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- Söderholm, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Regulation and Competitiveness in the Mining Industry : Permitting Processes in Finland, Sweden and Russia
- 2015
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Ingår i: Resources policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4207 .- 1873-7641. ; 43, s. 130-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates to what extent and under what circumstances environmental regulation can be designed and implemented to jointly achieve positive environmental outcomes and sustained competitive strength in the mining industry. First the paper provides a conceptual analysis of the impacts of environmental regulations on mining competitiveness, including a discussion of how the environmental-competitiveness trade-off can be affected by various regulatory design and implementation strategies. Methodologically we distinguish between the flexibility, predictability and stringency of the regulations, and in a second step these analytical concepts are illustrated in the empirical context of the environmental permitting processes in Finland, Sweden and Russia. An important result is that in these countries there has been a lack of timeliness and predictability in the environmental regulations (e.g., uncertainty about the interpretation of the legislation, delays due to appeals etc.). These problems can in part be addressed by, for instance: (a) allocating more resources to the regulatory authorities; (b) establishing more consensus-based regulatory interactions between the mining industry and the authorities; and (c) introducing more standardized procedures and road maps for environmental impact assessments, permit applications and not the least for how to interpret specific legal rules in the context of mining.
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| 2. |
- Söderholm, Kristina, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Managing the 1970s energy crises in a state-owned mining company : strategies pursued by the Swedish iron ore producer LKAB
- 2018
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Ingår i: Mineral Economics. - : Springer. - 2191-2203 .- 2191-2211. ; 31:1-2, s. 179-190
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we analyze the strategies adopted by the Swedish state-owned iron ore mining producer LKAB in response to the 1970s energy crises, i.e., soaring energy input expenses in combination with stagnating demand for iron ore. The analysis builds on a unique empirical material, e.g., minutes from board meetings, over an extended time period. This permits in-depth analyses of the two main strategies pursued by LKAB at the time: (a) securing energy supplies (as well as output sales) through upstream investments in uranium and coal mining; and (b) engaging in own R&D to enable energy-saving measures and product development. While the LKAB experiences tend to support the notion that investments supporting broader societal goals, although at the expense of firm productivity, may be likely in the presence of strong state government involvement, they also show that state-owned mineral enterprises can be highly innovative and competitive following investments in internal R&D. Specifically, LKAB’s R&D contributed to significant product development and energy savings, the latter occurring both in the company’s own pelletizing process as well as in the processes of key customers (i.e., the steel companies). The paper concludes by highlighting a number of important lessons for contemporary energy transitions in the process industries.
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| 4. |
- Söderholm, Kristina, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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The transition to chlorine free pulp revisited : Nordic heterogeneity in environmental regulation and R&D collaboration
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 165, s. 1328-1339
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development paths leading to the transition to cleaner bleaching technologies in the pulp industry. It devotes particular attention to the key features of the Swedish transition, but also compares this to the Finnish experiences. The empirical investigation builds on an analytical framework highlighting the conditions under which pollution regulations can provide efficient incentives for deep emission reductions at industrial plants. Existing and new archive material, including not least comprehensive license trial acts for Swedish pulp mills over an extended time period, are studied. Based on this historical analysis our findings contradict previous literature, the latter emphasizing that pressures from consumers and the public were the most significant driving forces behind the adoption ofeand innovation inealternative bleaching technologies during the late 1980s. Instead, this paper asserts, the green pulp transition was characterized by regulation-induced technological change and was made possible by long history of industry-wide cooperation in environmental R&D. Furthermore, while previous research has emphasized the leading role of the Nordic countries in green pulp innovation, we identify a number of profound differences between Finland and Sweden. These emerge from various national contexts in terms of, for instance, industry structures and strategies, political cultures, and regulatory styles. Finally, at a more general level the paper provides a few policy implications for supporting the ongoing transition towards a forest-based bioeconomy.
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| 5. |
- Söderholm, Patrik, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Regulation in the Pulp and Paper Industry : Impacts and Challenges
- 2019
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Ingår i: Current Forestry Reports. - : Springer. - 2198-6436. ; 5, s. 185-198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose of ReviewIn this article, we review existing research addressing how environmental regulations have influenced the pulp and paper industry. These regulations appear in different forms and designs and address air and water pollution as well as climate change. The paper devotes particular attention to how various regulations have affected sustainable technological change and the prospects for inducing deep emission reductions without jeopardizing industrial competitiveness and future investments.Recent FindingsExperiences from key pulp and paper regions, not least the Nordic countries, suggest that gradually tightening performance standards have contributed to radical reductions in emissions, e.g., chlorine compounds and biological oxygen demanding agents, and without imposing excessive compliance costs. This outcome can largely be attributed to how the regulations have been designed—and implemented—in practice, as well as to the presence of efficient and legitimate institutions. Long-term emission reduction targets, in combination with extended compliance periods and trustful firm-regulator relationships, contributed to radical technological innovation and permitted radical emission reductions without excessive compliance costs. The development of alternative bleaching technologies is an apt example. In contrast, the impact of carbon pricing schemes, including the EU emissions trading scheme, on carbon dioxide emissions reductions and related technological change in the pulp and paper industry has however been modest. Self-regulation, certification, and community pressure have exerted relatively modest influences on the environmental performance of the industry.SummaryImportant avenues for future research are identified. These include the following: (a) comparative research on how policy mixes in various countries have influenced environmental compliance and innovation; processes; (b) future studies of environmental regulations, their design and implementation, in emerging pulp and paper producing countries, not least China; and (c) research on how environmental regulations can affect ongoing restructurings in the industry towards a broader palette of products in biorefineries.
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| 9. |
- Bergquist, Ann-Kristin, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable energy transition: the case of the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1973–1990
- 2015
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Ingår i: Energy Efficiency. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1570-646X .- 1570-6478. ; 9:5, s. 1179-1192
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- By employing historical case study methodology, this paper examines the transition towards renewable energy and increased energy efficiency in the Swedish pulp and paper industry (PPI) during the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1973 and 1990, CO2 emissions were cut by 80 % in this sector, and this was mainly achieved by substituting away from oil to biofuels in the form of byproducts from the pulp manufacturing process. The CO2 reduction was also a result of energy efficiency improvements and increased internal production of electricity through back-pressure turbine power generation. Sweden was highly dependent on oil at the advent of the first Oil Crisis in 1973, and the increased oil prices put pressure on the Swedish government and the energy-intensive PPI to reduce this oil dependency. Of central importance for the energy transition was the highly collaborative strategy of the PPI, both internally among pulp mills as well as between the sector as a whole and the corporatist Swedish state administration. The Swedish government chose a proactive strategy by emphasizing knowledge management and collaboration with the industry along with the substitution of internal biofuels for oil. The transition was also characterized by a strong focus on unutilized potentials in the PPI; a previous waste problem now could be transformed into energy savings and improved energy efficiency. Energy taxes and fees also played an important role in Swedish energy policy during the 1970s and the 1980s. All in all, the study illustrates the central role of governments and their ability to push industrial sectors into new technological pathways through a wide palette of mutually reinforcing policy instruments. The results further point at the importance of a more holistic understanding of the interplay between different policies and their impacts in the longer run.
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| 10. |
- Bergquist, Ann-Kristin, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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The Greening of the Pulp and Paper Industry: Sweden in Comparative Perspective.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Technological Transformation in the Global Pulp and Paper Industry 1800–2018. Comparative Perspectives.. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319949611 ; , s. 65-87
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since the 1960s, the pulp and paper industry (PPI) has developed from being considered one of the greatest polluters of the twentieth century to an industry that is in the lead in the transition towards a more sustainable, bio-based economy. This chapter covers the environmentally driven transformation of the PPI by focusing on the transition in one country, namely Sweden, which has pioneered parts of this transition. The chapter illustrates that the overall transition towards cleaner and more energy efficient production technologies is the result of long-term and incremental processes, starting in the early twentieth century. The development gained momentum with the environmental awaking in the 1960s followed by stricter environmental regulations, while the oil crisis in the 1970s pushed for energy substitution of oil with biofuels. Unlike the PPI in countries like Finland and the US, the Swedish PPI aimed at in-plant process changes rather than end-of-pipe technologies to control pollution from the start. This strategy, along with extensive industry wide R&D collaborations, enabled Swedish firms to take the lead in developing elemental chlorine free (ECF) and total chlorine free (TCF) pulp from the late 1980s. Furthermore, from the mid-1980s green consumerism came to function as an additional driver, while the issue of climate change was an impetus to the development of cellulose based biofuels in the twenty-first century.
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