The European Union intends to reach climate neutrality by 2050, which will require substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Construction is an energy and carbon-intensive sector, which needs further decarbonization. The use of wood in buildings can be effective measures for decarbonization in the sector compared to conventional building materials, such as concrete and steel. Despite Sweden's long history of building with wood-based products and extensive forest cover, the share of multi-storey buildings manufactured with wood frames are low. Wood-based building materials offer a potential for decreasing carbon emissions, storing carbon in buildings for a long-time span and offering high cascading potential. As wood resources are limited, it is important to examine the possibilities of utilizing wood in long-lasting products and plan the use of them to contribute to decarbonization. Therefore, it is important to map and analyse the wood flow from forests to various wood industries and to the building sector. In this study, the wood material flow is mapped based on the mass conservation principle and the availability of wood resources for wood-based building material is investigated. The results show that gross and net felling is predicted to be relatively constant in the coming years, but that the view is that the market for high value wood products, such as wood-frames, textiles etc, will increase and thereby increase competition for the raw material. A significant role in achieving the decarbonization goals can be played by stakeholders in the building industry by choosing low-carbon technologies, including wood-based building materials. It is important to review the perspective of experts with experience of working with wood-based buildings or material from different disciplines within the construction process such as building material companies, architects, designers, and construction companies to identify barriers and drivers associated with the selection of wood as building material. Therefore, in addition to a wood-flow study semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of these experts in the field to investigate their perspectives of using an increased amount of wood products in buildings and the potential for decarbonization. The main conclusion from these interviews is that the experts see an increase in semi-high-rise wood-framed buildings, and that local initiatives and clear sustainability goals are important drivers. The respondents also emphasize the learning process as well as a continuous need for good examples of successful projects.

According to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, 55% of the EU’s emission reductions will require renovations of the least efficient buildings. Therefore, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of how owners of single-family houses perceive energy efficiency measures, energy renovation, and barriers and drivers that influence their decision-making. Moreover, the homeowner’s perception of green loans is important, as one piece of the puzzle in how to finance these implementations. Swedish single-family houses account for 40% of residential energy use and 45% of heated area, and they are mostly privately owned. These decision-making processes are, to a large degree, unknown, as the main focus has been on professional actors and tenants, not on single-family and privately owned buildings. This paper presents the perspective of these owners and discussions related to their decision-making. It is therefore important to evaluate the barriers and drivers involved in this decision-making process from the perspective of house owners, and to include socio-economic factors as well as the potential for green loans. This study includes single-family house owners in two cities of different sizes who responded to a survey regarding their perspectives on energy renovation. The results showed that homeowners with lower incomes were more neutral about barriers to energy renovation. In contrast, house owners with higher incomes, and those who moved into their houses more recently, prioritized other types of renovations and investment over energy renovations. According to households where the respondents were over 60 years old, barriers such as lack of capital and time are not perceived as significant barriers to energy renovation. Moreover, this study showed that households with younger owners, those who moved recently to their homes, and those with higher incomes, are more likely to take loans for energy renovations. For these younger households and those who moved into their houses relatively recently a window of opportunity could therefore be identified, where tailored policies can be targeted toward the sector when houses are recently sold. In all cases, except for those over 70 years, respondents stated that green loans increased their interest in energy efficiency investments. Copyright © 2024 Niknafs, Holmqvist, Thollander and Rohdin.

The automotive industry is the world’s largest manufacturing activity, characterized by complex productionprocesses and some energy-intense processes which use a significant quantity of raw materials. The production processes responsible for the highest energy end-use take place in the paint shop. Depending on the type of paintshop processes, the energy use can account for up to 75 % of the plant’s total energy end-use. This study aims to contribute to an enhanced understanding of the complexity of adopting decarbonization measures and to provide support for planning and decision-making in practice. By adopting a bottom-up perspective, a longitudinal case study was conducted on a state-of-the-art automotive paint-shop between November 2019 and March 2023. To achieve the study’s aim, a bottom-up methodology was developed comprising several steps: i) analysis of decarbonization measures, ii) mapping of process energy use and CO2 emissions, and iii) economic analysis. The data-based methodology is flexible and can be applied in different automotive paint-shops. Main findings show that i) incremental energy efficiency measures have the fastest adoption level, with relatively high savings potential,and most of these are cost effective; ii) radical process innovation measures have a higher savings potential, but long-term adoption levels due to the radical innovations required in the supply chain, and the highly specialized knowledge needed in the pre-treatment process; and iii) the primary drivers for implementing the measures are to achieve the climate targets and establish a leading position in the sector, rather than focusing primarily on the cost-effectiveness of the measures.

Recent studies claim that national policies fall short of the ambitious goal to limit global temperature increase to well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C, revealing an ambition gap between current commitments and those needed to reach climate neutrality. To bridge this gap, commitments must increase more than fivefold to achieve the necessary reduction in GHG emissions. Voluntary initiatives (VIs), gaining interest as an approach to support the Paris Agreement's ambition, have the potential to bridge the commitment gap and limit the expected temperature increase to 2°C if all their voluntary commitments to climate neutrality are fulfilled. While decarbonizing the manufacturing sector is crucial for climate targets, no prior study has explored the theoretical potential of industry-related VIs to bridge the gap for industrial decarbonization. This paper addresses this gap by examining the potential contribution of these VIs, analyzing criteria related to arena and agenda creation, operationalization, and accountability. By applying the transition management framework innovatively, the study investigates eighty-three industry-related VIs led by both state and non-state actors. The research process, involving the development of an analytical framework, VIs selection, data collection and validation, categorization, and analysis, provides insights into how the design affects VIs' potential for industrial decarbonization. The main findings highlight, firstly, the need for clearly defined and measurable targets, enhanced commitments, and robust accountability mechanisms, especially for non-state actor-led initiatives. Secondly, increased participation from energy-intensive sector companies due to their pivotal role for GHG emission reduction. Lastly, collaboration between state and non-state actors is critical for bridging the decarbonization gap in manufacturing industries. Additionally, the similarity between VIs and voluntary agreement programs (VAPs) is highlighted, with VAPs been overseen by governmental bodies with administrative authority. Given the urgency of addressing climate change, an unanswered question remains: Will future policies transition away from voluntariness towards more mandatory administrative character?

The need to understand how a warmer climate affects the power and energy demand in cold countries is important for urban planners and policymakers. By using data from utility bills that are commonly available today, together with outdoor temperatures, it is possible to analyze historical and future power and energy demand. The scientific value of this research includes the development of a methodology to explore effects on future heat demand in the Nordic region based on a combination of historical data, building properties, and predictions of future climate. This is achieved by using an energy signature model and regression analysis. Seventy multi-family buildings in Linköping, Sweden, are investigated from 1980 to 2050. The results show that the effects from historical variations in internal heat gains (average annual increase of 1 %) on the specific energy use for space heating (SPH) is minor for the district, i.e., less than 2 % when comparing 2020 and 1980. The opposite is found for variations in outdoor temperatures, where the average specific energy use is predicted to decrease by about 25 % in 2050 compared to 1980, with the used forecast of future climate. This corresponds to a decrease from 127 kWh/(m2·year) to 93–96 kWh/(m2·year). Additionally, the maximum heating power demand of the district is predicted to decrease by about 30 %, from 4,855 kW in 1980 to 3,468 kW in 2050. In conclusion, our results demonstrate a strong effect of decreased SPH and heating power demand in residential districts due to a warmer climate.

By identifying buildings with poor thermal performance and prioritizing these in terms of energy efficiency potential, a sustainable transformation of the building stock may be accelerated. However, there is currently a lack of thermal characteristics (TCs) differentiating total energy use from hot water circulation (HWC), hot tap water (HTW) and space heating in large building portfolios. This research demonstrates a methodology based on a change-point model for identifying and prioritizing TCs, which also enables prediction of the Comparative Energy Efficiency Potential (CEEP). The change-point model allows for the differentiation of various processes, i.e. space heating, HWC and HTW, using only heating supply data and outdoor temperature. The studied district consists of 70 multi-family buildings in the Vasastaden district in Linkoping, Sweden. The findings demonstrate that the proposed methodology allows for identifying and prioritizing TCs connected to HWC, HTW and space heating. The highest CEEP is in space heating, corresponding to a maximum of 2,016 MWh (16% of the districts energy use), followed by HWC, 699 MWh (6% of the districts energy use) and HTW, 520 MWh (4% of the districts energy use). Consequently, a total decrease of 3,235 MWh (26%) is made possible according to the studied energy efficiency targets.

Making buildings more energy efficient is an important part of achieving the European Union's energy and climate goals, which several directives, policies, and measures has addressed over the years. This paper aims to study changes over a 10-year period in perception on barriers to and drivers for energy efficiency in the Swedish building sector and identifying success factors. The data collection consists of surveys conducted in 2010 and 2020 among organizations that mainly build, own, and manage multi-dwelling buildings. Besides the overall result, special focus is given to changes depending on type of ownership, size of organization, and organizational hierarchy. Lack of time or other priorities and slim organizations remain the most important barriers, which is most evident among small organizations. Reducing cost remains the major driver. The uncertainty surrounding a rising energy price has diminished and cost-effective solutions are more adaptable. More capital for energy efficiency is available, particularly in the private sector. Furthermore, the result acknowledges the impact of regulatory measures. The study recognizes a connection between organizational development and the integration of energy efficiency in an organizations’ agenda. Future challenges are related to hidden costs and knowledge acquisition.

A sustainable building sector with a more energy-efficient and decarbonized building stock is important for mitigating climate change. This paper contributes to knowledge on how to increase energy efficiency investments by presenting a nationwide survey on the perception of barriers and drivers for energy efficiency among 216 professionals in the Swedish building sector. This study explores economic, behavioral, and organizational conditions and analyzes the conventional dependencies on (1) type of ownership and (2) size of the organization, but also adds analysis on (3) degree of urbanization, (4) climate zones and (5) profession. Together these dependencies enhance a custom design of policies and measures. The findings show that hidden costs and bounded rationality were prominent barriers due to problems to acquire and analyze information, which needs to be addressed. In addition to the economic driver to reduce cost, several behavioral and organizational drivers were emphasized. There were distinct economic differences depending on the type of ownership and size of the organizations. Well-developed organizational structures were important factors for energy efficiency, which policies and measures should address. Differences were seen between organizations operating in rural areas and more densely populated areas. An improved indoor climate was important in northern climate zones.

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is important that the SDGs are integrated atboth national and municipal levels, and that the business sector is involved in this work. This paper analyses howwell the SDGs are integrated as well if there are any conflicting energy and climate targets among municipalities,energy utilities and housing companies in Sweden, and in relation to national and EU targets. The targets arecategorized as; climate impact, efficient energy use, and share of renewable resources. Three key indicators arein focus; timeline and level of targets, terminology, and system boundaries. The study focuses on the Linköpingand Norrköping region, which has 300,000 inhabitants and is located 150 km southwest of Stockholm, Sweden.By using directives, company annual reports and interviews, the companies’ decision-making processes andtargets have been mapped.The results identify differences in system boundaries and timelines as reasons to potential conflictsregarding climate targets. Ambitious targets at the municipal level are identified as a driving force, but with targetfulfilment two decades or more before national and EU targets. Regarding the category of efficient energy use,the level of targets and terminology differs. Lastly, regarding renewable resources, terminology and timelinediffer. Furthermore, it is concluded that the SDGs are not integrated to a large extent in the business sector orat a local level. Overall, this may create challenges in communication, collaboration and exchange of knowledgein order to succeed and achieve the SDGs.