the Swedish population in 2030 would give a 22% decrease in CO 2 emissions related to shopping trips compared to 2012. Furthermore, if all travel is taken into account this would result in a 2% reduction in 2030 compared to total CO 2 emissions 2012. The paper furthermore discusses how these results might influence transport sustainability ambitions and policies. The discussion suggests that online shopping might facilitate reductions in CO 2 emissions but above all, it could act as a facilitator for implementing other policies promoting a less car dependent planning regime including shopping localisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses household behaviour as response to changes in waste management systems. The paper discusses the results of a case study from Vellinge municipality (Sweden), where the introduction of separate food waste collection is thought to have a role in reducing the total amount of household waste and improving the sorting of packaging waste. The study relies on data from official waste statistics and a survey of 117 municipal residents focusing on households' perceptions, attitudes and self-reflected changes in waste sorting behaviour. The respondents mentioned the increased environmental awareness and the convenience of food waste sorting among the primary reasons for the perceived changes in personal waste sorting routines. The study also tested the significance of other variables, such as income, employment, economic activity, socio-demographics, infrastructure, waste tariffs, illegal dumping, and awareness raising campaigns. Most of the variables were static and none showed sufficient correlation to the observed reduction of waste collection rates and the improvements in sorting other waste fractions. The analysed case had particularly high income levels, which were the main dynamic variable under study. The analysis suggests that we may be observing an example of a decoupling between economic growth and waste generation rates. This observation is explained by the Kuznets phenomena and it is being discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When it comes to improving energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, municipalities are important actors. The Swedish Energy Agency initiated a program called Sustainable Municipalities to support strategic energy activities at the local level. Participating municipalities were mandated to develop local energy and climate strategies. This study gives a general overview of how the 60 participants in the Sustainable Municipalities program developed and used energy strategies. The paper focuses on analyses of whether energy plans or strategies are present, and if present, how the municipalities address the issues, what actors are involved, and whether follow-up of the strategies is pursued. The empirical data were collected using structured telephone interviews and documentation studies. The paper elucidates local energy strategies from a management perspective, discuss whether and how the composition of actors influences suggested goals and measures, and explore whether there were plans for implementation and follow-ups. The theoretical ambitions are to integrate theories on how to manage efficient strategic energy planning with theories on how to achieve successful participation of stakeholders. These theories are used to discuss weaknesses and strengths in existing municipal energy planning practices and potential improvements. The results from this paper show that only 75% of the municipalities adopted local energy strategies. In addition, it was revealed that the processes to develop the strategies generally included several municipal actors although other stakeholders were rarely represented. The strategies resulted in concrete measures; however, there were no clear correlations between included actors, suggested measures, and identified themes in the strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to a circular economy relies on systems that facilitate waste recovery and recirculation of resources. These systems are based on certain enabling technologies. The aim of this paper is to explain how socio-economic structures influence the diffusion of such technologies. It applies a framework built on societal embedding and varieties of capitalism to compare the diffusion of anaerobic digestion (AD) in Sweden in northern Europe and Paraná in southern Brazil. Both Sweden and Paraná have experienced accelerated diffusion of AD, but there are significant differences in the respective diffusion patterns. The comparative analysis points to a tradeoff between system complexity and speed of diffusion. It illustrates how AD can be presented as a solution to various problems, and it further shows how the specific problems that gain attention shape diffusion patterns. By showing how socio-economic structures influence the appointment of problem owners, their agency, and legitimate forms of institutional support, the analysis demonstrates how economic systems condition technology diffusion. • The paper compares the diffusion of anaerobic digestion in Sweden and Paraná. • It shows how socio-economic structures have shaped diffusion patterns. • There is to a trade-off between sociotechnical system complexity and speed of diffusion. • Economic systems condition the diffusion of key technologies for a circular economy. • Analyses of recirculation potential must consider socio-economic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The EU has established so-called 20–20–20 targets, which in relation to energy mean that each Member State shall improve energy intensity levels by 3.3% annually, leading to a reduced primary energy use of 20% by the year 2020, calculated from a projected level based on the primary energy use in 2005. Sweden has established a less ambitious target of 1.7% annual energy intensity improvement through 2020. The aim of this paper is to evaluate, ex-ante, the EU 2020 primary energy target for the Swedish industrial sector. An applied backcasting methodology is used. The assessment made in this paper is that actions that lead to between 31.6 and 33.2 TWh/year reductions in energy end-use are needed if the EU target is to be achieved. Results from this paper shows that the current energy policy instruments are not sufficient to the EU or Swedish targets. Estimations in this paper are that a primary energy target of about 22.3 TWh/year is reasonable. The paper concludes by presenting a roadmap on how the Swedish 2020 target can be achieved through: i) energy management; ii) energy-efficient technology; and iii) energy supply measures, with an approximate cost of 280–300 MEUR or 75–80 kWh per public EUR. Three major additional policy measures are needed compared with the current policy: including all energy carriers, not just electricity, in the Swedish long-term agreements program PFE; setting up networks; and making it possible for third parties, i.e., industry, to deliver excess heat into the monopolized Swedish district heating grids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Data centers are estimated to have the fastest growing carbon footprint from across the whole information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Evaluating the performance of data centers in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability is becoming an increasingly important matter for organizations and governments (e.g., for regulation or reputation purposes). It nonetheless remains difficult to achieve such evaluation, as data centers imply to take into consideration a wide range of dimensions and stakeholders. Even though a wide range of sustainability performance indicators exist in the literature, there is still a lack of frameworks to help data center stakeholders (spanning from data center owners, governmental regulators to engineers/field operators) to evaluate and understand how a data center performs in terms of sustainable development/behavior. Our research work proposes such a framework, whose originality lies in the combination of state-of-the-art sustainability metrics with the biomimicry commandments of eco-mature system, which enables holistic sustainability assessment of data centres. From a theoretical perspective, the proposed model is designed based on a benefit-cost analysis using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. This approach allows data center stakeholders for specifying their own preferences and/or expertise in the comparison process, whose practicability is demonstrated in this paper considering three data center candidates, which are respectively located in France, Germany and Sweden. • A new model for comparing data center sustainability performance is proposed. • The model makes use of state-of-the-art sustainability metrics together with biomimicry lessons. • The model is designed based on a benefit-cost approach using the AHP technique. • A comparison study is carried out with three distinct data center candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to produce goods and services that are consumed in Sweden, natural resources are extracted and pollutants are emitted in many other countries. This paper presents an analysis of the goods and services consumed in Sweden that cause the largest environmental pressures in terms of resource use and emissions, identifying in which countries or regions these pressures occur. The results have been calculated using a hybrid model developed in the PRINCE project combining the multi-regional input-output database EXIOBASE with data from the Swedish economic and environmental accounts. The following environmental pressures are analysed: Use of Land, Water and Material resources, Emissions of Greenhouse gases (GHG), Sulphur dioxides (SO2), Nitrogen oxides (NOx), and Particulate Matters (PM 2.5 and 10). The product groups are those goods and services bought for private or public consumption and capital investments, as listed in the Swedish economic accounts. The results show that Sweden is a net importer of all embodied environmental pressures, except for land use and material use. The most important product groups across environmental pressures are construction, food products and direct emissions from households (except for sulphur dioxide emissions and material use for the latter). Other product groups that are found to have environmental pressures across several indicators are wholesale and retail services, architecture and engineering, dwellings, motor vehicles and machinery and equipment. However, for the three natural resource pressures Use of Water, Land and Material resources, agricultural products are a relatively important product group along with products from forestry for the last two indicators. A considerable proportion of the environmental pressure occurs in Sweden, but when comparing those of domestic origin and that occurring internationally, the majority of all pressures for Swedish consumption occur abroad (except for land use). Other countries stand out as particularly important as origins of pressure for Swedish consumption, most notably China, which is among the top five countries for emissions to air, as well as blue water and material use. Other highly relevant countries or regions are Rest of Asia and Pacific (i.e. Asia and Pacific except Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, India, South Korea, China and Japan), Russia, Germany as well as Denmark and Spain for certain product groups and environmental pressure combinations. This pattern of geographically spread pressures caused by Swedish consumption indicates the need for addressing the pressures at various levels of collaboration: national, within the European Union, bilateral and international. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gold and silver are extracted through the gold-silver couple production process or the gold-silver-lead-zinc-copper combined production process. This paper aims to analyse and compare the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the gold and silver refining processes. Two production routes are considered in this study: gold and silver refining through the gold-silver couple production process and gold and silver refining which are produced from the gold-silver-lead-zinc-copper combined production process. SimaPro software version 8.5 is used for the life-cycle assessment using the International Life Cycle Reference Data (ILCD) method and the cumulative energy demand method (CED). The geographic region considered in the original dataset is based on Papua New Guinea and Sweden. The major impact categories from the ILCD methods are climate change, human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects), ecotoxicity, ionising radiation (human health and ecotoxicity), eutrophication (freshwater, marine, and terrestrial), land use, water use, and mineral resources depletion. The impact categories where the results are analysed and presented here from the CED method are renewables, fossil fuels (oil, coal, and gas), biomass, nuclear, and embodied energy. The analysis results indicate that between gold-silver couple production and gold silver combined metal production process, refining through the gold-silver couple production process have greater environmental impacts. Furthermore, gold refining effects are larger as compared to the silver refining process. Among the significant impact categories, the most crucial is human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer). Results from the cumulative energy demand method shows that fossil-fuel consumption is larger than all other sources of energy demand in the precious-metal refining process. • Life cycle assessment of gold-silver refining processes is carried out. • Analysis is done with ILCD, IMPACT 2002+, and CED method. • Gold silver refining from the couple production is detrimental for environment. • Harmful emissions are mercury, chromium, and carbon-14. • Alternative low alloyed or unalloyed steel would be beneficial for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the global environmental impacts of local consumption is an area of growing interest among policymakers and consumers. By knowing what products comprise urban consumption "hotspots," municipalities and consumers alike could take deliberate actions to target and discourage consumption of high-impact products. In this paper, a new method for identifying environmental hotspots of consumption is presented. The main methodological advances are the following: i) material flow analysis of urban areas and life cycle assessment are combined; ii) a 16-year time-series of urban consumption data is used for selection of the most suitable representative products and for trend analysis; iii) representative products are selected systematically from consumption data of 1000 product types; iv) representative products are scaled up to represent consumption of the product groups; v) hotspots are identified by simultaneously evaluating six environmental impacts - acidification, climate change, eutrophication (marine and freshwater), photochemical ozone formation, and resource use; vi) for the case study, hotspots are connected to the city's profiles. The method was applied to the Swedish cities Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo and to Sweden in total. Electronics is a hotspot for all the studied areas and all the studied impacts and should be a prioritized product group for action. Fuel is a hotspot shared by all the areas while vehicles is a hotspot in Gothenburg. Meat is a nationwide hotspot, but not for the cities investigated. Gothenburg and Stockholm could collaborate to find effective measures for their common hotspot machinery. Thus, the method can be used to identify hotspots and find which product types could be part of national versus local programs. • Combined MFA-LCA environmental impact analysis of urban consumption. • Region-specific analysis to identify need for local consumption reduction efforts. • Some common but also different hotspots were identified for the studied areas. • Method enables assessment of multiple environmental impacts simultaneously. • Time series of consumption data allows for trend analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is perhaps one of the more difficult sources of emissions to address. Whilst opportunities are available for electrification of road vehicle fleets, air transport and the long distance freight of goods are more challenging. Further, due to the fragmentation of global supply chains, where materials can cross the world multiple times before ending up with a final consumer, it is important to understand the contribution of emissions caused by transport, and especially international transport, in relation to the consumption of goods and services. This paper provides evidence based insights into the contribution of CO2 emissions from transport to consumption footprints in Sweden. We give an extensive discussion of the treatment of transport in multi-regional input-output based approaches which can give insight into how different transport emissions can be accounted for. Secondly, we estimate the amount of CO2 emissions in the footprint coming from transport for Sweden. Results show that 14% (12 Mton) of the total Swedish CO2 footprint (84 Mton) was coming from transport activities occurring in the global supply chain. Most of these emissions were caused by transport in supply chains of consumed goods and services such as construction, household appliances and motor vehicles (8.5 Mton). However, the final consumption of package holidays and flights form the single biggest category with 3.5 Mton of the total 12 Mton CO2 of embodied transport emissions. With direct household emissions of vehicle transport in Sweden being 8.5 Mton, the emissions embodied in goods and services (excluding the package holidays and flights) are nearly equivalent to all the private vehicle transport of Swedish citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Environmental technology (ET) sector delivers environmentally preferably products. Little is known about whether companies in the ET sector set environmental objectives relating to their own production processes. This paper presents results from an online survey on environmental work in enterprises listed by the Swedish Environmental Technology Council (Swentec). The survey found that depending on the specific subsector, only between 21% and 45% of companies provide information about their environmental work on their website. This paper proposes environmental aspects of production and products as bases for corporate greening and for defining ‘green’ and ‘green-green’ business and identifies three main motivations for the companies within ET sector to operate as ‘green-green’ businesses: ‘competitive advantage’, ‘environmental responsibility’ and ‘environmental leadership’. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Industrial energy programs such as energy audit programs and long-term agreements (LTAs) are one of the most common means of promoting energy efficiency in industry. As a result of the European Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive from 2006, the Swedish Government Bill proposed a national energy program towards industrial small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using more than 500MWh energy annually. The aim of this paper is to present the structure and design of the program, adopted in 2010, the logics in brief behind the structure, as well as an ex-ante evaluation of the program’s cost-effectiveness. The paper is aimed towards the part of the program involving industry, i.e. not the part involving companies within service and sales etc. The proposed design primarily includes a subsidized energy audit with some minor LTA-elements, such as the need to report results from the energy audit, to present a plan over which measures to conduct, and after three years present which measures that were implemented. The ex-ante evaluation of the program shows a cost-effectiveness of 0.25–0.50Eurocents/kWh, yielding savings of about 700–1 400GWh annually. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The literature on environmental champions emphasises the effective action of environmentally committed individuals. This paper draws on case studies of process technology investment projects in chemical and dairy companies in the UK and Sweden. The analysis is based on a political process perspective on organisations. By analysing the career histories of environmental champions as well as their behaviour in the investment projects, the paper shows how their championing behaviour is shaped by dynamic interaction with the organisational context, as well as a broader range of motivations and interests, including career opportunities and private life concerns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The overall goal of the present study is to evaluate different strategies for treatment of solid waste in Sweden based on a life cycle perspective. Important goals are to identify advantages and disadvantages of different methods for treatment of solid waste, and to identify critical factors in the systems, including the background systems, which may significantly influence the results. Included in the study are landfilling, incineration, recycling, digestion and composting. The waste fractions considered are the combustible and recyclable or compostable fractions of municipal solid waste. The methodology used is life cycle assessment (LCA). The results can be used for policy decisions as well as strategic decisions on waste management systems. A waste hierarchy suggesting the environmental preference of recycling over incineration over landfilling is often put forward and used in waste policy making. LCAs can be used to test the waste hierarchy and identify situations where the hierarchy is not valid. Our results indicate that the waste hierarchy is valid as a rule of thumb. The results also suggest that a policy promoting recycling of paper and plastic materials, preferably combined with policies promoting the use of plastics replacing plastics made from virgin materials, leads to decreased use of total energy and emissions of gases contributing to global warming. If the waste can replace oil or coal as energy sources, and neither biofuels nor natural gas are alternatives, a policy promoting incineration of paper materials may be successful in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper is concerned with question of how to assess results of networking which is an important element in movement towards sustainable development. Although based upon a large body of research, including empirical studies, the question of assessment of the networking results remains un-addressed, to a large extent. Based on an in-depth analysis of two Swedish tourism networks for sustainability and a detailed literature review, this paper identifies appropriate categories for assessment of results of the functioning of networks for sustainable development. The contribution of this study is the development of a generic framework to guide the assessment of results for sustainability networking. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Changes in travel behaviour are needed to tackle the climate impact associated with long-distance flights, including a switch to sustainable transport modes. In this paper, we analyse scenarios of carbon footprint reduction associated with a switch from flights to night trains for holidays in Europe for the case of Sweden, including outbound, inbound and domestic tourism. We use a prospective lifecycle assessment framework combined with results from a stated preference experiment to determine the impact of future mode shift behaviours. Our results indicate that a mode shift could be triggered by progressive night train policies resulting in (i) fewer transfers and (ii) price levels similar to those of flights. The shifts from flights to night trains could result in 9% lower cumulative carbon footprint in relation to a baseline travel demand scenario for the period 2025–2050. Decarbonization of long-distance travel in line with the Paris Agreement would likely require a combination of many different types of measures including a shift to low-carbon fuels. • We investigate potential emissions abatement by night trains replacing flights. • Trains could reach 22–30% of the combined market for tourism by flights and trains. • Shift to night train could reduce emissions from long-distance travel by 9%. • Decarbonization has a larger impact on carbon footprints than mode shifting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global challenges of today are many, and one of the most concerning aspects relates to food production for an increasing global population. The sustainability of doing 'more of the same thing' is being increasingly called into question. Several sustainable business model frameworks have been presented in recent years to address these challenges, but our knowledge is limited about the change processes of the agricultural sector. This paper aims to increase our understanding of how sustainable business models have developed in the agricultural sector in Sweden. It maps eight archetypes of sustainable business models, clustered in three groups, with a focus on the technological, social, and organisational innovation components at agri-food companies. The study takes a quantitative, methodological approach, conducting a telephone survey with owners and managers of 1143 agri-food companies in Sweden, and using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the analysis. The paper provides empirical evidence on the various options for sustainable business models that Swedish agri-food companies use. No major differences were found with respect to technical or social innovation components in the three regions: East, south, and north Sweden. However, significant differences were found between the regions with respect to the organisational innovation component. The organisational innovation component is based on two sustainable business model archetypes, namely, repurpose for society/environment and develop scale up solutions. North Sweden had a higher degree of organisational innovation than both south and east Sweden. The reason for this could be the larger environmental, economic, and organizational challenges in north Sweden compared to the rest of the country, which makes the need for innovation stronger. The paper also suggests new areas for researchers and practical avenues for stakeholders in the agricultural sector (and other industries) to translate social and environmental value creation into economic profit and competitive advantage. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use sustainable business model archetypes in an empirical setting in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful consumer industries in the world. Through the advent of fast fashion – trendy, low-cost clothing produced by global fashion brands – clothing has evolved from a durable good to a daily purchase. In recent years, the concept of the circular economy, a framework for a more efficient, closed-loop economy, has emerged as a key way forward in the transition to a more sustainable and less wasteful fashion industry. This paper investigates how the Swedish fashion industry has implemented circular economy principles. Drawing on interviews with the founders, CEOs, and/or brand sustainability managers of 19 Swedish fashion brands, this article maps circular economy strategies across key stages: take, make, and waste. Crucially, for the fashion industry to move towards circularity, this paper argues that brands must integrate these strategies across supply chains, rather than limiting them to the waste stage. The analysis explores the gaps between circular economy principles and practice, identifying challenges inherent in fashion brand approaches. It concludes with recommendations for further study of the circular economy and the fashion industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines renovation strategies among owners of rental housing in Sweden in response to European energy policies that promote deep renovation as a means to reduce carbon emissions from residential buildings. Case studies of ten housing companies, seven public and three private, were designed with the aim to examine housing owners’ attitudes and renovation strategies, and how policies and objectives for energy efficiency become incorporated into these attitudes and strategies. Results are illustrated in typologies that distinguish between renovation strategies with either a more commercial or a more societal focus and spanning between deep and partial renovation. The typologies can be used to discuss how different aspects influence renovation, and illustrates how strategies change over time. The study identifies a trend in which housing owners are increasingly relying on partial or over-time renovation. Cost is one important driver, but social responsibility toward tenants and in some cases the protection of cultural heritage are also found to be important. A distrust of fixed models for renovation was observed. The paper questions the concept of deep renovation and suggests instead partial and over-time renovation as a way forward toward sustainable renovation. Partial renovation can bring together energy efficiency with environmental, financial, social, and cultural objectives of housing management. If managed properly, over-time renovation can reduce the risk of an investment, and has the advantage of allowing future technological advancements in energy efficiency to be included in current planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas has recently attracted increased attention as an energy carrier in the Swedish agricultural sector. After a few years of growth, the agricultural biogas sector has now plateaued and few new plants have been established in recent years. This paper aims to understand the upscaling and stagnation of farm-based biogas in Sweden using interviews with key stakeholders and document studies. Through a combination of concepts used in socio-technical transition and large technical systems literature, the paper takes stock of national developments with a particular focus on three case regions. With an appreciation of regional contexts and different actor logics driving biogas development, the results present different growth patterns, stagnation factors and possible pathways for future upscaling. The paper concludes with a discussion on the future of the Swedish agricultural biogas sector. • Through interviews and document studies this paper analyses the upscaling and stagnation of farm-based biogas in Sweden. • Farm based biogas have experienced an upscaling in different localities, followed by a period of stagnation. • Possible pathways for future upscaling of biogas production are shaped by farming logics and sustainable transition patterns. • National and regional political engagement is critical for farm-based biogas to play a key sustainability transition role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pilot and demonstration plants (PDPs) perform critical tasks in the development of new sustainable technology by bridging basic knowledge generation and large-scale commercialization. Significant private and public funding has therefore been allocated to PDPs addressing climate change, pollution abatement technology and/or increased resource efficiency. After technology verification, PDPs typically struggle with evolving objectives, and reports of stalled or delayed development are common. Key problems may center on technical difficulties, but challenges of a non-technical nature are equally important, not least for the development of clean technology. This paper draws on a longitudinal case study of four PDPs used for advanced biorefinery technology development in Sweden and delineates the key managerial and organizational challenges that arise in and around such plants. By taking the actor networks around PDPs as the main unit of analysis, this paper gives a detailed description of various challenges, such as the division of responsibility for the operation and ownership of the PDPs, unclear roles and objectives, and the lack of specific competences and resources in the actor networks. One important conclusion is that improved knowledge about such challenges should increase the resilience of actor networks in and around PDPs, and also help shorten the formative phase of developing sustainable technology. Image 1 • Pilot and demonstration plants face key managerial and organizational challenges. • Unclear responsibility for operation and ownership hampers development. • Lack of specific competences/resources in the actor networks hampers development. • Improved knowledge about key challenges increase resilience of the actor network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a strong political desire to reduce the use of fossil fuels in road transport. In this paper, the use of e-bikes (of the pedelec type) in Sweden is analysed by focusing on changes in travel behaviour and their corresponding effects on CO 2 emissions. The aim is to analyse the effect on CO 2 emissions due to the use of e-bikes. The analysis is carried out on the possible differences in changed travel behaviour between areas dominated by either urban or rural environments. It is based on a combination of responses to a questionnaire distributed to e-bike users and a survey of local transport planners in Swedish municipalities. The results indicate that there are large gains to be made from e-bike usage in terms of decreased CO 2 emissions through a reduction in car mileage. Furthermore, the results indicate that the potential for e-bikes to replace car trips is as great in rural areas as it is in urban areas. At the same time, the results indicate that the Swedish municipalities carrying out e-bike campaigns target trips in both urban and rural areas, therefore representing an effective promotion strategy to achieve the full CO 2 emissions reducing potential of e-bike use. This study also shows that, depending on the type of errand being carried out, more respondents living in urban areas than in rural areas replace their conventional bicycle trips with e-bike trips. Thus, the use of e-bikes produces some less than desirable effects, such as reduced physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New developments in consumption-based emissions accounting suggest that the reductions claimed by wealthy, environmentally progressive nations have often come at the expense of increased emissions elsewhere – and thus net growth in global GHG concentrations. This paper traces Sweden's attempts to translate growing recognition of displaced emissions into national environmental policy. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research and policy analysis in Sweden and China, we argue that while the logical implications of consumption-based analyses point to the need to address production and consumption as an integrated system, complex governance challenges and the political precariousness of these ideas have thus far limited policy to the reinvention of consumer awareness campaigns and an international extension of long-standing ecological efficiency efforts. We argue that consumption-based emissions indicators justify more ambitious demand-side policy response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden has been praised for its sustainability efforts and decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. When nations and urban districts publicize their low GHG emissions, these emissions are often based on a production perspective including only emissions occurring within their geographical boundary. If instead a consumption perspective is applied then all emissions attributable to the inhabitants consumption patterns, no matter where they occur, are included, e.g. from imported goods and air travel. This provides new outlooks on sustainability, from this perspective Swedish emissions have increased rather than decreased in the last decades. Swedish researchers and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency propose that the production perspective should be complemented with a consumption perspective to describe more fairly who is responsible for what emissions. The purpose of this paper is to examine how a consumption perspective on GHG emissions has gained ground in Sweden, specifically in the new Strategic Climate Program of the City of Gothenburg, discussing what municipal strategies and environmental discourses this perspective enhances. Applying actor–network theory, we found three common features of importance for Sweden, and the City of Gothenburg, supporting the consumption perspective to gain ground. One is the existence of long-term environmental goals that facilitate this perspective. The other features are the existence of civil servants as drivers and the use of calculations from legitimate “fact builders.” We conclude that a consumption perspective strengthens the environmental justice discourse (as it claims to be a more just way of calculating global and local environmental effects) while possibly also increasing an individualized environmental discourse (as many municipal strategies aim to inform and influence the public to make lifestyle changes on their own). We argue that a consumption perspective is necessary in order to fully address environmental problems and to highlight issues of justice and responsibility. At the same time, this kind of eco-governmentality might lead to individualized self-governed climate subjects with outlooks that are too limited to foster change of dominant everyday practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new understanding on how intermediary actors support the adoption of renewable electricity technology. While intermediaries complement each other in different phases of the process, there are also gaps and overlaps in the support that they provide. Results indicate that there is a great need of improving the communication among intermediaries and of a higher level of coordination among the tasks performed. Fostering the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies is one of the most important drivers to limit the irreversible consequences of global warming that the world is facing today. However, the process of adopting such innovations is often complex and challenging. Previous studies have recognized the crucial role of intermediaries in facilitating the adoption process. Yet, little is known about how different intermediaries support the various adoption process phases, which intermediary type does what, and whether there are support gaps or overlaps among them. The authors of this paper contribute to previous research on innovation adoption and innovation intermediaries based upon research on the adoption context of renewable energy technologies in Sweden. They gathered secondary data and semi-structured interviews with nineteen intermediaries who support the adoption process of renewable energy technologies. The finding of this paper has implications on policy design, with regard, to how intermediaries can better perform in a technology diffusion context and to how intermediaries can be coordinated to provide better services during the different phases of the adoption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an effective means to ensure extended producer responsibility, deposit-refund system can effective transfer waste streams from final disposal to reuse or recycling. Compared with other collection systems, it has better treatment effect on scattered and hard-to-regulate solid waste. Beverage packaging has become a key application area in deposit-refund system because of its large quantity, dispersed consumption and high pollution intensity. In order to better promote the application of the beverage packaging deposit-refund system, the operation mode, key parameters and development trend of beverage packaging deposit-refund system are summarized through investigation and research. Firstly, this paper analyses the operation mechanism of deposit-refund system from the principle of circulation, and classifies the deposit-refund system according to the difference of material flow and deposit flow. Then the paper studies the deposit-refund system of beverage packaging in 40 countries or regions, and describes and compares three typical deposit-refund systems of beverage packaging in Germany, Sweden and South Australia. The key parameters of deposit-refund system are analyzed, including management institutions, deposit amount, unredeemed deposit, material owner, etc. The result shows that although the operation mechanism of beverage packaging deposit-refund system varies greatly in different countries, there are also some common problems in the integration with intelligent collection, promote ecological design and develop a multi-profitable circular business model. Then the development trends of deposit recovery system are prospected: (1) Increasing the application of Internet communication technology and Internet of Things technology to make the whole process controllable and verifiable. (2) Promoting the coupling application of deposit-refund system and ecological design. (3) Focusing on the development of information value and build a diversified profit model. (4) Pay attention to the integration and application of informal recycling enterprises in the implementation process. • An overview of beverage bottle deposit-refund systems was provided. • Unredeemed deposits, funding mechanism, etc. are the key parameters of the beverage packaging deposit-refund system. • The development directions of beverage packaging deposit-refund system were analyzed. • The application of intelligent collection can promote the development of beverage packaging deposit-refund system. • More attention should be devoted to build a circular business model of beverage packaging deposit-refund system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial turf is widely used as a playing surface for many sports, including football. In Sweden the use of artificial turf allows people to play football in regions where the climate would otherwise prevent it, and is seen as a positive development from a football perspective. However, the widespread use of artificial turf pitches comes at a cost, with microplastic pollution a prime example. The integration of environmental sustainability in the management of artificial turf is dependent on a number of factors, including a complex policy terrain, which includes different kinds of policies over several policy levels. The purpose of this paper is to investigate barriers that prevent actors within artificial turf, who are generally positive towards sustainable practices, from acting in accordance with their intentions. Therefore, the value-action gap is chosen as a frame of refence to interpret semi-structured interviews with actors managing and using artificial turf. Sportification is also an important concept, since football, and organized sport in general, has a very important role in driving the proliferation of artificial turf pitches. The results compare the view of practitioners and users, describing a number of contextual obstacles to integrating environmental sustainability in artificial turf pitch management and usage. In addition, this study also identifies a number of technical and procedural improvements, and makes recommendations to provide practitioners with ways of improving their work with artificial turf pitches. • Actors working with artificial turf face barriers construed in the value-action gap. • One of the main obstacles to environmental action is a process of sportification. • Actors working with artificial turf need to meet many different policy requirements. • Improvements to contain microplastics and spread information have been implemented. • Knowledge, resources, compromise and collaboration are needed going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas solutions offer many advantages to improve sustainable development, but there is still untapped potential in its environmental performance. During biogas upgrading, CO 2 is separated from the gas to deliver a flow with high methane concentration and thus high energy content. In this practice, CO 2 is commonly emitted to the atmosphere without contributing to a net addition of climate gases because of its biological origin, being a missed opportunity for carbon capture. In this paper, CO 2 valorization is an option that has been evaluated using a qualitative and quantitative approach, taking Sweden as an example. Results showed that around 140 kt of CO 2 can potentially be captured and utilized from biogas upgrading, which can significantly increase in future scenarios. If CO 2 were turned into methane using power-to-gas technology, an additional 35% of biogas could be produced in the short term, meaning up to additional 0.7 TWh in 2020. By 2050, around 600 to 1600 kt of CO 2 could be available, depending on how well the biogas production develops and how much of the biogas is upgraded, resulting in up to 6.2 TWh of biomethane. The qualitative assessment suggested that only minor modifications in the upgrading process are required for this practice. Biogas actors are interested in getting involved in valorization projects that enhance their circular business and avoid carbon lock-in mainly to improve the environmental performance of biomethane. Moreover, the application of CO 2 valorization requires collaboration with different actors to integrate current CO 2 demand or innovative transformation technologies. [Display omitted] • 140 kt of CO 2 could be obtained from biogas plants with an important rise in the future. • Future biomethane production could deliver from 600 to 1600 kt of CO 2 for valorization. • Higher CO 2 potential from biogas in the southern and central parts of Sweden. • In the short term, CO 2 methanation from biogas could provide 35% additional biogas. • Actors perceive CCU as an opportunity to enhance the circularity of biogas solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Environmental Objectives (NEOs) adopted by Swedish Parliament in 2001 and proclaimining that major environmental problems should be solved within a generation are often portrayed as good practice of a concrete yet visionary sustainability strategy. In this paper we summarize one and a half decade of the NEOs' experience for the international audience. The NEOs were based on an eclectic mixture of conceptual reasoning, most importantly the Management by Objectives concept and the notion of a policy deriving its authority and legitimacy from scientifically established ‘natural laws and limits’. The 16 NEOs fall into two groups. The first group is a positive reformulation of existing environmental problems based on well established scientific evidence. While they have scientific authority and can be operationalized and enforced through standards they are hardly visionary, strategic or capable of responding to emerging threats. The second group contains utopian landscape goals which are more visionary but also more difficult to operationalize, especially for local authorities which play major part in the implementation of the NEOs in Sweden. We argue that the system that mixes these two sets of goals based on two different paradigms of sustainable development inherits the weaknesses of both and the strengths of neither. The NEO system lacks the hierarchical and scientific authority potentially possible for scientific goals and at the same time fails to provide for learning, mobilisation and consensus-building power of utopian landscape goals. It has been too fuzzy to be implemented in a top-down way and yet too rigid to enable bottom-up action. A more effective approach would be to separate these two sustainability governance approaches into complementary but distinct systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to tap the energy saving and climate mitigation potential of buildings, transaction costs of implementing energy efficient technologies need to be better understood and ultimately reduced. The objective of this paper is to identify and analyze the nature and scale of transaction costs resulting from the application of the passive house concept in energy efficient renovations. Related conceptual choices are also discussed. This study explores learning strategies as a potential to reduce transaction costs. It focuses on transaction costs borne by building owners and building developers in the planning and implementation phases of a passive house-oriented renovation in Sweden. Results reveal three main sources of transaction costs: due diligence, negotiations and monitoring. The analysis shows that transaction costs are non-negligible and for individual cost sources the scale can be three times higher than for conventional renovations. To reduce transaction costs, various learning strategies such as study visits, demonstration projects, new forms of meetings and new channels of (written) information were found. These strategies have the potential to half transaction costs of future renovation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural production and further processing to food and drink have large impacts on the environment. However, there are still few examples of LCA studies on beverages such as whisky. This paper presents a life cycle assessment of Swedish single malt whisky and different environmental improvements of the production chain are discussed. The functional unit is one bottle (70 cl) of whisky and results are obtained for global warming potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication potential (EP) and primary energy (PE). The contribution to GWP is dominated by CO 2 emissions from transport of stillage. When avoided emissions from use of biogas are included, the net result is 2.1 tonnes CO 2 -eq. Acidification is mainly due to emissions of SO 2 from bottle production, transport and barley cultivation which ends up to 14.6 kg SO 2 -eq. Eutrophication results are totally dominated by barley cultivation, in total 8.6 kg PO 4 3 − . The total use of primary energy is 53.5 MJ/FU with a 50/50 distribution in renewable and non-renewable. Non-renewables emanate from fossil fuels used for transports and in glass production, whereas renewables are mostly used for heating in the distillery. Improvement analysis of transports included; (1) decreasing need of transport, (2) change of fuel and (3) change of transport mode. Decreasing transport of stillage is an efficient measure to reduce GWP and use of non-renewable energy. Substituting diesel with biodiesel for all road transports is an even more efficient measure for these categories, but increases other environmental impact. For all impact categories except use of renewable energy a scenario combining all improvements is the most efficient measure to reduce environmental impact. The results can be used by the manufacturer, but an improved and expanded LCA on product level can be used for a more specific eco-labelling of the different whisky editions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to generate an understanding of the prerequisites for sustainable supply chain management. A common tendency in the literature is to see sustainable supply chain management as something that is undertaken by a focal firm at the end of the chain. Even though many scholars point to the need for cooperative approaches, focal firms are still considered to manage supply chains from one fixed and coherent vantage point: the managerial outlook of the focal firm itself, understood as a structurally coherent, top-down controlled unit. Through an illustration from the Swedish retail sector, we argue that such a vantage point is problematic. We suggest a deeper analysis of focal firms and sustainable supply chain management in terms of a network perspective employed mainly in the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) literature. The adopted network perspective recognizes both internal and external complexity of sustainable supply chain management, implying, for example, difficulties to control entire organizations and the existence of multiple supply chains to manage. It is also suggested that sustainable supply networks may be a viable concept to use when dealing with sustainability issues related to production, since it relates sustainability in the supply chain to the more general responsibility context of firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]