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Kartläggning av svensk FoU inom området IT och miljö

Arnfalk, Peter LU ; Plepys, Andrius LU and van Rossem, Chris LU (2009) In VINNOVA Rapport
Abstract
Swedish R&D activities in the field of IT and the

environment - a mapping related to indirect

environmental effects and effects at system level

Feb 2009: Peter Arnfalk, Andrius Plepys, Chris van Rossem, The

International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Lund

University.

The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)

at Lund University has, in autumn 2008, been commissioned by Swedish

Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) to investigate

Swedish research and development (R & D) scene in the field of IT and the

environment. The survey was conducted with the help of Blekinge... (More)
Swedish R&D activities in the field of IT and the

environment - a mapping related to indirect

environmental effects and effects at system level

Feb 2009: Peter Arnfalk, Andrius Plepys, Chris van Rossem, The

International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Lund

University.

The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)

at Lund University has, in autumn 2008, been commissioned by Swedish

Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) to investigate

Swedish research and development (R & D) scene in the field of IT and the

environment. The survey was conducted with the help of Blekinge Institute

of Technology and the company Exido, a reference group with

representatives from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Linköping

University (LiU), Interactive Institute, as well as the Swedish IT & Telecom

Companies (a part of Almega). The purpose of the survey was to provide a

current review and understanding of research activities in Sweden to assess

how to best design and fund R & D efforts in the field for Swedish growth.

The mission was to survey the area, analyze results and to draw conclusions.

The mapping was limited to R & D projects related to indirect

environmental effects and effects at system level from the use of IT, which

means that research on IT’s own environmental impact along its life cycle,

so-called direct effects, was not targeted. Information collection was made

primarily with the help of a web-based questionnaire, through interviews,

literature search and searches in various databases.

The results show that there is a wide range of different projects in Sweden

in this multidisciplinary field. Most R&D projects could be linked to the

energy, environmental informatics, transport, process and manufacturing,

buildings, as well as products and services.

Many projects focused on our attitudes and behaviour surrounding the use

of IT, an issue that was researched in 42 % of the projects. Furthermore,

many of the reported projects are related to areas such as energy efficiency,

environmental analysis, environmental monitoring, intelligent transportation

systems, surveillance and control, process optimization and ‘smart houses’.

Other areas of research concern are dematerialization, telework, urban

planning, IT in energy production and distribution, virtual meetings,

simulations, and eco-design of products.

8

We found R & D projects at many universities and institutes around the

country, but a certain concentration was found mainly around Stockholm

(Stockholm University, KTH, Kista), Gothenburg (Göteborg University,

Business School, Chalmers), Linköping (Linköping University, including

the Linköping Institute of Technology), Lund / Malmö (Lund University,

Lund Institute of Technology and Malmö University College); and

Karlskrona / Ronneby / Karlshamn of Blekinge Institute of Technology

(BTH). Around these areas a number of research institutes can be found,

which also carries out projects in the IT and the environment.

We found that none of the national grant organizations for R & D projects

have any explicit strategy or established grants program for interdisciplinary

research in the field of IT and the environment. This may partly explain the

fact that relatively few researchers characterize their projects in this field.

Another reason may be that the area is not clearly defined and difficult to

delineate.

The findings of this study highlight the fact that IT offers a range of

preventive solutions to environmental problems. Hence, IT solutions should

to a greater extent be considered and included in the environmental

technology toolbox, and its applications promoted when considering

environmental measures. The concept of Green IT is currently mainly

interpreted as IT with a relatively low direct environmental impact. The

concept should preferably be expanded to also include indirect and systemic

effects, to stress the fact that this is where the technology’s major

environmental potential is found. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Book/Report
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Sverige, forskning och utveckling, IT, miljöpåverkan
in
VINNOVA Rapport
pages
62 pages
publisher
Vinnova
report number
VR 2009:13
ISSN
1650-3104
ISBN
978-91-85959-65-5
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
cc49bd12-1049-471d-9023-f8fee4ecb8bb (old id 1515304)
alternative location
http://www.vinnova.se/upload/EPiStorePDF/vr-09-13.pdf
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:51:24
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:30:45
@techreport{cc49bd12-1049-471d-9023-f8fee4ecb8bb,
  abstract     = {{Swedish R&amp;D activities in the field of IT and the<br/><br>
environment - a mapping related to indirect<br/><br>
environmental effects and effects at system level<br/><br>
Feb 2009: Peter Arnfalk, Andrius Plepys, Chris van Rossem, The<br/><br>
International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Lund<br/><br>
University.<br/><br>
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)<br/><br>
at Lund University has, in autumn 2008, been commissioned by Swedish<br/><br>
Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) to investigate<br/><br>
Swedish research and development (R &amp; D) scene in the field of IT and the<br/><br>
environment. The survey was conducted with the help of Blekinge Institute<br/><br>
of Technology and the company Exido, a reference group with<br/><br>
representatives from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Linköping<br/><br>
University (LiU), Interactive Institute, as well as the Swedish IT &amp; Telecom<br/><br>
Companies (a part of Almega). The purpose of the survey was to provide a<br/><br>
current review and understanding of research activities in Sweden to assess<br/><br>
how to best design and fund R &amp; D efforts in the field for Swedish growth.<br/><br>
The mission was to survey the area, analyze results and to draw conclusions.<br/><br>
The mapping was limited to R &amp; D projects related to indirect<br/><br>
environmental effects and effects at system level from the use of IT, which<br/><br>
means that research on IT’s own environmental impact along its life cycle,<br/><br>
so-called direct effects, was not targeted. Information collection was made<br/><br>
primarily with the help of a web-based questionnaire, through interviews,<br/><br>
literature search and searches in various databases.<br/><br>
The results show that there is a wide range of different projects in Sweden<br/><br>
in this multidisciplinary field. Most R&amp;D projects could be linked to the<br/><br>
energy, environmental informatics, transport, process and manufacturing,<br/><br>
buildings, as well as products and services.<br/><br>
Many projects focused on our attitudes and behaviour surrounding the use<br/><br>
of IT, an issue that was researched in 42 % of the projects. Furthermore,<br/><br>
many of the reported projects are related to areas such as energy efficiency,<br/><br>
environmental analysis, environmental monitoring, intelligent transportation<br/><br>
systems, surveillance and control, process optimization and ‘smart houses’.<br/><br>
Other areas of research concern are dematerialization, telework, urban<br/><br>
planning, IT in energy production and distribution, virtual meetings,<br/><br>
simulations, and eco-design of products.<br/><br>
8<br/><br>
We found R &amp; D projects at many universities and institutes around the<br/><br>
country, but a certain concentration was found mainly around Stockholm<br/><br>
(Stockholm University, KTH, Kista), Gothenburg (Göteborg University,<br/><br>
Business School, Chalmers), Linköping (Linköping University, including<br/><br>
the Linköping Institute of Technology), Lund / Malmö (Lund University,<br/><br>
Lund Institute of Technology and Malmö University College); and<br/><br>
Karlskrona / Ronneby / Karlshamn of Blekinge Institute of Technology<br/><br>
(BTH). Around these areas a number of research institutes can be found,<br/><br>
which also carries out projects in the IT and the environment.<br/><br>
We found that none of the national grant organizations for R &amp; D projects<br/><br>
have any explicit strategy or established grants program for interdisciplinary<br/><br>
research in the field of IT and the environment. This may partly explain the<br/><br>
fact that relatively few researchers characterize their projects in this field.<br/><br>
Another reason may be that the area is not clearly defined and difficult to<br/><br>
delineate.<br/><br>
The findings of this study highlight the fact that IT offers a range of<br/><br>
preventive solutions to environmental problems. Hence, IT solutions should<br/><br>
to a greater extent be considered and included in the environmental<br/><br>
technology toolbox, and its applications promoted when considering<br/><br>
environmental measures. The concept of Green IT is currently mainly<br/><br>
interpreted as IT with a relatively low direct environmental impact. The<br/><br>
concept should preferably be expanded to also include indirect and systemic<br/><br>
effects, to stress the fact that this is where the technology’s major<br/><br>
environmental potential is found.}},
  author       = {{Arnfalk, Peter and Plepys, Andrius and van Rossem, Chris}},
  institution  = {{Vinnova}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-85959-65-5}},
  issn         = {{1650-3104}},
  keywords     = {{Sverige; forskning och utveckling; IT; miljöpåverkan}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  number       = {{VR 2009:13}},
  series       = {{VINNOVA Rapport}},
  title        = {{Kartläggning av svensk FoU inom området IT och miljö}},
  url          = {{http://www.vinnova.se/upload/EPiStorePDF/vr-09-13.pdf}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}