There has been an increase in the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the last 3 decades. A large share of these emissions is produced by the transport sector. In 2010 alone, global transport accounted for 7 GtCO2 eq and approximately 23% of total energy-related CO2 emissions. In order for the decarbonisation of the transport sector, one of the most important strategies is to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel consumption can be reduced by rolling out more battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on public roads. This is one of the methods by which the concept of electromobility is promoted. In order to increase the share of EVs, many countries have implemented different policies that promote the electrification of the transport sector. With respect to freight transport, electric commercial vans are one of the feasible choices.  This Master thesis involves a quantitative study which focus on the “total cost of ownership” (TCO) of light commercial vehicles (LCVs). Two diesel vans currently used in Curitiba, Brazil were selected - the Sprinter van by Mercedes-Benz and the Master van by Renault. In addition, their electric counterparts were also chosen; in conjunction, a sensitivity analysis with respect to fuel prices and annual distance driven was conducted. The results showed that the TCO of the electric LCVs is around 1.6 to 1.7 times higher than their diesel versions. As far as the two van model types were concerned, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter had a higher TCO than the Renault Master over the chosen vehicle lifetime for both the diesel and electric versions, with the difference around 7.5% for the diesel versions and approximately 13% for the electric versions.  Based on the results of the TCO study, possible economic policies and fiscal instruments were recommended with regards to light commercial freight transport for Curitiba. / Det har skett en ökning av koldioxidutsläppen (CO2) under de senaste 3 decennierna. En stor del av dessa utsläpp produceras av transportsektorn. Bara 2010 svarade, global transport för 7 GtCO2 ekvivalenter och cirka 23% av de totala energirelaterade koldioxidutsläppen. För att avkolning av transportsektorn är en av de viktigaste strategierna att minska användningen av fossila bränslen. Fossil bränsleförbrukning kan minskas genom att rulla ut fler elektriska fordon (EF) på allmänna vägar när det gäller transportsektorn i allmänhet. Detta är en av metoderna som begreppet elektromobilitet främjas. För att öka andelen elbilar har många länder genomfört olika policyer som främjar elektrifiering av transportsektorn. När det gäller godstransport, är elektriska kommersiella lastbilar och skåpbilar två av de möjliga valen.  Detta examensarbete involverar en kvantitativ studie som fokuserar på “totala ägandekostnaderna” (TÄK) för lätta nyttofordon. Två dieselbilar som för närvarande används i Curitiba, Brasilien valdes - Sprinter-skåpbilen från Mercedes-Benz och Master-skåpbilen av Renault. Dessutom valdes deras elektriska motsvarigheter; i samband med detta genomfördes en känslighetsanalys avseende bränslepriser och årlig körd distans. Resultaten visade att T för elektriska LCV är cirka 1.6 till 1.7 gånger högre än deras dieselversioner. När det gäller de två typerna av skåpbilar hade Mercedes-Benz Sprinter en högre TCO än Renault Master under den valda fordonstiden för både diesel - och elektriska versioner, med skillnaden cirka 7.5% för dieselversionerna och cirka 13% för de elektriska versionerna.  Baserat på resultaten av TCO-studien rekommenderades möjlig ekonomisk politik och finanspolitiska instrument när det gäller lätt kommersiell godstransport för Curitiba.

The apparel and footwear industry’s contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the fifth largest per industry, equal to that of livestock, after electricity and heat, oil and gas, agriculture, and transportation (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). For industry-wide emissions reduction, investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency programs across highest impacting life cycle phases offer the most effective solution. However, identifying the highest impacting life cycles phases shows varied results depending on the particular type of business model under examination. This paper responds to the lack of existing data and empirical research on how to accurately measure, report and reduce carbon emissions across the highly complex and globally interconnected apparel value chain. This is done through a single case study investigation of an Icelandic fashion brand. A hybrid approach of a standard Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Sustainable Global Value Chain (SGVC) functions to produce a Hotspot Identification Tool (HIT) to establish a holistic portrayal of business operations in relation to emission impacts and level of controllability across Scopes. The conceptual analysis and qualitative results identify the most relevant emission hotspots to lie within the company’s privately owned manufacturing facilities, as well as the procurement phase, due to its direct connection with and influence on material production, user phase, and end-of-life. The main obstacle in this pursuit is identified as restriction of resources in terms of time, capital and expertise. It is suggested that this be overcome by joining a Multi-Stakeholder Initiative where resources and expertise is pooled in a pre-competitive manner to reach common objectives. The investigation further suggests a need for global fashion brands to leverage their influential position on down- and upstream activities across the value chain, i.e. with their supply chain partners and consumers. I argue that fashion brands play an integral role in supporting local efforts to build a decarbonisation pathway towards climate neutral economies on a global scale.

Abstract Achieving the objective of a decarbonised economy by 2050 will require massive efforts in the energy sector. Emissions from residential houses will have to be almost completely cut, by around 90% by 2050. Home automation is a potential tool for achieving this goal. However, the environmental and economic benefits of automation technologies first need to be assessed. This thesis evaluates the impact of home automation for electricity management in the residential sector using environmental and economic indicators. To this end, a life cycle assessment was performed to evaluate the impacts of the manufacturing, use and disposal phases. The influences of end-user behaviour, household size and multiple levels of technological deployment were also investigated. A Markov chain simulation tool, built on the MatLab platform, was developed to assess all possible combinations of impacting factors. Dynamic environmental indicators were developed based on the ReCiPe method for aggregating the impacts of processes. All these indicators were then combined to form a single index based on multi-criteria acceptability analysis. The results suggest that home automation can decrease peak load, but that overall electricity consumption may increase due to electricity use by the actual automation system. The effect of home automation was more noticeable in larger households than in one-person households. In addition, use of dynamic environmental indicators proved more relevant than fixed indicators to represent the environmental impact of home automation. Within the life cycle of automation technology, the manufacturing phase had the highest impact, but most of the CO2 emissions originated from the use phase. In conclusion, the most important environmental benefit of home automation is reducing CO2 emissions during peak time by load shifting. / Tiivistelmä Vähähiilisen talouden saavuttaminen vuoteen 2050 mennessä edellyttää valtavia ponnisteluja energia-alalla. Rakennuksista aiheutuvia päästöjä on vähennettävä radikaalisti, jopa 90 % vuoteen 2050 mennessä. Rakennusten energiatehokkuutta edistävä automaatiotekniikka on yksi keino tämän päämäärän saavuttamiseen. Kotiautomaation kautta voidaan sekä vähentää energian kokonaiskulutusta että tasoittaa energiankäyttöprofiilia. On kuitenkin tutkittava myös, mitkä ovat automaatiotekniikan ympäristö- ja taloudelliset vaikutukset. Tässä työssä käsitellään kotiautomaation vaikutusta sähkön kulutuksen hallintaan asuinrakennuksissa käyttämällä ympäristö- ja talousindikaattoreita. Tätä varten suoritettiin kotiautomaation elinkaariarviointi selvittämällä laitteiden valmistus-, käyttö- ja hävittämisvaiheiden ympäristövaikutukset. Työssä tarkasteltiin myös asukkaiden käyttäytymisen, kotitalouden koon ja eri teknologiavaihtoehtojen vaikutuksia ympäristö- ja talousvaikutuksiin. Arviointi suoritettiin Markovin ketjun simulointityökalulla, joka rakennettiin Matlab-alustalle. Dynaamisia ympäristömittareita kehitettiin ReCiPe-menetelmää käyttäen. Indikaattorit on edelleen yhdistetty yhdeksi indeksiksi käyttäen monikriteeriarviointia. Tulokset viittaavat siihen, että huippukuormitusta voidaan vähentää käyttämällä kotiautomaatiota, mutta sähkön kokonaiskulutus voi kasvaa automaatiojärjestelmän sähkönkulutuksen takia. Kotiautomaation vaikutukset ovat eniten havaittavissa suurissa kotitalouksissa. Lisäksi, dynaamiset indikaattorit edustavat paremmin kotiautomaation vaikutusta ympäristöön kuin staattiset indikaattorit. Automaatioteknologian elinkaaressa suurimmat ympäristövaikutukset ovat valmistusvaiheessa, mutta CO2-päästöjä syntyy eniten käyttövaiheessa. Lopuksi voidaan todeta, että kotiautomaation merkittävin ympäristöhyöty on CO2-päästöjen vähentäminen huippukulutuksen aikana siirtämällä kuormitusta toiseen ajankohtaan.