Scan Magazine

By Ewa Björling*

Over 35 years have passed since the first Conference on the Environment was
held in Stockholm in 1972. For the first time, environmental issues were
put on the international agenda. At that time, Sweden had come to
realise the importance of environmental action, and it has been a top
priority for Sweden ever since.

Scientific advances, environmental legislation, dedicated companies and
substantial investments in infrastructure are some of the factors that have
lead to the development of a vide variety of new technologies and methods
for dealing with the problems that we were, and in many ways still are,
facing.

Today, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s
population live in cities, a figure that is expected to increase to
two-thirds in the next 25 years. In Sweden, the share has already reached
85 percent. Even though the trend is the same throughout the world, the
most rapid increase is found in developing countries.

Apart from being engines for economic growth, cities are also the places
where the most energy is consumed and where many social and environmental
problems must be handled. Finding answers to the question of how cities can
remain, or develop into, secure, attractive and sustainable environments
is therefore one of the most urgent challenges that we are facing today.

Our growing cities puts a lot of pressure on infrastructure such as
water and sewage treatment, provision of clean drinking water, waste
collection, adequate housing, as well as public transport systems and an
electricity system that is efficient and reliable.

Sweden has many successful and world-leading green tech companies that have
been exporting their products and services for many years.
This has been beneficial both to our economy and to the societies that have
become cleaner and more efficient through the help of new technology and
knowledge.

In 2006, the Swedish clean tech sector consisted of some 3,600 companies.
They employed almost 50,000 people, with revenues of almost 100 billion SEK.
Their exports grew by 75 percent between 2003 and 2006.

Today, many of these companies are presented around the world through
SymbioCity, a network that consists of several hundred Swedish consultants,
contractors and suppliers within sustainable urban development.

SymbioCity promotes a holistic, integrated and multidisciplinary approach
by focusing on possible synergies – either between different subsystems or
between fields of action. At the same time, use of renewable resources
is emphasised, resource consumption is minimised and resources are managed
in a way that maximises recovery and re-use.

Swedish companies can contribute with world-leading technical solutions and
applications, especially in urban infrastructure sectors such as waste,
water and sewage, transport, energy and integration and interaction
between the sectors.

Yet it is not only about technology. We can also contribute with
institutional experience and best practice on environmental protection
legislation and economic regulatory incentives, gained from decades of
environmental effort.

Economic, social and environmental considerations can be woven together
with the best available technology and applied to different local circumstances,
both in rich and poorer countries, both in mega-cities and municipalities.

Sweden has been ranked as one of the most innovative countries in the
world, thanks to creative and highly skilled engineers, strong R & D
capabilities, and a business environment with both demanding public buyers,
large corporate customers and sophisticated venture capitalists.

The challenges of today are extensive, but I firmly believe that much of
that which we look upon as a problem today actually represents huge
opportunities. It forces us to think differently, to develop new creative
technologies and new regulatory solutions and incentives.

As a result of the determination and co-operation since 1972, the people
who live and work in Stockholm can enjoy such luxuries as clean water and
air, efficient waste handling systems, climate-friendly heating and a
sustainable transport system today.

But doesn’t environmental legislation and care for the environment cost the
country much of its growth potential, something which is expensive? Looking
at Swedish experience, the clear answer is no. Since 1990 carbon dioxide
emissions have been reduced by 9 percent while the economy has been growing
by 44 percent.

So the goal of sustainability does not have to hamper the economy. I am
certain that it can even drive it!

*Ewa Björling is Swedish Minister for Trade. For more info click here.