Carbon Neutrality 2045 : A case study of how producing companies in Sweden can succeed in becoming carbon neutral through public procurement of construction projects

Sammanfattning: Today, the construction sector accounts for one-fifth of Sweden's climate impact. The Swedish Parliament has decided that Sweden should have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. This is happening at a time when Sweden is constantly growing. In 2025, we will have 11 million inhabitants. That means hundreds of thousands of new homes, more infrastructure and more public facilities. It is therefore critical that the building and construction sector collectively adjust its approach to climate neutrality. To achieve this vision, it is essential that construction companies drive the work throughout their value chain with a holistic focus across all environmental areas, from design and production to demolition. If Sweden is to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, public procurement must take the lead and become fossil-free or climate-neutral within a few years Construction and real estate contracts, together with civil engineering and infrastructure, account for a significant proportion of public purchases in Sweden, and what is built today will affect nature, the environment and people for a long time to come. One way for Sweden to achieve these goals is to set more and higher requirements in public procurement.  Public clients have a major influence through the choices they make in their investments and construction contracts to achieve the vision of climate neutrality. When a public works procurement is carried out, the contractor usually has limited possibilities to make decisions that have a significant impact on the CO2e emissions of the project. This means that the contractor is critically dependent on the climate requirements set by the clients in order for the company itself to achieve its climate targets. The overall aim of this study was thus to contribute to a better understanding of how public clients currently reason - and what can be done to bring about a positive shift - in order for public clients to set higher climate requirements in construction contracts and in the production of dwellings.  This scientific study is conducted as a qualitative case study at Skanska Sweden, where an abductive research approach has been used for data collection. The study used a quantitative method in the form of a questionnaire survey where 16 municipal housing and real estate companies from the western geography of Sweden participated as respondents in the form of their respective Chief Executive Officer.  The results of the study highlighted the opportunities that the Paris Agreement and other climate policy measures have brought to actors in the Swedish building and construction sector. Furthermore, the results show that each actor in the construction sector needs to work strategically to set their own climate targets and implement them throughout their operations, with production methods that enable the use of materials with low or net zero climate impact and increase their reuse in order to succeed in achieving Sweden's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2045. The municipal housing and property companies that participated as respondents have shown a willingness to act sustainably, this is considered to be very helpful for the development of sustainable public procurement in Sweden, these are also consistent with what previous research has found. There is a need for collaboration between municipal housing and property companies and the construction sector where, by identifying the specific challenges faced by municipalities, it is recommended that they set higher climate and competence requirements in public procurement and allow these to permeate the entire value value chain with systematic monitoring for a successful transition.