Roadmap for a fossil-free Sweden (World): By the Digitalisation Consultancy Industry

Role: Lead-Author and project leader

Summary
More than 30 leading firms in the digitalisation consultancy industry have joined forces behind this roadmap and we are united in our ambition to help society recognise and tap the potential of digitalisation for a fossil-free future. We believe it is critical that the digitalisation that is providing some of the most powerful tools humankind has ever created is given a framework for contributing to a smart and sustainable future.

The contents of the roadmap were developed in parallel with and largely based on the strategic long-term vision for a climate-neutral Europe presented by the European Commission on 28 November 20181 and the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C that describes

pathways to achieving the 1.5 C target by implementing new and smarter solutions (products and services) that lead to steep reductions in energy and resource consumption.

Digital solutions can help reduce emissions in three ways. First, existing systems can be optimised. Second, the uptake of sustainable solutions can be accelerated. Third, transformative changes can be achieved.

A transformative change that results in radical and rapid reductions of GHG emissions occurs when the impacts of digitalisation at various levels work together, i.e., when novel technical solutions, business models, economic incentives, new legislation, social planning, new financing models and methods for assessment and creating transparency, etc., are brought together.

One serious challenge is that the less significant contributions of digitalisation (optimisation of individual products) are relatively easy to explain, measure and support politically, while the greater, transformative and systemic changes are often more difficult to explain, measure and support politically.

The transformative and systemic changes demand numerous interacting measures that often require collaboration among government ministries, public agencies and sectors in a way that seldom occurs today. Consequently, focus is apt to end up on the minor contributions of digitalisation, with risk that the major contributions will be ignored.

Link to report here

A three-step approach to support and assess low-carbon solutions (Report)

Role: Author

Summary
The purpose of this work is to better identify and support solutions (including technologies, products, services and business models) that enable us to do things in a different way to today, and which result in significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than would occur under a business-as-usual scenario. Examples include the use of teleconferencing to displace business travel, replacing a motor with a more efficient alternative, or offering an advisory service to help customers reduce emissions.

Businesses, investors, governments and legislators are today familiar with the commonly-used and generally accepted approaches and methodologies for measuring the greenhouse gas emissions associated with organisations, products, services, and other activities. Effective use of these measurement tools allows for reductions in emissions to be readily tracked from a baseline, supporting better target setting and risk management, identifying cost reduction opportunities and supporting good policymaking.

However, there has been far less consistency around measuring the impact of solutions that can help to avoid emissions. The approach and methodology outlined in this document has therefore been developed to provide a robust and coherent way to measure, assess, and compare the current and potential impact of solutions that

help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is hoped that this will support greater levels of innovation, as well as unlocking growth and new revenue opportunities for the solutions that will be necessary in addressing the challenge of climate change and achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.

Link to report here

IT and sustainable development: Swedish Government established a Forum for IT and environmental issues (Report)

Role: co-author with Ewa Thorslund

Summary
In 2001, the Swedish Government established a Forum for IT and environmental issues with a mandate lasting until December 2003. The Forum’s purpose was to provide a natural platform for information and communication technology (ICT) and ecologically sustainable development. The Forum is run by a work group comprising representatives of the industrial and research sectors, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), ministries and environmental organisations.

The Swedish Environment Minister, Lena Sommestad, was appointed Chairperson of the Forum. The Forum’s aim was to analyse how increased use can be made of IT applications to promote sustainable development, and how various actors can be encouraged to contribute to this goal. The group’s mandate included studying ways in which IT use can contribute to the development of new infrastructures and products and services with lower resource consumption and environmental impact. The Environmental Protection Agency was responsible for the Forum’s secretariat. The present document was written by Dennis Pamlin and Ewa Thorslund within the framework of the Forum.

Link to report