Teknikkonsulters affärsmöjligheter med automatiserade klimatdeklarationer : En kvalitativ studie om affärsmodeller som skapar värden vid försäljning av automatiserade klimatdeklarationer

Sammanfattning: High levels of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere have a continued tangible impact on the environment globally and threatens to extinct biodiversity. The influence on the climate from human activity is mainly caused by combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. The construction sector is responsible for a large share of the emissions and has in addition a significant environmental impact by the energy used during the construction stage. At the time of writing, the construction and real estate industry is responsible for 40 percent of the global environmental impact.  The Swedish government intends on first of January 2022 to introduce a new demand on carbon footprint reports in conjunction with new construction projects as an action to decrease anthropogenic impact from the construction industry. To meet this demand and the increasing degree of digitalisation of the industry, engineering consulting company William Sale Partnership (WSP) Sweden has invested in automating carbon footprint reports. The company’s strategic business unit Byggprojektering has developed the digital tool Klimatdata Light to automate quantity calculations of carbon dioxide equivalents that are emitted in the construction stage. The tool is currently restricted to only calculating equivalents for building elements such as foundation and building frame, hence it does not produce complete climate declarations for the entire building. It is however planned to continue development of the function to be able to produce complete reports in the future. To be able to sell the automated carbon footprint reports produced by Klimatdata Light, WSP Sweden has identified a need to investigate how to motivate and design their business model.  The aim of this study was to investigate the national requirements for carbon footprint reports and what values that the reports could have for customers and engineering consulting firms, and thereafter design and propose possible business models for selling automated carbon footprint reports during the design phase in the construction process. The mapping was conducted through a literature study and two qualitative interview studies. The interviewees in the first interview study was seven steel hall manufacturers and in the second three employees at the engineering consulting company itself. In the first interview study two significant insights could be established: the interviewees did currently not work with environmental issues actively, but there was a belief that the subject is growing in importance and that there will be a need for consultancy in the future. From the second interview study with the employees, it was communicated that communication between the business units within the company is important when selling carbon footprint reports and that the reports could have an educational function both for the customer and within the own organisation. Collected materials from the interviews, combined with the literature study, was thereafter used to design two different types of business models. What the business models have in common is that they both are based on the same business model structure earlier used in industrial building.  In the first business model the automated carbon footprint report is meant to be sold for a fixed price and meet the need for customers who just want to fulfil the upcoming national demand. In the second business model on the other hand, the carbon footprint report is meant to be offered free of charge and included in a larger offering concept where the customer is offered a range of products and services in addition to the report. The underlying question that has been fundamental to this study is how the business model will look like for automated functions within the construction industry overall in the future. In what ways could you motivate the price for an automated function, which used to be paid for by the hour? This study gives the reader insights with that question in mind since automation and the questions automation arises is a growing topic within the industry.