Introduction The report includes a study on how environmental certification tools are used to reduce the climate impact in the construction sector. In 2020, the Swedish construction sector accounted for approximately 21 percent of Sweden´s greenhouse gas emissions. Sweden´s climate goals consist of achieving net zero by the year 2045. The aim of the study was to investigate the view of environmental certification tools. Does the environmental certification motivate to build more sustainably. The study investigated what the work with environmental certifications looks like today. Investigations into environmentally certified building projects are sufficient measures for the industry to reduce emissions and whether the environmental certification process can be simplified. Method The method used was survey and the data collection technique in this study was research interviews. The respondents were people that are working within the construction sector. The interviews were semi structured with set questions and open answers. Results The result from the collected data showed a broad view of environmental certification. The major obstacles described are cost and time for an environmental certification. The use of environmental certification to achieve the climate goals can be used as a tool but is not sufficient. To reach the climate goals and build more sustainable, changes need to come in the form off laws and regulations. Analysis  The environmental certifications contribute to more sustainable construction by working with them as a tool. To be able to certify the environment, it is important that the customer wants to be certified. The environmental certifications need to develop at the same pace as the outside world to be relevant to use. The flexibility to design a building needs to be there to motivate the workers to use the environmental certifications. A motivational factor can be beneficial for workers to want to work with the environmental certifications. To build more sustainably, stricter laws and regulations are required. Discussion  Environmental certifications are used more and more, but do not motivate everyone in the construction sector to build more sustainably. There are several challenges that need to be addressed to simplify the environmental certification process and to build more sustainably and reach the climate goals. Keywords Climate agreement, Construction sector, Emissions, Environmental certification, Sustainable construction

Keeping pace with the constantly changing surroundings is more important than ever as new game changing technologies appear faster than ever before. In the IT-sector a new technology known as Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communication is emerging. The technology has been around for almost 15 years but still has not had the major breakthrough on the mainstream market that has been expected. The reasons for this are topics for speculations and debates since many people have different views and opinions on the matter. M2M Communication uses the Internet to connect machines with each other and gives them intelligence so they can communicate with each other and make their own decisions without human interference. Today the decisions the machines make concerns simple things such as temperature control, automatic CCTV monitoring, turning the lights on and off etc., but in the future M2M Communication technology advocates hope the it will be able to predict heart attacks even before they happen by implementing the M2M Communication technology into smart pacemakers sending an emergency signal to a nearby ambulance that a patient may soon suffer from a heart attack. The technology is also hoped to be used in cars where it will send an emergency signal to a Public-Safety Answering Point (PSAP) saying that a car accident has occurred, where it occurred and how many people that were in the car in order to reduce the number of road deaths. So as mentioned above the public can benefit from the technology once it is widely available. Today experts say that there is somewhere between 5 to 10 years before the technology in general has been adopted by 20 to 30 percent of the potential sectors, known as Connected Things (CT) and third or higher generation innovations are implemented. However, as this Master Thesis research shows, at least one sector has already reached 5 to 10 years into the future and adopted the M2M Communication technology. This sector is the building sector with their Connected Buildings (CB). It is a mature sector that is estimated to grow somewhere around 16 percent CAGR globally and around 13 percent CAGR in the Nordic region until somewhere around 2020. In this Master Thesis research the M2M Communication technology was analyzed specifically for the building sector with focus on Real Estate Management Companies (REMC) on the Swedish market. Interviews and surveys were conducted with the 50 largest (based on revenue) REMCs in order to illustrate their opinion on the M2M Communication technology and its usage and advantages in the building sector. Of the 50 REMCs asked to participate in the survey 16 replied giving a response rate of 32 percent. / Att hålla jämna steg med den konstant förändrande omgivningen är idag mer viktigt än någonsin eftersom nya förändrande tekniker dyker upp snabbare än någonsin innan. Inom IT-sektorn finns idag en ny teknik på framfart, en teknik som är känd som Maskin-till-Maskin (M2M) Kommunikation. Tekniken har funnits i snart 15 år men trots det har den fortfarande inte fått det genombrott på den generella marknaden som man kan förvända sig. Anledningarna för detta är fortfarande något som debatteras eftersom många fortfarande har olika åsikter. M2M Kommunikation använder sig av Internet som en resurs för att koppla ihop maskiner så att de kan ”prata” med varandra och ta egna beslut utan mänsklig inblandning. I dagsläget tar maskinerna enkla beslut såsom temperaturreglering, automatisk videoövervakning, slå på och stänga av lampor etc., men i framtiden hoppas man att M2M Kommunikation tekniken ska kunna hjälpa till att bl.a. förutspå hjärtattacker redan innan de händer genom att implementera M2M Kommunikationstekniken i smarta pacemakers som kan sända en nödsignal till en ambulans som berättar att en patient snart kommer att få en hjärtattack. Tekniken hoppas även kunna utnyttjas i bilar som vid en krock direkt skickar en nödsignal till larmcentralen med information om att en krock har ägt rum, var den har ägt rum och hur många som var i bilen i syfte att minska dödsfallen på vägarna. Som nämnt ovan verkar det som att tekniken har enorma fördelar för befolkningen men ändå har den inte haft något större genombrott. Idag säger experter att det kommer att ta ca 5 till 10 år innan teknologin har generellt blivit implementerad av 20 till 30 procent hos de potentiella sektorerna, kända som Connected Things (CT) och tredje generationens innovationer har blivit implementerade. Trots detta, vilket denna studie visar, så har minst en sektor redan nått 5 till 10 år fram i tiden och har redan implementerat M2M Kommunikationsteknologin. Denna sektor är byggnadssektorn med deras Connected Buildings (CB). Det är en mogen sektor som förväntas växa med ca 16 procent CAGR globalt och ca 13 procent CAGR i den nordiska regionen till år 2020. I denna studie var M2M Kommunikationsteknologin analyserad specifikt för byggnadssektorn med fokus på fastighetsskötarbolag på den svenska marknaden. Intervjuer och en enkät-undersökning genomfördes med de 50 största (baserat på omsättning) fastighetsskötarbolagen med syfte att illustrera deras åsikt gällande M2M Kommunikationsteknik och dess användning och fördelar inom byggnadssektorn. Av de 50 st. fastighetsskötarbolag som tillfrågades om de ville ställa upp i enkätundersökningen deltog 16 st. vilket gav en svars-frekvens på 32 procent.