New tech and ideas playing a large role in the green transformation

Sweden is in the middle of a green transformation which is demanding intensive work from the private business sector, requiring new business models and large-scale investments. Experts say innovation and new technology are key factors to reach national and global goals.

Four business leaders from the energy, telecom, mobility and smart infrastructure industries talked about new ideas at Techarenan Summit 2022 that will play a role in the green transformation. This took place during the panel discussion “Tech for Our Planet – Addressing the Most Pressing Challenges of Our Time.”

The panel included E.ON CEO Marc Hoffmann, Sweco Sweden President Ann-Louise Lökholm Klasson, Volkswagen Group Sweden CEO Claes Jerveland, and Telenor Sweden CEO Bjørn Ivar Moen.

Tackling climate problems with green initiatives

E.ON CEO Marc Hoffmann outlined how their company’s work on the sustainability front has developed over the last several years. The E.ON Group is one of Europe’s largest operators of energy infrastructure.

“It’s the heart of our strategy, our day-to-day life,” Hoffmann said. “We started our sustainability journey in 2017, with a promise that we deliver and produce energy that is 200 percent renewable or recycled.”

Hoffmann said that E.ON’s next step is to be net-zero by 2035, highlighting the increased demand for lofty goals.

Sweco Sweden is one of the leading engineering and architecture consultancy firms in Europe, carrying out more than 100,000 projects around the world. CEO Ann-Louise Lökholm Klasson said they have clients in infrastructure, real estate, energy, water, environment and digital services.

“Our work is to transform society,” Lökholm Klasson said. “It’s quite urgent now, we have about 2,700 days left until 2030. It needs to be integrated, we need to have targets, and I think to have progress, every company needs to have targets.”

More progress is needed

Another company funnelling plenty of time and resources into sustainability technology is Volkswagen Group Sweden. Volkswagen was the first big car manufacturer that undertook the climate goals in the Paris Agreement and is investing a lot in wind and sun energy in the upcoming years, working to become climate neutral by 2050.

CEO Claes Jerveland reflected on the progress the company and industry has already made in recent years, pointing out the significance of “an old fashioned car company” representing on stage at Techarenan Summit 2022 on the “Tech for Our Planet” panel.

“It’s not that long ago that we hit an iceberg with our diesel crisis, which was quite well known” Jerveland said. “It was painful, but it arose an awakening and forced us to make really rapid change and really realign our reason for being.”

Jerveland said we’re in the middle of an industrial revolution, and the company is investing about 300 billion Euros into electrification, autonomous driving and digitalization.

“We represent som of the solutions”

And in the telecom industry, Telenor is part of several initiatives to reduce the negative impacts on climate change. That includes a Science Based Target Initiative that aims to reduce climate impact on a global scale.

“From a communications company, hopefully we represent some of the solutions, because communications technology allows you to cover great distances without actually traveling,” CEO Bjørn Ivar Moen said. “So by deploying that technology, we should be able to be an enabler, to find those new solutions on how to reduce emissions.”

Moen said they also need to examine their own operation and make sure it’s effective, pointing to a decrease in 80% of their CO2 emissions since 2008 when they first started this journey.

“It needs to be like that, we need to be doing those aggressive goals,” Moen said.

You can watch the full panel discussion by clicking here.