Viable Cities Insight 2025:1 provides a brief analysis of climate-smart transport and mobility interventions outlined in the Climate City Contract 2030 signed in December 2024. This is the first insight in a series.
A study that has taken a closer look at how collaboration between municipalities and business in the climate transition is expressed in 2030 cities.
Viable Cities Report 2025:2
In Sweden, several researchers have worked closely together with cities and national innovation actors to support them in steering sustainability transitions by contributing to learning from practice, increased reflexivity and helping to identify evidence about system change. This role got the name of 'följeforskare' (literal translation from Swedish is 'following' or 'companion' researcher). Together we will explore what makes "följeforskning" special in terms of benefits and challenges, why it is especially relevant in accelerating the transition to climate neutral cities, and what role it can play for both cities and national support platforms.
Around the world, many actors are mobilizing to create sustainable places, visits and events. Several of the cities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative explore how events can be engines for the transition to climate neutrality. Welcome to Climate Breakfast #34.
Almost every city in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative has a higher education institution. How can they contribute to the climate transition, beyond research and education? During Climate Breakfast 33, we explore how higher education institutions can accelerate their contribution to the climate transition by collaborating in new ways.
In Umeå, efforts are being made to attract workers through Gateway Umeå based on lifestyle aspects and sustainability, among other things.
Dacapo Mariestad is a municipal education platform that offers vocational training courses under its own auspices and university and college courses in collaboration with other actors. It works actively to contribute to the goals of the 2030 Agenda, including through training in construction management and nature-based services.
Gothenburg is actively working on skills supply linked to climate change, including in the battery and automotive industries. Together with regional actors, they have also created the MoveToGothenburg platform to attract labor.
An industrial campus will be created in Trollhättan as part of the work on skills supply and attracting talent. A letter of intent has been signed between University West, Innovatum Science Park, the municipal company Kraftstaden and Polestar.
Nacka has developed Vercity - an enabler to strengthen the supply of skills and continuous learning to meet the need for skills in areas such as climate change.
In the report The need for green competences, Stockholm describes the city's interests towards education and training providers but also shows the responsibility it takes itself.
Sting Bioeconomy will help develop innovations in the area of forest-based bioeconomy and increase the number of fast-growing companies in the area. The initiative is a collaboration between Paper Province, Region Värmland, Karlstad Municipality and Sting.
Sting Bioeconomy will help develop innovations in the area of forest-based bioeconomy and increase the number of fast-growing companies in the area. The initiative is a collaboration between Paper Province, Region Värmland, Karlstad Municipality and Sting.
Navet is one of the Climate Neutral Borås partners and often hosts various initiatives such as dialogues with young citizens.
In the spring of 2023, 2047 Science Center conducted a number of hackathons with students in year 2 of upper secondary school within the framework of the work with Climate Neutral Borlänge 2030. The students' assignment was based on one of the transport challenges identified by the innovation team for Climate Neutral Borlänge 2030.
Behind the Urban ICT Arena are the City of Stockholm, Region Stockholm, KTH, ABB, Ericsson, IBM, RISE and Stockholm University. Based on needs from public organisations , they develop new solutions for sustainable cities.
In Kristianstad, Krinova is a partner in the effort to become a climate-neutral city, including a focus on food.
Barkarby Science's activities are based on the global sustainability goals in Agenda 2030 and focus on the following four program areas: the climate-smart city, the circular city, the mobility of the future and the attractive city.
The Lund Innovation District connects environments and actors to create synergies and to support a more complex transformation with interdisciplinary needs. Cultural and creative industries have an important role in the work on a digital, sustainable and green transition. The Future by Lund innovation platform has been tasked with leading the co-creation work.
STUNS - The Foundation for Collaboration between Universities in Uppsala, business and Society is a collaboration platform based on Uppsala County's regional development strategy and the Agenda 2030 strategy.
Helsingborg Innovation District (HEIDI) is the name of the city's new innovation district that is now taking shape in Oceanhamnen. The aim is to create a common arena that promotes innovation collaborations for new smart solutions and business ideas, not least linked to the climate challenges facing the city.
Science Park Borås is a partner in Climate Neutral Borås and contributes by formulating and implementing joint commitments with the aim of giving a boost to the joint work on sustainable community development, which is more than technical innovation.
Växjö cooperates with other municipalities, companies and science parks within the framework of Sustainable Småland.
Gothenburg Green City Zone is a zone in Gothenburg where the transportation system of the future is developed and tested. The goal is a completely new emission-free transportation system in terms of new technology in both vehicles and infrastructure.
Umeå Energi has initiated a collaboration with Liquid Wind to establish an electrofuel plant. By capturing carbon dioxide from the Dåva CHP plant, Umeå Energi is taking a further step towards circular flows in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The initiative also hopes to attract other companies.
Eskilstuna Logistik och Etablering AB is a municipal company that provides opportunities for entrepreneurship with a focus on sustainable logistics solutions. Together with the municipality's business unit, they jointly drive the development, business and operation of the business.
Örebro supports and finances initiatives within the Real Estate Network that are aimed at people in the region who work with energy and environmental issues in the real estate industry. It offers study visits, experience meetings and training courses for our members and works actively to achieve our climate goals.
In Kalmar, company visits are carried out and the agenda includes climate issues and the municipality's ambitions to become climate neutral by 2030.
Kristianstad has a large agricultural sector and food industry. Therefore, the initiative More carbon in the soil - local collaboration on carbon storage in agricultural land has been launched to increase carbon storage in the soil and at the same time strengthen a long-term and competitive food system.
The climate workshop is a curated process for creating new ways to talk to each other - companies and municipalities - about the journey towards a climate-neutral Umeå. The methodology has been developed together with RISE and now more companies are invited and the method is exported to several cities in Sweden.
In May 2023, Borlänge held a successful business day focusing on the climate transition, with more than 150 businesses participating.
In Mariestad, they use games and nudging in their citizen dialogue. In one of the games, companies can participate and describe how they work with climate adaptation, which also gives them great exposure to potential customers, partners and employees.
The Ystad Model is a concrete guide that shows step by step how companies can work to create conditions for business development, by seeing the SDGs as a smorgasbord for new business.
Competitive companies in climate-neutral cities - how do we create good conditions for this? During this Climate Breakfast, we explore the collaboration between municipalities andbusiness and how synergies can be created.
In Climate Breakfast 28, we explore with our guests the different ways in which companies can engage in climate transition of cities and what are the success factors behind it. For example, in many 2030 cities, the municipality and companies are part of local Climate City Contract.
How can students accelerate the transition to Climate Neutral Cities 2030? At Climate Breakfast 27, STUNS in Uppsala participates, which has long worked to develop the collaboration concept Stories, a concept where students within the framework of their studies solve sustainability challenges.
The first climate breakfast of the fall was about the climate transition with a focus on schools. Fossil museum as a school exercise and climate hack were discussed. We were hosted by Roger Hildingsson at Lund University, Sara Vikström Olsson from the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and Jonas Franzén at the Gothenburg Region.
