Implementation of sustainability strategies

In this project we examine how Swedish process industry can work to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and counteract climate change by scrutinising processes and practices of sustainable strategy implementation.

Implementation of sustainability strategies:

New ways of working to accelerate transitions in Swedish process industry

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a strategic priority for both governments and industrial companies. Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reducing dependence on fossil fuels has become even more critical and the EU emphasizes the need to accelerate the pace of innovation and the transition to cleaner energy forms.

In Sweden, process industries are the largest industrial emitters, and they are characterized by large investments, slow feedback loops and long time-horizons. Thus, innovation and change processes are time-consuming - a critical concern given the need for rapid transitions requiring new strategies.

This project examines how Swedish process industry can work to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and counteract climate change by scrutinizing processes and practices of sustainable strategy implementation.

Together with selected actors in Swedish process industry, the project creates knowledge about the development and implementation of sustainability strategies.

About the project

Aim

The aim of this research project is to expand the knowledge about how Swedish process firms adopt new strategic actions to accelerate innovation to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels energy consumption, develop systems that use renewable energy, and actively combat climate change, aggravated by the current world energy situation.

Together with selected actors in the Swedish process industry, we will investigate and further develop knowledge and practices related to sustainable strategy implementation and explore operational and strategic aspects of firm-level engagements by focusing on how sustainability visions and strategies are implemented through concrete actions directed at innovation for increased sustainability.

Method

The project will take an integrated approach to understand strategy implementation processes by including multiple levels of analysis; the firm level, the cluster/industry level as well as the institutional/societal level, as reflected in our three research questions below. This complements previous studies which have mainly addressed one or a few levels.

By including and integrating multiple levels of analysis it is possible to obtain a more comprehensive view of the complexities that guide sustainability transitions in practice and identify critical points where interventions may be needed.

As such, the project aims to develop actionable knowledge that can enable Swedish process firms to accelerate transition processes through the development and adoption of new practices.

The questions

The research questions guiding our study are:

How are Swedish process firms implementing sustainability strategies?
How can co-learning with peers support accelerated transitions in the process industry?
How can Swedish process firms influence their institutional and societal contexts to enable accelerated transitions?

The project has three parts

The first part is a qualitative case study of a Swedish process company, with a focus on its transition to a more sustainable strategy.

The second part consists of a quantitative survey study aimed at Swedish process companies, where we want to investigate sustainability strategies and practice in a wider group.

The third part contains a number of 'co-learning workshops' where members of the Winnväxtsattsningen Climate-Leading Process Industry will work together with the research group and learn from each other to create the conditions for the rapid implementation of new working methods and sustainable strategies.

Project time

2023-03-01 – 2025-12-31

Contacts in the project

Division

Project, Innovations and Entrepreneurship (PIE)

The Project, Innovations and Entrepreneurship (PIE) division conducts research, undergraduate education and commissioned activities in project management, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Implementation of sustainability strategies