Malmö

Malmö’s construction sector aims to become climate-neutral by 2030

In order to reduce emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, it is vital that the construction sector, which is a major contributor to carbon emissions at a global scale, changes the way it builds. The construction and civil engineering sector currently account for one fifth of Sweden's impacts on climate while the country is a signatory to the Paris Agreement aiming to keep the global temperature to 1.5 degrees and have net-zero emissions by 2030

To align with this goal, Malmö became in 2015 the first Swedish municipality to sign the 'Declaration of City Commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development', pledging among other things to make the construction sector climate neutral by 2030. This will include adopting smart energy solutions and taking environmental adaptation actions.

In 2018 the city of Malmö produced a preliminary study on how reduced climate emissions could be realized. The result was the initiation of a local roadmap, LFM30, for a climate-neutral building and construction sector within Malmö. The local roadmap is based on the national Fossil free Sweden’s roadmaps. In spring 2019 the LFM30 roadmap was introduced and today, almost 200 stakeholders within the construction sector are involved, ranging from material suppliers, architects, contractors, consultants, constructors, and academia.

The LFM30 roadmap includes goals and activities in several focus areas, such as business, circular materials, climate calculation, material selection, management and operation. The overall goal is climate neutrality in every organization and project by 2030. Building strategies include reducing waste by increasing circularity and phasing out hazardous materials, all in collaboration among architects, builders and suppliers to create a sustainable architecture with energy- and material-optimized solutions.

“LFM30 is a joint platform for learning, innovation and implementation. Today the building and construction sector accounts for a large part of Malmö´s climate impact. We are therefore proud that the industry, together with the city, takes responsibility for reducing the climate emissions from the sector”, says Josephine Nellerup, planning strategist responsible for the city’s work within LFM30.

Other collaborations between the city and the construction sector are not included in the LFM30 roadmap, however, they are worth mentioning as they have resulted in projects such as the climate-smart neighbourhoods of Sege Park and Hyllie, where long-term sustainability, a sharing economy and nature-based solutions have been some of the main focal points. Both large projects include numerous ecological buildings using recycled materials, green roofs and facades.

The Sege Park residential district is under construction and will be completed in 2025. It will be supplied with renewable and recycled energy. Rainwater will be collected and reused. Sege Park residents will have access to electric bicycles and carpooling. The green park will grow fruit and vegetables.

Hyllie's smart climate district is a large-scale test bed and demonstration project of integrated, smart energy solutions that enable cities to become sustainable. The smart grid platform is now being scaled up in Malmö, as well as other Swedish and European cities and has turned the district’s heating network into a benchmark for heat distribution.

This model demonstrates that cooperation between different actors, both from the construction sector and the municipality, can contribute to a city that is committed to innovation, sustainability and the well-being of its inhabitants. This is how Malmö, a member of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the Union of the Baltic Cities, the Covenant of Mayors Europe, and committed to Cities Race to Zero, the EU Mission NetZero Cities and the Green City Accord is showing environmental leadership.