Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur projektledare i byggbranschen arbetar med hållbarhet och hur de upplever att EU:s nya hållbarhetsdirektiv som infördes 1 januari 2024 kommer att påverka byggprojekt och byggprojektledning. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ ansats och nio semistrukturerade intervjuer med projektledare verksamma i byggbranschen. Datat som insamlats genom intervjuerna analyserades genom tematisk analys vilket resulterade i tre huvudteman: Ekonomin är alltid No.1, Social och miljömässig hållbarhet som incitament och Tung papperstiger i ryggsäcken för små aktörer. Resultatet av studien visar att det är svårt att bedriva ett hållbart projektarbete utan att prioritera det ekonomiska perspektivet av hållbarhet först. Oavsett hur goda intentioner en projektledare har att implementera hållbarhet i projektarbetet behöver den förhålla sig till budgeten allra först även om de globala målen slår fast att de tre hållbarhetsaspekterna ekonomiskt, socialt och miljömässigt är integrerade och odelbara. Vissa projektledare kan använda hållbarhetsarbetet som ett incitament för vinstsyfte. Andra aktörer har svårt att prioritera mer hållbara material och metoder på grund av att det kostar för mycket. Detta är avhängigt storlek på verksamhet samt verksamhetens art. Resultatet tyder också på att små aktörer på byggmarknaden kommer att bli mer negativt påverkade av de nya hållbarhetsdirektiven eftersom det kommer kräva mer administration som är svår att ta ikapp ekonomiskt. Samtidigt upplever de mindre aktörerna att deras möjlighet att påverka hållbarheten i projekten är minimal. Större aktörer på byggmarknaden har ofta specialister anställda för att sköta den typen av arbetsuppgifter och kan ofta använda sig av certifieringar vilket höjer värdet på byggnadsverket och gör att de kan tjäna igen sina administrativa kostnader. Slutsatserna är bland annat att det behövs skallkrav i upphandlingar av byggprojekt för att hållbarheten ska bli verklighet i praktiken men att det samtidigt krävs mod av byggaktörerna att testa nya arbetssätt och utveckla nya hållbara material. / The purpose of this study was to investigate how project managers in the construction industry work with sustainability and how they experience that the EU's new sustainability regulations, which was introduced on January 1, 2024, will affect construction projects and construction project management. The study was carried out with a qualitative approach and nine semi-structured interviews with project managers active in the construction industry. The data collected through the interviews was analyzed through thematic analysis which resulted in three main themes: The economy is always No.1, Social and environmental sustainability as an incentive and Heavy paper tiger in the backpack for small practitioners.  The results of the study show that it is difficult to conduct sustainable project work without prioritizing the financial perspective of sustainability first. Regardless of how good a project manager's intentions are to implement sustainability in the project work, the person needs to approach the budget first, even if the global goals state that the three aspects of sustainability economically, socially and environmentally are integrated and indivisible. Some project managers may use the sustainability work as an incentive for profit. Other actors find it difficult to prioritize more sustainable materials and methods because the costs are too high. This depends on the size of the business and the nature of the business.  The result also indicates that small players in the construction market will be more negatively affected by the new sustainability directives because it will require more administration which is difficult to catch up financially. At the same time, the smaller actors experience that their possibilities to influence the sustainability of the projects is minimal. Larger players in the construction market often have specialists employed to handle this kind of tasks, and can often make use of certifications, which increase the value of the construction work and give them a chance to recoup their administrative costs. The conclusions are, among other things, that there is a need for basic requirements in the procurement of construction projects in order for sustainability to become a reality in practice, but at the same time that courage is required for the building operators to test new working methods and to develop new sustainable materials.

The current global changes and regulations in sustainability have a direct impact on suppliers to the automotive industry. Therefore, it is crucial for suppliers to the automotive industry to proactively monitor developments to avoid risking their competitiveness. This involves an increased focus on documentation and compliance with sustainability policies and certifications. Company X is a family-owned company located in Gnosjö, operating for nearly 80 years and supplying products to the automotive industry, among other sectors. The company specializes in industrial work and focuses on machining (turning and milling). To remain competitive and, above all, relevant for at least another 80 years, they strive for continuous development to meet customer demands. The guiding philosophy is to operate within the ”Global Automotive Sustainability Guiding Principles”, which clarify the automotive industry ́s expectations regarding sustainability efforts from their suppliers. In late 2022, Drive Sustainability, responsible for creating and maintaining the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), raised the requirements from SAQ 4.0 to SAQ 5.0. The consequence of not being approved before June 2023 is the inability to initiate new business as a supplier to Scania. The thesis was conducted at Company X with the aim of investigating what is required for Business X to upgrade from SAQ 4.0 to SAQ 5.0. This involved identifying any gaps in the company’s environmental and quality management systems in relation to the SAQ portal. The project also aimed to examine whether the current quality and environmental management system needs adjustment to better reflect data in the SAQ portal. The main task of the author was to explore possible solutions to help Company X and other SMEs implement the SAQ process in a resource-efficient manner. To achieve the study ́s purpose, an analysis of the documentation in the company ́s environmental and quality management systems in relation to the SAQ portal was conducted. This analysis was used to identify the resources required to meet the requirements in the SAQ. Based on the formulated research questions, gaps in the company ́s environmental and quality management systems were identified concerning the SAQ portal. Additionally, proposals and arguments were provided for adjustments to the current management system. The result of the thesis was that Company X acted on the suggestions and was approved in SAQ 5.0 with a fulfillment rate of 81%, compared to the previous score 79% in SAQ 4.0. The model presented in the analysis of the SAQ scoring system can also be utilized by other SMEs to implement the SAQ process in a resource-efficient manner.