Suchergebnisse

In this article, I present my experiences stimulating development of new products and services in small companies in the environmental arena. The focus on small companies is justified since many new innovations originate from such companies and they often have special needs compared to larger companies. In the region of Östergötland Sweden, we have developed a model called SIMPLE (Successful implementation of eco-design in small enterprises) to support small companies' environmental innovations. SIMPLE uses the Triple Helix approach. Triple Helix is often used to describe the interaction between university, government, and industry to promote innovation by building on active participation and interaction between regional actors. In short, the SIMPLE methodology uses coaching, network activities and education, and financial support to encourage development of new ideas. Three cases are presented to illustrate the diversity of innovations that can be supported using the SIMPLE methodology. Observations suggest that individual company's needs must be the main concern of any methodology and networks can significantly stimulate individuals and organizations to speed up the development process and time to market.

There are several policy instruments for managing energy systems at the local level, for municipal energy planning, which is a means for local authorities to manage the local energy system. This article analyses the municipal Energy Planning which has been required by Swedish law since 1997. Recent energy plans are compared with earlier plans. The aim is to see if recent energy plans are different and if the observed differences can be explained by the impact of external factors, for example other policy instruments. The results show that the both the scope of expressed volition and environmental assessments have changed substantially between the two sets of energy plans studied. Newer energy plans include more goals for transports and information, but fewer goals for environmental aspects. Environmental assessments are more commonly occurring in the newer plans, but focus to large extent on emissions of carbon dioxide and climate change. It is concluded that these differences can largely be explained by a rather weak legislation, which allows external factors to influence the energy planning process. It is further concluded that it is important to include environmental assessments in the energy planning process to avoid problem shifting. Such assessments must include more environmental consequences than simply the emissions of carbon dioxide.

AbstractLocal authorities have shown an increased interest in committing to voluntary environmental commitment. This paper analyses the use of one of them, standardized environmental management systems (EMSs). It examines how local authorities approach EMS implementation, using two case studies in two European cities, Newcastle City Council (UK) and Gothenburg City Council (Sweden). The research departs from four research topics: drivers; strategy for EMS implementation; integration, dissemination and acceptance; future development of the EMS work. The case study cities' EMS approaches are analysed starting from the three pillars of institutions: the regulative, normative and cultural–cognitive. The analyses reveal that both Newcastle and Gothenburg mainly use a normative approach to EMS implementation; however, there is a regulative inclination in Newcastle's approach. It has also been noted that there is a difference between the standards (e.g. ISO 14001 and EMAS) and the actual use of the standards. The standards are fairly regulative while the application of the standards varies from organization to organization. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

AbstractNearly half of all Swedish local authorities use environmental management systems (EMSs) in their environmental work. This was shown in the postal survey that is the basis for this paper. The survey was conducted in September 2000 among all 289 local authorities in Sweden, generating an 81% return rate. It was performed in order to gain an understanding of how common it is to implement EMSs in local authorities, how far in the EMS process they have come and what organizations are objects of EMS implementation. It proved to be primarily the technical organizations that have adopted this kind of work and it is most common that these kinds of organization use a third party validation. ISO 14001 is the most frequently used standard but, in general, standards are used only as guidelines when designing EMSs, which means that certification/registration is not an overall objective among Swedish local authorities. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment

Strategies for sustainable development are arguably part of the most discussed issues among political and corporate actors. These discussions are spurred by global challenges such as climate change, urbanization, and critical natural resource depletion. Sustainable development will require deep structural and wide-reaching changes in current institutions, technologies, and businesses. Furthermore, new approaches are needed to facilitate the development, diffusion, and implementation of environmental technologies. In the academic discourse different concepts, e.g., ecodesign and Product/Service System design, have been proposed within the framework of sustainable development. To deliver even more system-wide environmental improvements, these concepts have been challenged to be expanded in focus beyond products and services to include large technical systems encompassing non-technological dimensions. Motivated by these, the goal of this article is twofold. First, to offer an expanded view on ecodesign of product/service systems using a perspective of large technical systems. Second, to propose and discuss important components to consider when developing business concepts for the diffusion of large scaled environmental technology systems such as district heating supply, waste management, and renewable energy systems. Using qualitative semi-structured interviews and company documentation analysis, this study examines five companies that develop and diffuse large scaled environmental technology systems. As a result of these case studies, we propose components of business concepts that incorporate both technological and non-technological dimensions. Our proposed business concept components are: market (including regulation), finance, resources, activities, partnership (especially public-private partnership), ownership and responsibility, and legitimacy. Regulation, public-private partnership, and legitimacy are particularly important in the diffusion of large scaled environmental technology systems. ; Funding agencies: We are grateful to Tekniska Verken's Industrial Ecology Research Programme for their financial support to undertake this study as part the BMEX project (Business Models for Market Expansion of Swedish Municipal Companies). We also want to express our sincere gratitude to the interviewees for making time to participate in the interviews. Special thanks also go to Sahar Sadri of Linkoping University for taking part in conducting the interviews. ; BMEX project

In recent years, strategies for sustainable development are arguably among the most discussed issues among political, public and corporate actors. These discussions are spurred by major trends such as climate change, rapid urbanization, critical material and energy resource depletion. To facilitate sustainable development, deep structural and wide reaching changes seem needed in current technologies, infrastructure, businesses and institutions. In the academic discourse, different concepts, methods and tools, have been proposed and continue to be expounded within the framework of sustainable development. Notable among them include the concepts of ecodesign, and product and service systems design. These concepts have contributed to environmental improvements but have been challenged by critics to be expanded beyond products and services to include non-technological changes in order to deliver system wide environmental improvements. Departing from this background, the goal of this article is twofold, first to offer an expanded view on environmental conscious design of products and services with large scaled sociotechnical systems and then to propose and discuss important components to consider when developing business concepts based on large scaled environmental technology systems. In doing this, we offer a new way of describing business concepts based on large scaled environmental technology systems which incorporates non-technological dimensions such as meeting formal and informal expectations. We propose a set of components to consider when developing business concepts based on large scaled environmental technology offering. These components are: market (including regulations), finance, resources, activities, partnership (especially public-private partnership), ownership and responsibility, and legitimacy. Among these factors, regulation, public-private partnership, and legitimacy were found as particular for environmental technology diffusion. ; BMEX (Business models for market expansion of Swedish municipal environmental technologies)

AbstractThe ISO 14001 standard leaves a lot to be interpreted by its users. As the standard is growing in popularity the external environmental auditors are becoming key players in the environmental arena. Through interpretations, they form the linkage between the standard document and its application in reality.This study is based on interviews conducted with auditors representing all nine certification bodies in Sweden and at the board that accredits these firms. The paper presents how auditors interpret and apply central requirements of ISO 14001, with the aim to illuminate important issues from an environmental point of view.It can be concluded that many important requirements are interpreted differently. There are disagreements regarding what criteria are approved when determining which environmental aspects are significant. Further on, the standard's requirement for continual improvement is normally transformed to improvements regarding a few ratios. The paper, amongst other issues, also deals with auditors' competence, their objectivity and their opinions about the efforts of certified organizations. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

This article studies five Swedish cities, their membership in international city networks, the different motivations for such membership, and their administrations' expected and perceived benefits. Particular focus is put on sustainability, environmental technology, and municipal companies as potential beneficiaries of such network membership. This study is motivated by the fact that city networks can potentially contribute to global sustainability goals by accelerating the diffusion of innovations, giving members access to bidirectional information flows, improving the user-producer relationship, and providing legitimacy in the potential recipient regimes. The study relies on a documentation review, the collection of data from the websites of the studied cities and numerous international city networks, and interviews with city officials responsible for international city networks. It was found that four of the five studied cities are active members of international networks for sustainability, but also that there are large gaps between the two largest cities and the rest when it comes to the number of memberships and the geographical outreach they have through the networks they belong to. Some city officials claim that it is easier to be active in national networks than in international networks, due to time requirements and coordination among so many members. However, city officials see benefits for their municipal companies when they are members of international networks, and these companies are usually independent when it comes to choosing and administering their memberships. It was found that it is difficult to measure direct benefits from network membership, and link improvements in the studied cities to participation in a particular network (with the exception of groups created for a specific infrastructure project, reported as "networks" by the administrations). In addition, there is no apparent direct correlation between membership and diffusion of environmental solutions from municipal companies. However, the administrations expect indirect benefits such as gaining legitimacy and access to milieus where they can share information and best practices, which could lead to the improvement of both local and global environmental conditions. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA); Swedish Energy Agency; Tekniska Verken AB

Export represents a means for the diffusion of environmental technologies with potential socio-economic and environmental benefits. However, environmental technology providers experience export barriers which stifle export and thus several governments continue to formulate export promotion initiatives towards this sector. Although export promotion is identified as essential in the environmental technology policy literature, it is yet to receive attention as to which initiatives are available in different countries including their potential relevance for environmental sustainability. Such knowledge is fundamental for policy learning and transfer including identification of good practices. To address this knowledge gap, we use market failure and comparative public policy theories to analyse export promotion initiatives from export promotion and export credit agencies across eight countries in Asia, Europe, and North America. Three major conclusions emerge: (1) governmental initiatives to promote environmental technology export can be categorised under financial aid, information provision, education and training, and trade mobility programs; (2) policy choices regarding promotion initiatives are mediated by the institutional context and interests of policy actors (3) relevant aspects of such initiatives for environmental sustainability include the incorporation of particular environmental technology characteristics in initiative formulation, and the prioritisation between different technology and markets types for implementation. ; Megatech project

Some countries rely heavily on exports as an essential component of their economic competitiveness. With the current trends in economic globalization, promoting exports has become a common strategy to boost economic growth. Exports of environmental technologies represent a new window of opportunity for economic growth and a contribution to global sustainability. With this in mind, national governments have designed initiatives that aim to promote exports within this sector. To address their objectives, governments provide initiatives to promote foreign commerce with their environmental technology sector. This article assesses the awareness, participation, and perceived effectiveness of such governmental initiatives to promote exports among Swedish environmental technology firms. An Internet survey was sent to 693 Swedish environmental technology companies, previously identified and classified, with a 25% response rate. The responses show a relatively high export orientation although a majority of the respondents claimed they were unaware of governmental initiatives that fit their particular export needs. The companies that did find appropriate governmental initiatives showed a high level of participation in such initiatives, but only a few of these participants could relate their participation to actual exports. The findings suggest there is a need to design support instruments based on the particular characteristics of the environmental technology sector rather than to offer generic solutions for such export promotion. ; Megatech

Rapid international and widespread diffusion of environmental technologies remains an essential requirement within the framework of sustainable development. Export offers a desired means for technology diffusion due to its strategic flexibility compared to other means such as foreign direct investment and aid. However, the export of environmental technologies is stifled by market failures. Among other reasons and as a response to such market failures, several governments are formulating initiatives to promote the export of environmental technologies. Although diffusion promotion is highlighted as an important research focus, a systematic overview of governmental initiatives that aim to promote environmental technology export is not available in the literature. This gap in the literature makes it difficult to analyse program effectiveness, and identify best practices. Using documentation from export promotion and export credit agencies in eight selected countries across Asia, Europe, and North America, we discuss governmental initiatives that aim to promote the export of environmental technologies. Our synthesis reveals that governmental promotion can be categorised according to alternative promotional services and is applied across target country(ies), environmental technology type(s), firm size(s), and firm involvement in export. In addition, using theories from market failure and diffusion studies, we discuss similarities and differences between country initiatives. Trends indicate a focus on support for small and medium sized environmental technology exporters but interesting differences emerge with the choice of target markets, technologies, and the specific export promotion services. ; Megatech

This report presents the results of a research project on environmental technology diffusion and the dynamics of business arenas within the sector, with two megacities as case studies: Mexico City and Cairo. The term "environmental technologies" is used in a broad sense, referring to technological solutions that contribute to the improvement of the environmental performance of cities. With this in mind, a focus on the demand side (i.e. the cities) is the point of departure, and a bottom-up approach to urban sustainability is one of the most important methodological choices. This means that local actors belonging to selected (but representative) societal sectors were interviewed and their views and opinions considered for subsequent discussions about the important conditions to keep in mind when thinking of exploring these markets. A subsequent exploration of the supply side (i.e. Swedish environmental technology suppliers) is presented with the intention to show the sector's composition and to describe and analyze the interactions among the main actors, the current strategies for the sector's promotion in foreign markets and the conditions promoting or hindering further advancement. Transition Management theories are used as a theoretical basis to support the analysis and the methodological choices. Conclusions and recommendations are given regarding the current state of the cities and the suppliers, the strategic choices made by the government and some of the conditions that must be considered by the government and companies in order to successfully deploy their plans. Such conclusions and recommendations can be useful for policy makers, entrepreneurs and researchers in the field of technology diffusion and urban environmental studies: Megacities are looking for adaptive and flexible offerings. Technological solutions that align with local structures (social, political, cultural and physical) and can adapt to actual needs (cf. apparent needs), might overcome more easily the initial unrest and distrust that new concepts bring along. The micro and macro levels in the city deserve each a different language. Solutions and their implications must be translated according to the needs and expectations of actors in each level. Legitimacy and trust are gained more easily with the help of strong demonstration (proof-of-concept) projects. Even better, providing graspable (i.e. contextualized), full-working examples of solutions operating within homogeneous groups helps to overcome resistance and lubricates the implementation. Holistic solutions represent an interesting opportunity but face significant difficulties. This is due to their nature of being tightly tied to context and location and the complications that they must overcome under sometimes diametrically opposite milieus. ; Megatech

Some countries have historically relied to a great extent on exports as an important component of theireconomic system. With the current globalization trends and increased competitiveness, promotingexports has therefore become a common strategy in order to boost economic growth. Exports ofenvironmental technologies represent a new window of opportunity for economic growth and acontribution to global sustainability. For this objective, governments provide different initiativesaimed at promoting foreign commerce among firms. The aim of this article is to assess the perceptionof the effectiveness of governmental initiatives for export promotion among Swedish environmentaltechnology firms. In addition, the article addresses firms' internal initiatives to reach potential foreignmarkets through the use of modern communication channels. Data about 728 Swedish environmentaltechnology companies was collected and analyzed by using a combination of desktop research and aweb-based survey. The findings show a relatively high export orientation among the respondentcompanies. However, a majority of the respondents claim not to be aware of governmental initiativesthat fit their particular needs. Those who do show a high level of participation in such initiatives, butmost could not relate this participation to successful businesses abroad. From the firms' perspective,presence on the Internet was considered to be a plausible indicator of their internal initiatives tocapture potential foreign customers. An analysis of the companies' web sites, their languagecustomization options and the information they provide was undertaken. Results show that a largenumber of companies have functional web sites. However, the percentage of web sites with languagecustomization options was relatively low.The findings suggest that governmental initiatives have to consider the particular composition andneeds of the environmental technology sector in order to be more effective. On the other hand,although companies show to be proactive in the use of the Internet for increasing their outreach,language customization must be addressed as an important component when using such a tool. Bothgovernmental and firms' initiatives remain important contributions to export success. In this regard,collaboration and communication between governmental export promotion agencies and firmsrepresents an important first step.