GREEN SOLUTIONS

CLEANTECH IN SWEDEN
Umeå is home to all the knowledge necessary to understand how Sweden succeeded in
becoming one of the world’s leading countries for sustainability work. International students
rank Umeå University number one in Sweden and number five in the world according to
the International Student Barometer survey.
TrAININg IN
SuSTAINAbILITy PLANNINg
Sweden’s first study programme
for Environmental
and Public Health Inspectors
was introduced here in 1977,
and the broad range of knowledge
available within the field of sustainability
puts both Umeå and Umeå
University in a unique position. We
will therefore be launching a commissioned
course in autumn 2013 to
communicate knowledge about
sustainability to the rest of the world.
This course will run for three days and
will combine theory with problem
resolution and study visits based on
the motto “Seeing is believing”.
Prior to the oil crisis of 1973
Sweden was one of the world’s most
oil-dependent countries. Sustained
efforts over the years to reduce our
dependency on oil have led to Sweden
using mainly alternative energy
sources, with bioenergy now the
single largest source of energy.
Swedish know-how in this area is
For more information visit: www.technicalvisitsumea.se
54 | GREEN SOLUTIONS FROM SWEDEN
Facts: Technical Visits is an element
in making Umeå a northern hub for
environmental engineering. This
project is financed by the Swedish
Agency for Economic and Regional
Growth (Tillväxtverket), Umeå
municipality, Umeå Kommunföretag,
Region Västerbotten,
UMEVA, and Umeå Energi.
incredibly valuable in terms of solving
global climate problems, and delegations
from around the world travel to
Sweden to study our success in en-
couraging society to change its ways.
“We want to engage with international
visitors in a pedagogical way
and to work together to create a
sustainable society. This continuing
urbanisation is revolutionary and we
need to change our approach to
planning cities and ultimately
building them. Within the next 30
years, the UN calculates that an
additional 3.5 billion people will
migrate to cities. The cities are set to
become a key issue in the future,” says
Mikael Öhlund, City Director and CEO
of Kompetensspridning i Umeå AB,
which aims to export Swedish environmental
engineering know-how.
Another area in which Sweden
excels is waste management. Today,
waste in Sweden is re-used and
recycled, with considerable amounts
being used for energy recovery
instead of being taken to landfill,
which accounts for just under 2 %.
Elsewhere in the world, with very few
exceptions, landfills are extremely
common. Knowledge of systems is
needed to understand how sustainable
waste management can be
developed.
“In Umeå we are proud to have a
municipal waste company that is
extremely proficient at waste masnagement.
This was confirmed back
in 2011 when we were named the best
municipality in Sweden for sorting
hazardous waste,” says Tomas
Blomqvist, CEO of UMEVA.
“It is important to bear in mind
that it is not always the technical
innovations that will solve environmental
issues, but rather planning
and building a sustainable society.
The situation therefore demands
greater education and increased
knowledge if we are to succeed in
creating a society that is sustainable
in the long term,” says Margareta
Alfredsson, Planning Director city of
Umeå.