09/09/2024

Reading time: 3min

Urban Insight

Sweco Group

Forging ahead: The race towards green industry

In this Urban Insight report by Sweco, ‘The Race towards a Green and Resilient Industrial Sector’, experts take a deep dive into the leading sectors in the green transition, highlighting the latest technologies, as well as the potential new risks for companies and decision makers to consider.

During the last decade, the industry sector has gone from slow movers to key participants in a green transition, which could be best described as a race towards net zero. Nobody wants to be left behind, neither companies nor countries. Technological advancements, innovative business models and collaborations together with new net zero technologies are growing at a rapid pace.

There are a number of reasons why this is happening right now. “Industry players are starting to notice the rising price of CO2 emissions. A lot of actors and countries have made the commitment to reach net zero, introducing new regulations and carbon dioxide duties, together with increasing demand in the value chain, increasing competition and, last but not least, the arrival of money, both state and private”, says Björn Nykvist, researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute, SEI.

The focus has shifted from concentrating on solving industrial CO2 emissions with the help of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to a wide range of innovations. However, for the industrial sector to become sustainable, it not only needs to reach net zero but become more resilient as well.

What is a green industrial sector?

Resilience plays a crucial role in tackling climate change and attaining a net zero future. Resilient industries can navigate uncertainties, economic downturns, technological shifts and other challenges, while continuing to evolve, innovate and contribute to the economy. The need to pay significant attention to resilience and sustainability, in addition to profitability, is part of the work carried out by the European Commission and is referred to as Industry 5.0.3 Industry 5.0 specifically recognises the “power of industry to achieve societal goals beyond jobs and growth, to become a resilient provider of prosperity, by making production respect the boundaries of our planet and placing the well-being of the industrial worker at the centre of the production process”.

This report from Urban Insight, Sweco’s cross-border knowledge initiative, emphasises the need for industries to become both greener and more resilient, highlights the challenges and opportunities, but also potential risks and unintended consequences associated with this transformation that must be addressed to ensure a resilient and equitable shift.

In the report, experts highlight knowledge of the strategies needed to navigate goal conflicts and the efficiency to expedite permit processes and carry out impact analysis — all essential components in facilitating a smooth transition. Download a free PDF below and read more about the challenges and opportuinites of the #IndustryTransition.