Det svenska transportsystemet är i dagsläget till stor del fossilberoende och efterfrågan på transporter förväntas öka det närmaste decennierna. En ökad efterfrågan på transporter genererar i sin tur ökade utsläpp, vilket medför negativa effekter på människors hälsa men även på miljön. För att nå uppsatta klimatmål måste trenden om ständigt ökade trafikvolymer brytas. Samhällsplanering och beteendeförändringar av det mer kraftfulla slaget är nödvändigt för att kunna skapa ett hållbart transportsystem. All utbyggnad av transportinfrastrukturen innebär långsiktiga konsekvenser, dels på grund av den omfattande påverkan det har på städers och regioners struktur men också för att de leder till ett ökat bilresande och därmed större klimatpåverkan. Drivkraften för externa handelsetableringar är stark, och det finns fortfarande många förespråkare som menar att dessa etableringar behövs för att utöka kommuners konkurrenskraft. När externa handelsområden och köpcentrum etableras ökar det totala trafikarbetet med personbil, vilket har en direkt proportionell ökning av koldioxidutsläpp. I Sverige finns inga politiska krav på hur planering av externa och halvexterna handelsetableringar ska utformas, och kommunerna är inte heller skyldiga att upprätta några policys kring dessa etableringar. Detta examensarbete har genom kvalitativa intervjuer med nyckelpersoner i Gävleborgs län undersökt vilka drivkrafter och attityder som finns hos kommunerna vad gäller utveckling och planering av externa och halvexterna handelsetableringar. Ämnet har analyserats utifrån perspektiven tillgänglighet och hållbar utveckling, med stöd från det regionala hållbarhetsmålet om en fossilfri fordonsflotta år 2030, samt den svenska klimatlagen. Det som framkommit under intervjuerna är att det inte finns någon direkt drivkraft hos kommunerna att etablera nya externa handelsområden, men att det finns en vilja att fortsätta utveckla de redan existerande handelsområdena då dessa är viktiga för den lokala tillväxten. I Gävleborgs län prioriteras personbilen och är det vanligaste transportmedlet till länets externa och halvexterna handelsområden. Kommunerna arbetar med att förbättra tillgängligheten med kollektivtrafik, cykel och gång, men trots detta finns uppenbara brister och en medvetenhet om svårigheterna att få hållbara resemedel att bli de dominerande transportsätten till dessa områden. Mer kraftfulla metoder och åtgärder inom samhällsplanering och beteendeförändringar är nödvändigt för att kunna skapa ett hållbart transportsystem. Det kan uppnås genom att kombinera olika styrmedel och att förbättra samverkan inom såväl kommunerna som regionen i helhet. / The current Swedish transportation system is depending on fossil fuels and the demand for transportation is expected to increase in the coming decades. This will lead to increased emissions of greenhouse gases and other airborne pollutants, which have negative impacts both on human health and the environment. In order to achieve the national climate targets, the trend of constantly increasing traffic volumes must be slowed down. In order to create a sustainable transport system, radical changes in both community planning and behavioral changes are going to be necessary. All expansion of the transport infrastructure has long- term consequences, partly because of its extensive impact on the structure of cities and regions, but also because they can cause increased car travel and generate greater climate impacts. External trade agreements and the strive towards economic growth has a strong influence on traffic planning in the Swedish municipalities. When suburban retail districts and shopping centers are established, the total amount car traffic increases, which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions. In Sweden, there are no political rules or guidelines on how external trade establishments should be planned, nor are the municipalities obliged to establish any such policies. Through a series of qualitative interviews with people in position of policy making in Gävleborg County, the present thesis investigated the driving forces and attitudes that exist in the municipalities regarding the development and planning of external establishments. The topic has been analyzed from the perspective of accessibility and sustainable development, supported by the regional sustainability goal of a fossil-free vehicle fleet in 2030, and the Swedish climate law. What emerged during the interviews is that there is no direct impetus for the municipalities to establish new external trade areas, but that there is a willingness to continue to develop the already existing ones, as they are deemed important for local growth. In the regional traffic planning, the passenger car is given priority, since it is the most commonly used means of transportation to and from the county’s suburban shopping districts. The municipalities are working to improve accessibility by public transport, bicycle and walking, but there is an awareness of the difficulties in making sustainable forms of travel the dominant transportation to these areas. More powerful methods and measures in community planning and behavior change are necessary to create a sustainable transport system. This can be achieved by combining different instruments and improving collaboration within both the municipalities and the region.

Framtiden kommer att sätta städer på prov i och med att världens befolkning och urbanisering ökar. Detta utsätter livsviktiga förutsättningar som ekosystemtjänster och pollinering för stora hot, då en ökande urbanisering gör att grönytor i städer minskar. Samtidigt som att de som finns oftast är av en karaktär som inte är speciellt gynnsam för den biologiska mångfalden. Det har påvisats att det kan finnas ett positivt samband mellan biologisk mångfald och människans välmående. Samtidigt poängterar flertalet studier de hälsofrämjande effekter naturen har på människor, sett till både det fysiska och det mentala. Om rätt förutsättningar ges för städer kan det skapa möjligheter som bidrar med positiva effekter för en hållbar stadsutveckling. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka effekter småskalig odling i urban miljö kan ha för att öka biologisk mångfald och ekosystemtjänster i staden, samt boendes relation till naturmiljöer. Studien fokuserade på miniträdgårdar/blomurnor som placerats ut i ett bostadsområde i Gävle, Sverige. Dessa delades ut till hushåll som ville ta hand om dem under 2019. Resultatet av både en enkätundersökning och en litteraturundersökning visar på att miniträdgårdar kan ses som en förbättringsåtgärd/ett verktyg för att främja hållbarheten i städer gällande både de ekologiska och sociala aspekterna. En analys av en inventeringsstudie som skedde mellan år 2018 och 2019 gällande pollinerande insekter för området i Gävle, visade på att förekomsten av pollinatörer hade ökat. Enkätstudien av 39 svaranden visade på att de som tyckte att det skett en förändring i och med tillkomsten av miniträdgårdar/blomurnor, tyckte att det varit i en positiv mening. Det visade sig även att i jämförelse mellan år 2019 och 2020 hade de boendes inställning till olika inslag i naturen ökat i en positiv mening. Detta skulle kunna förklaras som att exponeringen av miniträdgårdar/blomurnor har lett till mer pro-ekologiska attityder. Slutligen konstateras att vidare studier inom ämnet behöver genomföras för att kunna ge ett tydligare svar av vad för slags mini-odlingar som är bäst lämpade och i vilken utsträckning dessa är nödvändiga för att uppnå positiva resultat. / The future will put cities to test as the world's population and urbanization increases. This may lead to threats to vital conditions for ecosystem services and pollination as such. As a result of increasing urbanization, green spaces in cities are declining and those of existence are usually of a character that is not particularly favorable for biodiversity. It has been shown that there can be a positive relationship between biodiversity and human well-being. At the same time, several studies point out the health-beneficial effects that nature has on humans, regarding both physical and mental health. As well as providing right conditions for cities, it can create opportunities that contribute with positive effects for sustainable urban development. The aim of this study is to investigate what effects small-scale cultivation in an urban environment has on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the city, as well as the resident’s relationship to natural environments. The study has focused on arrangements of miniature gardens/flower urns placed in a residential area in Gävle, Sweden. These were distributed to households who wanted to take care of them in 2019. The result of both a questionnaire survey and a literature study show that such an arrangement can be seen as an improvement action/tool to promote sustainability in cities regarding both the ecological and social aspects. An analysis of an inventory study which occurred between the years 2018 and 2019 that looked at pollinators in the resident area in Gävle, showed that the abundance of pollinators had risen. The questionnaire survey of 39 answers showed that of those who felt that a change had occurred with the presence of the miniature gardens/flower urns thought that it had been in a positive way. Compared to 2019, the residents' attitudes towards natural elements had been increasingly positive in 2020. This could be explained by the fact that the presence of the miniature gardens/flower urns has affected their values in a pro-ecological manner. Finally, it is concluded that to give a clearer answer of what kinds of small-scale cultivations that are best suited and to what extent these are necessary to achieve positive results, further studies in the subject are needed.

In today's society, the linear economy dominates. As a result of the earth’s limited resources, an ever-increasing focus is on the need for companies to become sustainable. One concept that has become more prevalent in this context is the Triple Bottom Line, which emphasizes the importance of a balance between people, profit, and planet. In manufacturing industries, circular economy can be a way to reach sustainability and the Triple Bottom Line. However, many companies prioritize quality and profitability. The Business Excellence Model is a business model that focuses on quality and achieving business excellence. However, many consider that quality and business excellence do not go hand in hand with sustainability and circular economy. The purpose of the study was to understand how the manufacturing industry, through its Business Excellence Model, can contribute to a more sustainable future by using circular economy in its business development. This was done by expanding existing theories of Business Excellence Model and exploring how manufacturing companies can integrate a Triple Bottom Line perspective with the help of circular economy. A qualitative method was used to conduct the study and data collection was done through semi-structured interviews with researchers and professionals in relevant areas. Based on the theory, a conceptual model was developed that links the theoretical framework. The empirical results of the interviews were then compared against existing theories to answer the research questions. The study resulted in seven factors that can be important to keep in mind for a Triple Bottom Line Business Excellence Model. These factors are clear and committed leadership, committed and loyal employees, customers and stakeholders, collaboration, long-term perspective, a holistic perspective, and sustainable business. Some of these factors already existed in the excellence models, while others were added. There were also three strategies that should be considered to make a successful shift from Single Bottom Line to Triple Bottom Line. These strategies were: changing management strategy, expanding the perspective, and finding a way to do business of sustainability. The conclusion that could be drawn from this is that manufacturing companies may be facing a paradigm shift where they must realize that they can make money and do business on sustainability. / I dagens samhälle dominerar den linjära ekonomin och till följd av jordens begränsade resurser riktas ett allt större fokus mot att företag måste bli hållbara. Ett koncept som har blivit alltmer förekommande i detta sammanhang är Triple Bottom Line som betonar vikten av en balans mellan ekonomisk, miljömässig och social hållbarhet. Inom tillverkande industrier kan cirkulär ekonomi vara en väg för att nå hållbarhet och specifikt Triple Bottom Line. Många företag prioriterar dock kvalitet och lönsamhet. Business Excellence Model är en affärsmodell som fokuserar mycket på kvalitet och att uppnå så kallad business excellence. Många anser emellertid att kvalitet och business excellence inte går ihop med hållbarhet och cirkulär ekonomi. Syftet med studien var att förstå hur tillverkningsindustrin, genom sin Business Excellence Model, kan bidra till en mer hållbar framtid med hjälp av cirkulär ekonomi i sin verksamhetsutveckling. Det genom att expandera existerande teorier om Business Excellence Model och undersöka hur tillverkande företag kan integrera ett Triple Bottom Line-perspektiv med hjälp av cirkulär ekonomi. En kvalitativ metod användes för att genomföra studien och datainsamling skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med forskare och yrkesverksamma inom relevanta områden. Utifrån teorin togs det fram en konceptuell modell som kopplar samman det teoretiska ramverket. Det empiriska resultatet från intervjuerna jämfördes därefter mot existerande teorier för att svara på de formulerade forskningsfrågorna. Studien resulterade i sju faktorer som kan vara viktiga att ha i åtanke för en Triple Bottom Line Business Excellence Model. Dessa faktorer är tydligt och engagerat ledarskap, engagerade och lojala medarbetare, kunder och intressenter, samarbete, långsiktighet, helhetsperspektiv och hållbara affärer. Vissa av dessa faktorer existerade redan i excellence-modellerna, medan andra tillkom som nya. Det uppkom även tre strategier som bör beaktas för att göra ett lyckat skifte från Single Bottom Line till Triple Bottom Line. Strategierna är: ändra ledningsstrategi, vidga perspektivet och hitta ett sätt att göra business av hållbarhet. Slutsatsen som kunde dras utifrån detta är att tillverkande verksamheter står inför ett eventuellt paradigmskifte där de måste inse att man kan tjäna pengar på och göra business av hållbarhet.

This study aims at identifying on a concrete example the possible transfer of methods from strategic spatial planning to lower scales of planning like urban programming or operational planning of construction sites. Strategic spatial planning is a participatory and open method establishing the basis for cooperation between public and private stakeholders to achieve what is defined by said stakeholders as the best evolution for the territory it is dealing with, it relies on tools and processes like territorial diagnosis, thematic workshops and roundtables; Objectives are more qualitatively than quantitatively defined to allow flexibility to adapt to internal and external changes. This paper considers the territory of Lyon conurbation, France, as its territory of focus and particularly the redevelopment project of its central business district and multimodal hub, Part-Dieu. The planning of Lyon conurbation was in the 80s at the vanguard of strategic planning in France. Driven by Lyon urban planning agency and Grand Lyon, the local authority in charge of the area, under the pressure of local economic actors, Lyon conurbation acquired and integrated new tools and methods from strategic spatial planning. The hypothesis of this study is that, from then on, strategic planning methods and processes got transferred from the field of pure strategic spatial planning to the lower notches of the decision-making chain leading to the realization of a project: the stage of the programming of a neighborhood – the Part-Dieu district – and the stage of the operational planning of a construction or redevelopment operation. This study puts forward the following reasoning to explain this transfer of methods: an acculturation process to the collaborative and qualitative methods of strategic spatial planning took place in the territory of Lyon conurbation. It happened between the corporate cultures of spatial planning and those of urban program design and construction operation management. However, more than a way to really involve all stakeholders in the decision-making process in a bottom-up approach, this study suggests that the use of these methods at the stage of construction/redevelopment operation management is more of a facade to make stakeholders better accept decisions already taken by experts and/or public authorities. One could talk about a top-down approach disguised as a bottom-up approach.

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The majority of low income households in South Africa have limited access to electricity, and typically cook on stoves fuelled by paraffin. Paraffin represents a fossil fuel. It is a relatively cheap fuel in South Africa. Another fuel that can also be used for cooking is wood pellets, which is a renewable fuel. It can be used in a similar way to that of paraffin and is relatively cheap compared to other renewable energy sources. To investigate if living conditions among low income households can be improved the focus of the study was to evaluate the sustainability of cooking on paraffin and wood pellets. This was done by comparing social, environmental and economic aspects associated with the two cooking fuels. The social aspects were investigated through an interview study, the environmental aspect through a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) and the economic aspects through a partial life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) focusing on the user phase.   The interview study showed that paraffin users considered four aspects as the most important when cooking, namely safety, health, affordability and quality. The study also found that the majority were willing to change to another cooking fuel if these aspects were fulfilled. The LCA showed that both systems score the highest on 9 out of 18 environmental impact categories over a 16-year perspective. The economic analysis showed that the user phase of the wood pellet system is more economically beneficial during the 16-year time period than the paraffin system. It was concluded that wood pellets could be used as an option to paraffin for cooking and would most likely increase living conditions for low income households. / Majoriteten av låginkomsthushåll i Sydafrika har begränsad tillgång till elektricitet och vanligtvis sker matlagningen på paraffinspisar. Paraffin är ett fossilt bränsle. Det är ett relativt billigt bränsle i Sydafrika. Ett annat bränsle som också kan användas för matlagning är träpellets som är ett förnyelsebart bränsle. Det kan användas på liknande sätt som för paraffin och är ganska billigt i jämförelse med andra förnybara energikällor. För att undersöka om levnadsförhållanden för låginkomsthushåll kan förbättras låg fokus för denna studie på att utvärdera hållbarheten för att laga mat på paraffin och träpellets. Detta genomfördes genom att jämföra sociala, miljömässiga och ekonomiska aspekter associerade med dessa bränslen för matlagning. De sociala aspekterna undersöktes genom en intervjustudie, de miljömässiga aspekterna genom en jämförande livscykelanalys (LCA) och de ekonomiska aspekterna gjordes genom en livscykelkostnadsanalys (LCCA) för användarfasen.   Intervjustudien visade att paraffinanvändare anser att fyra aspekter är de viktigaste vid matlagning, nämligen säkerhet, hälsa, kostnad och kvalitet. Studien visade också att majoriteten var villiga att byta till ett annat bränsle för matlagning om dessa aspekter var uppfyllda. Livscykelanalysen visade att båda systemen hade högst miljöpåverkan i 9 av 18 miljöpåverkanskategorier vardera inom ett 16-årsperspektiv. Den ekonomiska analysen visade att under en 16-årsperiod var användarfasen mer kostnadseffektiv för matlagning på träpellets jämfört med paraffin. Studien visade att träpellets kan användas som ett alternativ för paraffin vid matlagning och kommer troligtvis öka levnadsförhållanden för låginkomsthushåll.

The growing industry of Information and Communication Technology requires higher computing capacity of data centers. The air conditioning in data centers is a key to assure a sustainable computing environment. However, the traditional cooling systems cost large environmental footprints especially on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, a green innovation of data center cooling solutions is taking place. The telecommunication company Teliasonera is developing a high density data center cooling system - the “Green Room” and has been studying the environmental performance of this system using a Life Cycle approach. As an extension of the previous study, more aspects of the project i.e. the location of the data center, life span, alternative cooling solutions, energy recovery possibilities and uncertainty analysis is explored using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The comparison of locations of the Green Room indicates that the local temperature and electricity production sources are essential factors for the environmental performance of the Green Room. The analysis of the Green Room’s life span reveals that the utilization phase may not always cause the most significant impact during the whole life cycle of the Green Room. If the life span changes, the manufacture phase may predominate the life cycle of the Green Room. The comparative result of alternative cooling technologies addresses that utilizing “natural coolant” (e.g. geo cooling) is a key for sustainable cooling innovation as it could significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the cooling system. Besides, heating a single building (partly) by the waste heat generated from the Green Room could save 30% of cumulative energy input and could reduce more than half of the total environmental impact. Additionally, results uncertainties caused by the choice of different LCIA methods are discussed in the end of the study. / Teliasonera's Green Room concept

The growing industry of Information and Communication Technology requires higher computing capacity of data centers. The air conditioning in data centers is a key to assure a sustainable computing environment. However, the traditional cooling systems cost large environmental footprints especially on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, a green innovation of data center cooling solutions is taking place. The telecommunication company Teliasonera is developing a high density data center cooling system - the “Green Room” and has been studying the environmental performance of this system using a Life Cycle approach. As an extension of the previous study, more aspects of the project i.e. the location of the data center, life span, alternative cooling solutions, energy recovery possibilities and uncertainty analysis is explored using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The comparison of locations of the Green Room indicates that the local temperature and electricity production sources are essential factors for the environmental performance of the Green Room. The analysis of the Green Room’s life span reveals that the utilization phase may not always cause the most significant impact during the whole life cycle of the Green Room. If the life span changes, the manufacture phase may predominate the life cycle of the Green Room. The comparative result of alternative cooling technologies addresses that utilizing “natural coolant” (e.g. geo cooling) is a key for sustainable cooling innovation as it could significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the cooling system. Besides, heating a single building (partly) by the waste heat generated from the Green Room could save 30% of cumulative energy input and could reduce more than half of the total environmental impact. Additionally, results uncertainties caused by the choice of different LCIA methods are discussed in the end of the study. / Teliasonera's Green Room concept

Innovative methods for providing sustainable heating and cooling through thermal energy storage (TES) have gained increasing attention as heating and cooling demands in the built environment continue to climb. As energy prices continue to soar and systems reach their maximal capacity, there is an urgent need for alternatives to alleviate peak energy use. TES systems allow decoupling of energy production from energy utilization, both in location and in time. It is shown in this thesis that successful implementation of TES in the built environment alleviates peak energy load and reduces network expansion as well as the marginal energy production cost. This thesis analyzes phase change material (PCM) based TES systems in terms of material property characterization, numerical modeling and validation of thermal storage, as well as case specific techno-economic feasibility studies of system integration. The difficulties identified in latent heat TES design, such as heat transfer aspects, subcooling and identification of phase separation, have been analyzed through Temperature-History mapping and TES numerical modeling with experimental validation. This work focuses on the interdependency between resource availability, thermal charge/discharge power and storage capacity. In a situation where resource availability is limited, e.g. when using free cooling, waste heat or off-peak storage, the thermal power and storage capacity are strongly interrelated and should always be considered in unison to reach an acceptable techno-economic solution. Furthermore, when considering TES integration into an existing thermal energy distribution network, three adverse aspects are revealed in the Swedish case study: the single tariff system, the low-return temperature penalty, and the low storage utilization rate. These issues can be overcome through better adapted policies and optimized storage control strategies. Finally, despite the currently unfavorable conditions in the Swedish energy system, it is shown that TES has the potential to mitigate climate change through greenhouse gas emission reduction by displacing fossil-fuel based marginal thermal energy production. / QC 20110629 / Cold Thermal Energy Storage

This study tested a dynamic modelling approach based on salt application, meteorological data and generic descriptions of hydrogeological environments for describing the spread of deicing salt to the surroundings and the corresponding increase in chloride storage in soil. Both the amount of chloride storage and the annual variation pattern were significantly altered due to deicing salt application and spread to the roadside environment. Data from field investigations comprising different hydrogeological environments and different methods of measurement were used to examine the variability of the salt deposition pattern in the vicinity of the road, and to test the performance of the model with respect to different soils and vegetation types. The use of typical hydrogeological environments to represent inputs to the model was shown to be useful to demonstrate the importance of soils, vegetation type and groundwater conditions for modelling the impact of deicing salt on soil water and the response to environmental changes in the vadose zone. However, the use of hydrogeological environment could also be misleading in view of the high degree of variability at the field scale. The different methods of measurements and simulations represented different spatial and temporal scales that were shown to be complementary useful to quantify the different pathways of deicing salt in the roadside environment. Continuous simulations complemented with selected field monitoring should therefore be promoted. / QC 20100526