
Green versus green: paths to effective environmental assessment
Several hundred billion euros will be invested in fossil-free technologies and production processes in northern Sweden in the coming years. Industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are ready, but many believe that environmental legislation risks getting in the way. Many of the companies need environmental permits that regulate the impact of their activities on the local environment, but the permit processes often take a long time and companies are unsure how the legislation will apply to their activities.
This project examines how the environmental assessment of various activities can be carried out in a way that regulates the environmental impact as effectively as possible, but without jeopardizing the investments that are currently necessary for the climate transition. Previous studies show that environmental assessment has also been a barrier for small and medium-sized enterprises.
– "Several SMEs are subject to permits and may have limited resources to cope with an unpredictable permit process. Others are instead indirectly affected because they are subcontractors to a larger company. In many cases, the large industrial companies account for a high proportion of the small company's turnover," says Patrik Söderholm, Professor of Economics.
A sub-study investigated how small subcontractors to a large mining company were affected by the uncertainty surrounding the environmental permits for mining activities over a three-year period. The study found that the most negative effect was a reduction in growth opportunities due to the uncertainty making it more difficult to hire staff.
The results show that there are several important aspects of effective review. In particular, the researchers show that provisional permit conditions, which give companies time to identify and develop effective environmental protection measures, can often play an important role in avoiding deadlocks. This allows the authorities to impose tough requirements without jeopardizing companies' investment plans.
– It is also important that the licensing authorities (e.g. county administrative boards) and companies work towards a greater consensus on how the various provisions of environmental legislation should be interpreted in different sectors. This increases predictability, which is particularly important when new technology is introduced," says Kristoffer Sundström, PhD student in economics.
The research also shows, partly based on historical lessons, that an appropriately designed environmental assessment can be an important catalyst for innovation in the climate and environmental field. At the same time, large industrial companies are dependent on smaller ones. It is often in the small companies that new ideas are born, and then perhaps tested in the larger operations.
In the continued work, the analysis of how environmental assessment can be designed and implemented so as not to become a barrier in industry's climate transition will be deepened, with a special focus on how it affects the relationship between small and large companies in the development of new green technology.
Want to know more about the research or get in touch with the team?
Contact:
- Patrik Söderholm, Professor
Meet our PhD student, Kristoffer Sundström External link, opens in new window.
Watch on youtube (in Swedish)
Updated: