IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
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Utveckling av hållbarhetskriterier för möbelbranschen
No full textMöbelfakta är en hållbarhetsmärkning för möbler med avseende på kvalitet, miljö och ansvarsfulla leveranskedjor. Det är det ledande märkningssystemet för offentlig upphandling av möbler i Sverige och har därmed stor påverkan på vilka hållbarhetskrav som ställs inom den offentliga sektorn.I denna rapport beskriver vi betydelsen av ökade hållbarhetskrav från omvärlden och framtida möjligheter inom digitalisering för att skapa cirkulära flöden för möbler och exemplifierar hur möbelbranschen kan möta detta genom utveckling av Möbelfaktas kriterier. På kort sikt behöver Möbelfakta hantera kommande EU-lagstiftning gällande tillbörlig aktsamhet för mänskliga rättigheter, miljö och samhälle. Det behöver kopplas mot marknadsaktörers digitala produktkataloger och utvecklas för att sätta större fokus på cirkulära processer. För att etablera mer cirkulära processer inom möbelbranschen behöver produktinformation följa med en produkt över hela livscykeln. Nyckeln för att åstadkomma detta är digital informationshantering för att kunna skapa spårbarhet när produkter byter ägare, renoveras eller blir avfall. På medellång sikt behöver Möbelfakta anamma de olika initiativen för EU:s gröna giv. Där ser det digitala produktpasset idag ut att bli det viktigaste initiativet i den nu aktuella breddningen av Ekodesigndirektivet. Det är viktigt att Möbelfakta är en av de märkningar som kan användas för möbler enligt EU:s nya taxonomi. Initiativet Substantiating Green Claims är direkt relevant medan Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) fortfarande saknar direkt koppling till möbler. Här ser det ut som att utveckling framåt kommer fortsätta att vara Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) för redovisning av klimatprestanda. På längre sikt bör en global harmonisering av kraven för kvalitet och miljö eftersträvas genom att t.ex. ta hänsyn till livslängden på produkter och egenskapskrav för kemikalier istället för förbudslistor. Detta kan göras genom dialog med upphandlande myndigheter där fördelarna bör ligga i att fler företag kan möta krav som är relevanta för upphandling och därmed öka konkurrensen på marknaden. Eftersom det finns många intressenter sker detta kontinuerligt i flera steg på kort till lång sikt.Vi ser också ett behov av branschsamverkan för att kunna fastställa en gemensam standard för digital spårbarhet. Den stora utmaningen för branschen är de många konfigurationer som kan göras på varje produkt. Detta föranleder behov av standardisering av digital produktinformation och det första steget är att samla möbelproducenterna för att kunna fatta ett gemensamt beslut om vilken väg branschen ska gå. Viktigt för möbelindustrin blir att hitta den part i branschen som kan leda och styra det inledande arbetet med att samla möbelproducenterna.Av lika vikt för branschen är att Möbelfaktas kriterier ska kunna användas som ett verifikat inom offentlig upphandling. Detta innebär att en miljömärkning måste kunna visa att produkter eller tjänster i märkningen uppfyller krav som ställs av en oberoende tredje part, att kraven ständigt skärps och att de utvecklas ur ett livscykelperspektiv. För att möta detta har ett kriterieråd etablerats för Möbelfakta.Möbelfakta is a sustainability label for furniture with regard to quality, environment and responsible supply chains. It is the leading labeling system for public procurement of furniture in Sweden and thus has a major impact on the sustainability requirements set within the public sector.In this report, we look at the importance of increased sustainability requirements from the outside world and future opportunities in digitization to create circular flows for furniture and exemplify how the furniture industry can meet this through the development of Möbelfakta's criteria. In the short term, Möbelfakta needs to deal with upcoming EU legislation regarding due diligence for human rights, the environment and society. It needs to be linked to market players' digital product catalogs and developed to put greater focus on circular processes. In order to establish more circular processes in the furniture industry, product information needs to accompany a product throughout its entire life cycle. The key to achieving this is digital information management to be able to create traceability when products change hands, are refurbished or become waste.In the medium term, Möbelfakta needs to embrace the various initiatives for the EU's green initiative. There, the digital product passport today appears to be the most important initiative in the broadening of the EU Ecodesign directive. It is important that Möbelfakta is one of the labels that can be used for furniture according to the EU's new taxonomy. The Substantiating Green Claims initiative is also directly relevant, while the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) still lacks a direct connection to furniture. Here it looks like the development going forward continues to be the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for reporting climate performance.In the longer term, a global harmonization of the requirements for quality and the environment should be sought by e.g. taking into account the lifetime of products and hazards instead of prohibition lists. This can be done through dialogue with procuring authorities where the benefits should lie in more companies being able to meet requirements that are relevant to procurement and thereby increasing competition in the market. Since there are many stakeholders, this happens continuously in several steps in the short to long term.We also see a need for industry collaboration to establish a common standard for digital traceability. The major challenge for the industry is the many configurations that can be made on each product. This leads to the need for standardization of digital product information and the first step is to gather the furniture producers to make a joint decision about which way the industry should go. It will be important for the furniture industry to find the party in the industry who can lead and control the initial work of gathering the furniture producers.Of equal importance to the industry is that Möbelfakta's criteria can be used as a verification in public procurement. This means that an environmental label must be able to show that products or services in the label meet requirements set by an independent third party, that the requirements are constantly tightened and that they develop from a life cycle perspective. To meet this, a criteria council has been established for Möbelfakta
Using a dynamic mass balance model to predict fate and transport of PCBs in a polluted boreal lake in Sweden
No full textIn 2013, a screening survey including fish (European perch, Perca fluviatilis) from 20 locations in the Stockholm region of Sweden indicated exceptionally high levels of PCBs (>450 ng ΣPCB7/g ww) in Lake Oxundasjön. An extensive sampling program was launched to define the magnitude and area of impact of PCBs. Moreover, a dynamic mass balance model approach was applied to identify and quantify key transport processes and predict the long-term turnover of PCBs given various remediation scenarios.Based on the dating of sediment profiles, primary emissions of PCBs to Lake Oxundasjön have likely occurred from the end of the 1940s until 1980, reaching the lake via one of its tributaries. Presently, the main source of PCBs is diffusion from the lake sediments. From the lake outlet, >400 g ΣPCB7/yr are transported to LakeMälaren (the third largest lake in Sweden), supplying drinkingwater for parts of the Stockholm area. Remediation actions are necessary to reduce the PCB levels in fish below today's marketing limits and environmental quality standards. With natural recovery, our results indicate that the PCB levels in non-migratory fish from Lake Oxundasjön will be elevated for decades to come. The mass of PCBs stored in the lake sediments was estimated, and to our knowledge, Lake Oxundasjön is the most heavily PCB contaminated lake in Sweden. The system constitutes a unique opportunity to test and develop a mathematical mass balance model for PCBs, with substantial data acquired from different aquatic matrices. The model presented in the paper is applicable for risk assessments of PCBs, and the results contribute to the general understanding of the transport and turnover dynamics of PCBs in aquatic ecosystems.A-rapport, A2638</p
Nitrogen deposition in forests: Statistical modeling of total deposition from throughfall loads
No full textIntroduction: Nitrogen (N) gradient studies in some cases use N deposition inthroughfall as measure of N deposition to forests. For evaluating critical loadsof N, however, information on total N deposition is required, i.e., the sum ofestimates of dry, wet and occult deposition.Methods: The present paper collects a number of studies in Europe wherethroughfall and total N deposition were compared in different forest types .From this dataset a function was derived which allows to estimate total Ndeposition from throughfall N deposition.Results: At low throughfall N deposition values, the proportion of canopyuptake is high and thus the underestimation of total deposition by throughfallN needs to be corrected. At throughfall N deposition values > 20 kg Nha1 yr1 canopy uptake is getting less important.Conclusion: This work shows that throughfall clearly underestimates totaldeposition of nitrogen. With the present data set covering large parts of Europe it is possible to derive a critical load estimate from gradient studiesusing throughfall data.A-rapportA2642</p
REWARDHeat PESTLE Analysis
No full textIn this deliverable, factors impacting effective replication of Low Temperature (LT) District Heating and Cooling (DHC) networks with Low Temperature Heat (LTH) and Renewable Energy (RE) sources integration are analyzed. A PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal and Environmental) analysis is performed for seven European countries, which host one or more REWARDHeat demonstrators.The PESTLE analysis was performed in a three-step process. The first step was data collection for each of the components included in the PESTLE analysis through literature reviews, interviews with the demo-sites, surveys distributed to and answered by the customers of the existing DH systems and energy systems modelling using the TIMES (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) model generator for understanding the environmental impact long term. The second step was to identify and prioritize key factors identified for each of the PESTLE components. The third step was to rate the identified key factors together with experts from each demo-site country. The key factors were rated either as a barrier (major or minor) or as an opportunity (major or minor).Overall, the results of the PESTLE analysis show that there are more opportunities than barriers for the replication of LTDHC networks in the investigated countries. Opportunities mainly arise from the ambitious political goal of the EU to become climate-neutral by 2050. The EU goal leads to ambitious national targets for the Heating and Cooling (HC) sectors, which are still greatly dependent on the use of fossil fuels. Positive customers’ opinions and the current characteristics of the HC sectors in the investigated countries are also identified as opportunities for the development of LTDHC networks. At the country level, Denmark and Sweden are the countries in which conventional DH networks are well-established and it is in these countries the most opportunities for LTDHC can be found. A tradition of investing in large, centralized heat generation plants could however pose a barrier, and a regime shift is therefore necessary. We show that with the development of LTDHC networks, the cost of heat supply in the investigated HC sectors can decrease, if compared to the development without LTDHC. From the environmental perspective, the development of LTDHC networks and utilization of LTH and RE sources is shown to result in fuel savings and lowered air pollutant emissions in all the demo-site countries, except for Denmark in which insignificant increase in specific primary energy use per unit of generated heat can be expected.The lack of targeted state-based financial support for developing innovative HC networks is identified as one of the main barriers for the replication of the REWARDHeat solutions in most of the countries. The likely reason for this is deemed to be a lack of awareness and understanding about the LTDHC concept among politicians and decision makers. Hence, more knowledge needs to be generated about the concept, for example through demonstration projects such as REWARDHeat. Another main barrier is that LTDHC is currently only suitable for a small share of the building stock, mainly new or refurbished buildings. Table 1 shows overview of the PESTLE analysis results for each of the investigated countries. The values “3” and “4” on the green background represent opportunities (minor and major, respectively) and the values “1” and “2” represent barriers (major and minor, respectively). The results from the energy system modelling, which served as a basis for analyzing environmental key factors as well as the Specific cost of heat economic factor, are also briefly presented in this deliverable and are available on an interactive webpage accessible from the project official website (www.rewardheat.eu)
Siptex - Quality assurance report
No full textSiptex (Swedish Innovation Platform for Textile Sorting) is a research project funded by Sweden’s Innovation Agency's Challenge-driven innovation initiative. As a new step in the textile value chain, Siptex aims to create the conditions for increased profitability in the handling of the ever-increasing amounts of textile waste that are collected for material recycling and an increase in fibre-to-fibre recycling of textiles. This report focuses on the work carried out in the work package called “Quality assurance”. There were two main goals within this work. The first goal was to enable the establishment of a range of quality assured products. The second goal was to increase the knowledge on hazardous chemicals in post-consumer textiles in general. Five different outbound products of specific fibre content have been developed based on market demand. The products are referred to as ReFab® by SYSAV and include Siptex sorted materials of different purities of cotton, polyester and acrylics. For the quality assurance process, a method was developed to take representative textile samples from the bales of post-consumer materials, using a hay sampler and an extensive shredding process to product homogenous samples of shredded textile fibres. In the Siptex project, a total of 15 samples per bale was considered to be both practical as well as likely to give a good representation of the contents in a certain bale. This number is the result of a small pilot study which is described in this report. This method can be supplemented by a more routine analysis in which samples are taken by hand to monitor sorting efficiencies. The increase the knowledge on hazardous chemicals in post-consumer textiles, the project investigated existing data on hazardous chemicals in post-consumer textiles and supplemented this with new data generated from chemical analyses on bales of Siptex sorted materials made of cotton, polyester, and acrylics. The analysis of the literature data and the results from the chemical analysis of Siptex samples, indicate that compliance with REACH due to presence of hazardous chemicals, likely is not an issue in the sorted post-consumer textiles. Post-consumer textiles also seem to clear Oeko-tex and AFIRM requirements for the majority of the chemical substances on these restricted substance lists. But not all samples clear all the requirements from Oeko-tex or AFIRM. Bales with polyester materials were found to be most likely in breach of Oeoko-tex or AFIRM requirements. Three remaining challenges were identified and discussed in the report. These include the need for more standards, further development of the colour sorting process and a need for more analyses and data-sharing on hazardous substances in post-consumer textiles
A framework for specifying how to develop users’ needs and requirements in an iterative process.
No full textThe aim of D5.1 is to provide a framework for the process to specify stakeholders’ needs and requirements in WP4 and the collection and analysis of data from the demonstration cases, with regard to organizational and social enablers for development, implementation, use and successive evaluation of SCOREwater technologies and services (WP5 and further to WP6 and WP8). A framework contains the salient experiences, approaches, theories and perspectives in a field from which prescriptive models and other tools can be built. This deliverable provides more knowledge on four areas with high relevance for the project: a) behavioural, organizational and legal/regulatory barriers/enablers; b) iterative user-expert development processes and relevant standards for end-user development; c) methods and state of the art for sewage sociology; and d) implementation and evaluation research. Together, these focus areas provide a background of principles that guide the implementation of the demonstration cases, in particular in terms of stakeholder engagement and adapting to user needs in WP4 and for an effective implementation of the ICT tools and for their evaluation. In later phases in the project the receiving work packages needs to pick those tools that suits them, based on the analysis for each case study in WP1 and WP4 (and as part of WP6) and adapt them to achieve overall project goals as well as local goals. The framework is based upon a literature review of state-of-the-art knowledge and best practices, as well as consultation with partners regarding scope and presentation. The review highlights important issues to address and provide approaches to that. The literature review highlights that water is often managed through a network of public and private actors at different levels, with different perspectives and goals, and different strategies and instruments. There is a need to involve both the users of innovative ICT solutions as well as a broad spectrum of other stakeholders (e.g. municipal and state officials and policy makers) in technology development processes. Different involvement methods need to be chosen based on type of user or stakeholder addressed, but also based on the goals of the involvement action, or the type of knowledge the activity should bring to the process. The literature review provides knowledge on key principles to keep in mind when engaging stakeholders. Tools and approaches from sewage sociology will be used to design the demonstration case in Barcelona. Sewage sociology refers to the scientific use of biomarkers in waste and waste-water to measure health and environmental characteristics together with known demographic data. The overview in this report shows how sewage sociology is a powerful tool through which urban planning and health authorities should work together to improve citizen’s quality of life. The review also discussed the issues related to implementation and evaluation of the SCOREwater technologies and services. The strategies and approaches for implementation and evaluation needs to be designed beforehand, in collaboration with developers and stakeholders. Implementation of SCOREwater technologies and services in the demonstration cases needs to be both adapted to local context and be able to provide generalizable conclusions for further dissemination and exploitation. It needs to be based upon an analysis of change mechanisms, locally for each case and generic for the water sector. Likewise, the strategy for evaluating the ICT tools needs to be designed beforehand and be integrated into the implementation efforts. The framework provides more specific advice, based upon the review on various good practices for identifying stakeholders, user groups, their needs and requirements, for an iterative development, implementation, use and successive evaluation of the SCOREwater tools. The framework is supported by a list of resources to be used when designing strategies, to be found in the annexes.
Resilience Joint Evaluation onand TestReport (JETreport)forthecasestudy"SmartResilienceProject:FOXTROT:Drinkingwatersupplysystem"
No full textIVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute conducted three consecutive workshops with relevant stakeholders from the drinking water sector in Sweden. Researchers from IVL, led by Johan M. Sanne assessed the workshops. The workshops included a stress-test, based upon a scenario of microbial contamination of water, either raw water or distributed water, due to flooding as a consequence of heavy rain. The stress-test was considered a good tool for self-assessment, as an input to crisis preparation. The stress-test was considered useful as a complement to current reporting formats to politicians, not at least because it visualizes resilience in different phases of the cycle. Important outcomes include the learning process as well as a list of improvement measures, including an evaluation or priority ordering
Rekyleffekter och utformning av styrmedel
No full textProjektet har undersökt vilka rekyleffekter riskerar att uppstå i samband med åtgärder och styrmedel inom transportsektorn och vilka utformningar- och kombinationer av åtgärder och styrmedel som undviker eller minimerar rekyleffekter i transportsektorn? Resultaten bygger på fallstudier baserade på grön skatteväxling, ökat hemarbete, ökad andel elbilar i fordonsflottan, flygskatt och personliga utsläppsrätter. En bred grupp aktörer verksamma inom transportområdet bjöds in att medverka i studien. Gruppen bestod av både forskare, myndighetsexperter, kommunala tjänstepersoner och representanter för berörda aktörsnätverk på transportområdet. I tre workshops utforskades studiens frågor utifrån fem konkreta fall från transportområdet, där en åtgärd (eller flera) införs för att uppnå minskning av växthusgasutsläpp. Samtliga fall bedömdes ge upphov till rekyleffekter, många i betydande grad. Fallet Ökat hemarbete bedömdes ge upphov till ett flertal medelstora rekyleffekter, bland annat till följd av att människor på sikt förändrar sina boendemönster och att minskad pendling frigör tid och resurser för ökat fritidsresande. Ökad andel elbilar i fordonsflottan minskar kilometerkostnaden och riskerar därmed att öka bilresandet och vägslitaget. För att upptäcka och undvika rekyleffekter – och för att bedöma ett styrmedels effektivitet – behövs systemperspektiv snarare än ett fokus på enskilda sektorer. Vid utformning av åtgärder tenderar breda systemövergripande strategier eller smala åtgärder mot särskilt utsläppsintensiva aktiviteter att vara mest effektiva. Det finns en fara med att genomföra åtgärder som låser in svårföränderliga strukturer som på sikt förhindrar genomförandet av tillräckligt långtgående förändringar.Rekyleffekter kan uppstå på olika sätt, men genomgående är att den positiva effekten som primärt uppstår till följd av en miljöåtgärd eller innovation motverkas av sekundära effekter som verkar i motsatt riktning. Detta kan exempelvis ske genom att effektiviseringar leder till kostnadsbesparingar som skapar möjligheter till ökad konsumtion. Denna rapport handlar om rekyleffekter i transportsektorn och hur de kan undvikas och minimeras
Parkerings- och mobilitetstjänster för en hållbar stad - Slutrapport i projektet Sampark – metoder, möjligheter och potential att samutnyttja parkeringsytor och mobilitetstjänster med Framtiden-koncernens fastighetsbestånd som fallstudieobjekt
No full textUnder åren 2018 till 2021 har IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet drivit ett samfinansierat forskningsprojekt tillsammans med fastighetsbolaget Framtiden. Projektets mål har varit att bidra med kunskap till ett miljöanpassat byggande med effektiv markanvändning, låg resursanvändning och strukturer som stödjer ett hållbart resande. Parkeringskostnaden mellan olika bolag i Framtiden-koncernen skiljer sig åt och en harmonisering av avgifterna bör därför ske. Dagens avgiftsnivå är generellt låg i jämförelse med både marknadsvärde för parkering i aktuella områden och för att kunna styra och påverka bilresande och bilinnehav. Samband mellan exempelvis prissättning och bilinnehav kan inte bekräftas generellt i bostadsbolagens bestånd, vilket anses bero på avsaknad av tillgängliga data på bilinnehav på fastighetsnivå. Resultat från ett nybyggnadsprojekt visar dock att flexibla och sänkta parkeringstal tillsammans med en marknadsmässig prissättning kan ge effekter på bilinnehav men att det har betydelse hur attraktiva mobilitetstjänsterna är. Omvandling från fasta platser till tillståndsplatser kan ha en stor potential att effektivisera parkeringsbeståndet och därigenom frigöra mark för andra ändamål. Framtiden-koncernen har inte själv full rådighet över parkerings-och mobilitetsfrågorna, men tillsammans med stadsbyggnadskontoret, trafikkontoret, fastighetskontoret samt Göteborg Stads Parkering finns goda möjligheter att minska efterfrågan på bilresor i Göteborgsområdet. Exempelvis innebär förtätning och nybyggnation av bostäder innebär att man behöver bygga på befintliga parkeringsplatser. Krav på Framtiden från andra förvaltningar på att ersätta befintliga markparkeringar med förhållandevis låga avgifter, behöver då vara väl avvägda och ligga i linje med efterfrågan för nyproducerade dyrare parkeringsplatser. Plan-och bygglagens regler behöver också förändras med syfte att premiera och underlätta ett arbete mot ett mer bilsnålt eller transporteffektivt samhälle.I många städer förtätas bostadsbebyggelsen. Samtidigt satsar kommuner och regioner mer på gång, cykel och kollektivtrafik. Marknaden för mobilitetstjänster växer, liksom e-handeln och efterfrågan på elbilsladdning. Kommuners policyer för stadsbyggnad och riktlinjer för parkering inriktas också alltmer på att stödja ett miljömässigt hållbart livsmönster och hållbar mobilitet. För en fastighetsaktör gäller det att förhålla sig till dessa trender samtidigt som man arbetar för att tillhandahålla och skapa hållbara och trygga bostäder och miljöer. Detta projekt har haft som syfte att för fastighetsaktörer som Framtiden öka kunskapen och ge vägledning inom parkering- och mobilitetsområdet