Do not steel our identities! The role of identity in shaping workers’ perceptions of “green” steel transitions
Malmberg, Sanne LU and van Veelen, Bregje LU
(2025)
In Local Environment
- Abstract
There has been a growing interest in how workers in high-carbon industries are impacted by low-carbon transitions and how such transitions can be implemented in a way that is just. This study explores the socio-cultural dimensions of these processes, focusing on the role of identity in shaping workers’ perceptions of low-carbon transitions and their ability to navigate change. It does so through a focus on the decarbonisation of Sweden’s steel industry, using qualitative interviews with workers and ex-workers in the steel town of Oxelösund to unpack the relation between work, identity, and industrial change. The findings show the importance of unpacking the notion of identity, with different aspects of social identity either potentially... (More)
There has been a growing interest in how workers in high-carbon industries are impacted by low-carbon transitions and how such transitions can be implemented in a way that is just. This study explores the socio-cultural dimensions of these processes, focusing on the role of identity in shaping workers’ perceptions of low-carbon transitions and their ability to navigate change. It does so through a focus on the decarbonisation of Sweden’s steel industry, using qualitative interviews with workers and ex-workers in the steel town of Oxelösund to unpack the relation between work, identity, and industrial change. The findings show the importance of unpacking the notion of identity, with different aspects of social identity either potentially helping workers to adapt to changes brought by the transition, or acting as a source of resistance, where attachment to the industry and industrial work could lead to opposition, particularly among blue collar-workers. It also demonstrates the value of adopting a historically-informed perspective to better understand how previous rounds of industrial restructuring shape current-day identities, and thus perceptions of the transition. Combined, these findings thus highlight the importance of considering not only immediate economic impacts, but also social identity and broader socio-cultural effects of industrial change in order to understand how workers perceive and navigate change, and how a Just Transition can be achieved.
(Less)
- author
- Malmberg, Sanne
LU
and van Veelen, Bregje
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-10-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- decarbonisation, industrial restructuring, just transition, Social identity, steel industry
- in
- Local Environment
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105018825601
- ISSN
- 1354-9839
- DOI
- 10.1080/13549839.2025.2566507
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- id
- e64eb2d6-44db-4665-806a-136bb5a33711
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-27 18:52:02
- date last changed
- 2025-10-28 08:17:43
@article{e64eb2d6-44db-4665-806a-136bb5a33711,
abstract = {{<p>There has been a growing interest in how workers in high-carbon industries are impacted by low-carbon transitions and how such transitions can be implemented in a way that is just. This study explores the socio-cultural dimensions of these processes, focusing on the role of identity in shaping workers’ perceptions of low-carbon transitions and their ability to navigate change. It does so through a focus on the decarbonisation of Sweden’s steel industry, using qualitative interviews with workers and ex-workers in the steel town of Oxelösund to unpack the relation between work, identity, and industrial change. The findings show the importance of unpacking the notion of identity, with different aspects of social identity either potentially helping workers to adapt to changes brought by the transition, or acting as a source of resistance, where attachment to the industry and industrial work could lead to opposition, particularly among blue collar-workers. It also demonstrates the value of adopting a historically-informed perspective to better understand how previous rounds of industrial restructuring shape current-day identities, and thus perceptions of the transition. Combined, these findings thus highlight the importance of considering not only immediate economic impacts, but also social identity and broader socio-cultural effects of industrial change in order to understand how workers perceive and navigate change, and how a Just Transition can be achieved.</p>}},
author = {{Malmberg, Sanne and van Veelen, Bregje}},
issn = {{1354-9839}},
keywords = {{decarbonisation; industrial restructuring; just transition; Social identity; steel industry}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{10}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Local Environment}},
title = {{Do not steel our identities! The role of identity in shaping workers’ perceptions of “green” steel transitions}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2025.2566507}},
doi = {{10.1080/13549839.2025.2566507}},
year = {{2025}},
}