Potential for the Green ICT innovation system A case study from the Gothenburg region

Transcription

1 Potential for the Green ICT innovation system A case study from the Gothenburg region Master of Science Thesis EMMA FRANZÉN DAVID WALLGREN Department of Technology Management and Economics Division of Technology and Society CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Göteborg, Sweden, 2010 Report No. E 2010:023

2 MASTER S THESIS E 2010:023 Potential for the Green ICT innovation system A case study from the Gothenburg region EMMA FRANZÉN DAVID WALLGREN Tutors, Chalmers: Ann-Sofie Axelsson, Gustav Sjöblom Tutor, Business Region Göteborg: Erik-Wilhelm Graef Behm Department of Technology Management and Economics Division of Technology and Society CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Gothenburg, Sweden 2010

3 Potential for the Green ICT innovation system A case study from the Gothenburg region EMMA FRANZÉN DAVID WALLGREN EMMA FRANZÉN, DAVID WALLGREN, 2010 Master s Thesis E 2010:023 Department of Technology Management and Economics Division of Technology and Society Chalmers University of Technology SE Göteborg, Sweden Telephone: + 46 (0) Chalmers Reproservice Göteborg, Sweden 2010

4 Potential for the Green ICT innovation system A case study from the Gothenburg region EMMA FRANZÉN DAVID WALLGREN The Department of Technology Management and Economics Chalmers University of Technology Summary The environmental awareness in the industry is increasing and one big motivation is the cost savings that can be realised with more efficient and less resource consuming products and solutions. Along with this development, ICT (Information and communication technologies) have matured and are more and more integrated in companies different business activities. This development has led to the rise of the concept Green ICT to use ICT for reducing environmental impact. The Gothenburg region is characterised by large transport and logistics companies with the automotive manufacturers and the port. In addition there are now newer industries such as the ICT sector that are seen as an area of advance, with Ericsson and Volvo IT together with many smaller firms that drive innovation within ICT. The objective of this study was to investigate, with support from Business Region Göteborg, whether Green ICT could be an area of growth in the region. To fulfil the objective, the companies within the regional ICT sector that work with Green ICT were mapped according to relevant categories. The mapping along with 30 qualitative interviews was input for an analysis of the Green ICT innovation system. The analysis was done according to a framework presented by Bergek et al (2008) for studying the functional dynamics of a technological innovation system. The conclusion is that Green ICT has good potential to be a growth area for the Gothenburg region, however as a general field it is difficult to find indicators that the Gothenburg region should have more growth potential compared to other regions. A number of interesting sectors that could interact with each other and have growth potential were identified. These are vehicles, logistics and smart grid ; buildings, energy and smart grid ; e-business, warehouse systems and logistics ; and companies working to decrease the environmental impact from ICT. If proceeding with creating a network or cluster organisation, the recommendation is that the network could include a wide range of Green ICT, while for a cluster organisation it would probably be best to cooperate with or organise under existing cluster organisations. Green ICT is quite fragmented and not a refined technological field, and the term Green ICT is difficult to define due to the breadth of the field, leading to difficulties to analyse the field with the technological innovation system framework. Still, the method provided valuable insights in the dynamics of the industry. Keywords: Green ICT, technological innovation system, Gothenburg region, growth, cluster

5 Preface The following report is a Master Thesis at the Department of Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. The initiative for the thesis was taken by IT Center West at Business Region Göteborg (BRG) in their work with mapping the Green ICT companies in the Gothenburg region and assessing the potential to form a future cluster organisation within the field. The thesis was announced in cooperation with Miljöbron. The study started in November 2009 and was finished in April We would like to thank our tutors, PhD Gustav Sjöblom and PhD Ann-Sofie Axelsson at the Department of Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology, and Project Manager Erik-Wilhelm Graef Behm at IT Center West at BRG, for their guidance and support while conducting this thesis. Thanks to Torunn Renhammar and Helena Callstam at Miljöbron for handling the applications and initiating the contacts needed to start the thesis. We would also thank all the interviewees for taking their time and attention to answer our questions. Special thanks to Birger Ekengren, GREAT for inviting us to a panel discussion about Broadband Quality in Gothenburg and Thure Bergström and Gunnar Bokedal, Dataföreningen, for inviting us to the fair IT på framkanten. Gothenburg, April 2010 Emma Franzén & David Wallgren

6 Wordlist Acronyms CEO = Chief Executive Officer, the president of the company. CIO = Chief Information Officer, the manager responsible for ICT at the company. GIS = Geographic Information Systems. ICT = Information and Communication Technology (IT hardware, software, services and telecommunications equipment and services). ITS = Intelligent Transport Systems. SMEs = Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: Companies with 1-9 (micro), (small) or (medium) employees. TIS = Technological Innovation System. Explanation of words Cloud computing = Run software as a service through the Internet. Greenwashing = A term often used when there is a discussion about if companies are green or just promoting themselves as green, when it actually is environmentally unsustainable. The term comes from green and whitewashing, where green means environmentally sound and whitewashing mean to conceal or gloss over wrongdoing. Lock-in = When customers are, from different reasons, dependent or locked-in to one vendor s product and services and a change of vendor requiring considerable switching costs. Rebound effect = When efficiency gains stimulate new demand that counterbalance or even outweigh positive environmental gains (Arnfalk et al, 2004) Triple helix = Cooperation and interaction between industry, research and politics. Virtualisation = E.g. using software to virtualise servers. I.e. that many virtual servers could be run from one physical server.

7 Table of contents 1 Introduction and background: the rise of Green ICT Environmental awareness Maturity and development of ICT Green ICT The Gothenburg region as a case study Industrial and business characteristics of the Gothenburg region Business Region Göteborg Objective and problem definition Delimitations Sustainability Outline of the report The theory of clusters and innovation systems as drivers of regional growth Clusters according to Porter Critical views of the cluster concept Innovation systems Functional dynamics of technological innovation system (TIS) Methodology Data collection In-depth interviews Short interviews Additional interviews Mapping of Green ICT companies Classification of Green ICT Mapping procedure Innovation System Analysis Objective of the Innovation System Analysis Step 1: Defining the TIS (Technological Innovation System) in focus Step 2: Identifying the structural components of the TIS Step 3: Mapping the functional pattern of the TIS Step 4: Assessing the functionality of the TIS and setting process goals Step 5: Identify inducement and blocking mechanisms Step 6: Specify key policy issues Mapping of Green ICT companies in the Gothenburg region Delimitation of the innovation system Overview of structure of companies... 18

8 4.3 Description of activities in the different categories in the innovation system ICT use E-business Virtual mobility ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) Waste management Energy supply Facility management Process management Thoughts from companies about forming a Green ICT network Innovation System Analysis Functional mapping Knowledge development and diffusion Influence on the direction of search Entrepreneurial experimentation Market formation Legitimation Resource mobilisation Development of positive externalities Assessing the functionality of the TIS and setting process goals Inducement and blocking mechanisms Inducement mechanisms Blocking mechanisms Specify policy issues Discussion The term Green ICT Cluster organisation/network within the Green ICT field If there is a cluster organisation/network Method discussion Conclusion Recommendations Suggestions for further investigation References Appendix A: Interview questions and interviewees Appendix B: Preliminary mapping Appendix C: Incentives and blocking mechanisms, ranking matrix

9 Figure 1: Level of aggregation focused upon in the different approaches of innovation systems... 7 Figure 2: Methodological process used in the study...10 Figure 3: Overview of sectors in the studied Green ICT TIS...18 Figure 4: ICT use, overview of companies...19 Figure 5: E-business, overview of companies...21 Figure 6: Virtual mobility, overview of companies...22 Figure 7: Intelligent Transport Systems, overview of companies...23 Figure 8: Waste management, overview of companies...26 Figure 9: Energy supply, overview of companies...27 Figure 10: Facility management, overview of companies...28 Figure 11: Process management, overview of companies...29 Figure 12: Number of respondents interested in network within Green ICT (In-depth interviews, companies)...31 Figure 13: Interest from companies in cooperation within Green ICT (short interviews)...31 Figure 14: Knowledgebase of Green ICT...33 Figure 15: Pressures and incentives influencing the direction of search...36 Figure 16: Market formation characteristics...39 Figure 17: Arrangement of terms related to Green ICT...42 Figure 18: Most critical blocking mechanisms mapped to the functions...47 Table 1: Largest ICT companies in the Gothenburg region... 3 Table 2: Categories of Green ICT...14 Table 3: Summary of issues affecting legitimation...41

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11 1 Introduction and background: the rise of Green ICT Could you manage living one day without information and communication technologies (ICT)? The awareness and usage of ICT has grown in recent years and numerous new areas of application have sprung up across all industries. One area of application is using ICT to reduce the environmental impact, commonly described as Green ICT. This report consists of an analysis of Green ICT as a regional innovation system in the Gothenburg region. By that we mean: How are the preconditions for Green ICT as a business area creating growth in the Gothenburg region? Interviews with people in leading companies were used as the main tool to achieve an up-to-date understanding needed to give recommendations. We argue that the rise of the concept Green ICT and the underlying activities is the result of a convergence of two overarching trends: the increasing maturity and ubiquity of ICT applications combined with an increase in environmental awareness which was given further impetus by a number of events in Environmental awareness The drivers for companies environmental awareness have changed over time. In 1960 the drivers were environmental laws, a couple of years later the companies took on more environmental responsibility of their own. There was an increased interest in environmental questions in the public debate which made the companies realise that they needed to work more sustainable. In the late 1990s businesses realised that they had a social responsibility and concepts as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Global Sustainability was used. Environmental awareness was more prioritised, which can be seen in the increased number of environmental certifications, environmental policies and environmental reports. (Tillväxtverket, 2006) Environmental awareness has been in the limelight since the autumn of 2006, and we believe that it is here to stay rather than a transient phenomenon. In the wake of the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change and Al Gore s 2007 movie An Inconvenient Truth was released, a fundamental reassessment has taken place, with environmental sustainability as a major societal goal as well as commercial opportunity (although we shall argue below that the latter has not been fully realised). The emergence of Green ICT as a concept dates to the same period. At the same time Volvo IT Innovation Centre was established with Greener by IT as an early theme, as observed by the technology research and advisory firm Gartner when presenting Green IT as one of the top ten strategic technologies for 2008 (Gartner, 2007). Environmental sustainability has become a necessity for profit and financial viability. Companies want to avoid environmental scandals and get a bad image. According to the Swedish Growth Agency, having a strong environmental profile is a competitive advantage (Tillväxtverket, 2006). The investment of venture capital in environmental technology or cleantech was the highest ever in the first quarter of 2010, providing further evidence of the current interest in the links between technological investment and the rise of environmental awareness (The Cleantech Group, 2010). 1

12 1.2 Maturity and development of ICT ICT technologies, products and services have matured and are now used in all business areas. Functional outsourcing and Cloud computing allows more flexible solutions and easier integration. Web 2.0 and social media presents new ways of working with ICT (Movin & Zandelin, 2009). ICT have also been used in applications and systems with the aim to decrease the environmental impact in different ways. As described, services using Cloud computing are becoming more widespread. Companies providing such solutions and services are experiencing that the customers have matured. However, there are customers that do not understand the environmental implications possible by taking advantage of the technology, such as being able to use less powerful and energyefficient computers as well as a way to reduce travelling. There will be a generational gap, with a new generation that have been living with ICT and technology almost their whole life. Many simple and easy-to-access solutions exist today on a personal level e.g. internet banking. This generation expects that it will be as simple and easy to use ICT when working at companies, and will demand new technological and ICT solutions. Sweden and the other Nordic countries are compared to the rest of Europe well prepared to benefit from their ICT maturity (EIU, 2004). The ICT infrastructure is highly developed as well as the ICT enablers. ICT enablers are factors such as the government support for ICT development that supports the country s ability to benefit from ICT Green ICT In Sweden the debates on the convergence of ICTs and environmental awareness have taken place under the banner Green ICT, as a general description of how organisations can use ICT in a more environmentally sustainable way. Initially, ICT was considered as a source of environmental degradation owing mainly to the energy consumption of servers and resources. However, the promise of Green ICT lies in the way in which ICT can be used to decrease companies and the society s environmental impact using a wide range of applications such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for route planning of transports, Smart grid, traffic control, more energy efficient buildings/estates, telephone and video conferences instead of travelling, instead of mail, computers and servers that are more efficient than the old ones, change to flat screens since they use less energy, take care of the waste heat from the servers and computer rooms, etc. Besides reducing environmental impact, Green ICT is seen as a way to decrease costs for companies, gaining higher efficiency, new business opportunities and an image of being green. Until recently green ICT was only something that people talked about at conferences and seminars, now companies have started to see the benefit of it and have an interest in it (Movin & Zandelin, 2009). 1.3 The Gothenburg region as a case study While the rise of Green ICT is a generic process driven by more or less global transformations in technology and discourses, this thesis is a case study of the innovation system for Green ICT in a particular region, the Gothenburg region in West Sweden. The industrial and business 2

13 characteristics of the Gothenburg region are outlined in the following chapter, together with the roles of Business Region Göteborg and IT Center West Industrial and business characteristics of the Gothenburg region The Gothenburg region has a tradition of industry and commerce, and historically, in the 1970s, large industry companies as Volvo and SKF have employed a large share of the working population. The growth of high-tech, knowledge intensive companies has later characterised Gothenburg as a region with a high level of research, knowledge and quality as well as strong international orientation. For example, the Gothenburg region is now considered to be leading in Sweden within wireless technologies. The emphasis on wireless technologies is supported by the large presence of automotive industry and their need for such solutions. Still, the region is the only one of the big city regions in Scandinavia with a strong manufacturing industry. (Jansson et al, 2002) The strong presence of the automotive industry with Volvo and Saab as well as their subcontractors and consultants has largely affected the business climate in the Gothenburg region and its surroundings. The automotive industry has been the most severely affected by the financial crisis starting in The export industry is also important for the Gothenburg region, the Port of Gothenburg is a logistics hub for the whole of Scandinavia. Göteborgsandan, the Gothenburg spirit, can have many meanings. In the business world it often symbolises the extensive interaction between the political parties, universities and business in the Gothenburg region. Physical areas where different actors can meet, for example, Lindholmen Science Park, manifests the idea of open innovation. During the last three decades the industrial structure has strengthened through a deeper cooperation between the companies and the universities, resulting in a new industrial structure with companies in electronics, pharmaceutical and ICT. The ICT industry in the region consists of a few large companies and many small (see Table 1). In total there are ICT companies with employees in the Gothenburg region Business Region Göteborg Table 1: Largest ICT companies in the Gothenburg region. Employees Company Name Volvo Information Technology AB Ericsson AB TeliaSonera Sverige AB 470 Logica 390 Relacom AB 340 RUAG Aerospace AB 300 TeliaSonera AB 280 Jeppesen Systems 240 Sigma Solutions AB 240 Elan IT Resources AB In Gothenburg, public sector efforts to promote business development is mainly channelled through Business Region Göteborg (BRG), a non-profit company owned by the City of Gothenburg, with the mission of strengthening and developing trade and industry in the 13 3

14 municipalities 1 which constitute the Gothenburg region. BRG supports existing companies as well as helping international companies to establish businesses in the region. Because of the shipbuilding crisis in the 1970s there was an urgent need to not rely too much on one kind of business but rather promote a multitude of business areas. To support this idea the predecessor of BRG was founded in Within BRG, the project IT Center West was established in 1996 in order to create sustainable growth within ICT and make the Gothenburg region into one of Europe s leading ICT regions. They run two projects right now: Invest ICT and Green ICT. Eventually IT Center West would like to create a competence centre around Green ICT and show that the Gothenburg region is one of the leading regions in Europe within Green ICT. This thesis plays an important part in examining the preconditions for this endeavour. 1.4 Objective and problem definition The objective of this report is to investigate whether Green ICT is an area of growth in the Gothenburg region. The above objective is made operational through the following questions: Who are the stakeholders in the Gothenburg region, in what sectors are they active and how are these stakeholders related to each other? What are the dynamics of the innovation system, if studied as a technological innovation system? How well known is the term and the meaning of Green ICT among the stakeholders and what values do they associate with the concept? Is the technological innovation system approach an appropriate one for evaluating the area? Is Green ICT an adequate term to use when continuing the work? 1.5 Delimitations The delimitations that have been considered are: The analysis is from an innovation perspective and not from a user perspective. Only currently existing companies are considered. Only environmental and economical aspects are considered, not the social aspect of the sustainability concept (see chapter 1.5.1) The aim of the study is not to prove/disapprove companies claims that certain ICT solutions are environmentally sustainable but rather to assess the business potential of the field as a whole Sustainability The word sustainable in this context means that it should be sustainable from environmental, economic and social point of view. It is often talked about how good or bad things are for the environment. One should know that for example technical things such as computers, servers, telephones et cetera can never be good for the environment since they have an environmental 1 Ale, Alingsås, Gothenburg, Härryda, Kungsbacka, Kungälv, Lerum, Lilla Edet, Mölndal, Partille, Stenungsund, Tjörn, Öckerö 4

15 impact, but as an example, one computer can be better than another one from an environmental point of view. When the words sustainable and environmentally friendly are used in this report it does not mean that the product is good for the environment, it only means that it is a better option from an environmental point of view than another product. 1.6 Outline of the report To begin with, in chapter 1, some background information, objective, problem definition and the delimitations was presented. In chapter 2 the theory used for the study is presented. Chapter 3 describes the methods used for data collection, mapping of the companies and innovation system analysis. Chapter 4 contains the mapping of the companies and chapter 5 the analysis of the innovation system. In chapter 6 there is a discussion of the results and the method and in chapter 7 the report is concluded. Recommendations are given in chapter 8 and finally suggestions for further investigation are presented in chapter 9. 5

16 2 The theory of clusters and innovation systems as drivers of regional growth An important premise of modern thinking about innovation and growth is that the source of innovation is often not located inside a single firm, but rather in the interactions between the firm and other firms as well as the wider environment. In particular, the concepts of clusters and innovation systems have commonly been used to provide a more formal framework for the source of innovation. Michael Porter introduced and popularised the concept of clusters in industries. In the following, these concepts will be presented and discussed with a special focus on the functional dynamics perspective of the technological innovation system, which is chosen as a framework for the analysis. Organisations consisting of networks of companies that might be concentrated geographically and are working together in different ways are sometimes labeled clusters due to the cluster effects they want to create. The activities within such a cluster organisation might include meetings, seminars and workshops in order to strengthen regional brands, create business and in different ways promote the growth and innovation, as described above. The companies may then pay a fee to be a member of the cluster organisation in order to attend the activities. (Tillväxtverket, 2009) 2.1 Clusters according to Porter Porter (2000) defines a cluster as: a geographically proximate group of interconnected companies and associated institutions in a particular field, linked by commonalities and complementarities. The geographic scope of clusters ranges from a region, a state, or even a single city to span nearby or neighboring countries (e.g., southern Germany and Germanspeaking Switzerland). The geographic scope of a cluster relates to the distance over which informational, transactional, incentive, and other efficiencies occur Porter believes that big parts of the competition advantage for a company lies within the locality of their business unit and not within the company and their industry. In a cluster the sum of the total should be more than the sum of all different parts. There is a mixture of collaboration and competition within a cluster. A cluster should be formed by companies of all different sizes and also by representatives of significant constituencies. Companies from foreign countries can only be part of a cluster if they make enduring investments in a local presence.(porter, 2000) Critical views of the cluster concept Objections have been raised against the academic view of business clusters. Malmberg (2002) concludes in a literature review of cluster research that the definition of clusters is unclear and that cluster theories often are lacking support from empiric studies. The term cluster is criticised as having multiple definitions which complicate the analysis of clusters. Porter is given as an example, who is presenting clusters as primarily functionally related business, while in a later report defining clusters out of their geographic proximity. The second area of critique by Malmberg (2002) is regarding the lack of empiric studies to test the hypotheses laid out by Porter. For example the hypothesis that clusters show intense local 6

17 communication which leads to innovation. In opposition, he cites studies where the global communication and cooperation is deemed more important. Malmberg s conclusion is that it is not yet convincingly showed that geographic proximate clusters consisting of similar companies would be characterised by an intense interplay between the companies. From this was concluded that there could probably be more appropriate frameworks for meeting this thesis objective than the cluster concept. Moreover, no clear enough definition for clusters was found. Therefore, the Innovation system concept was examined. 2.2 Innovation systems Lindmark et al (2004) provide an overview on the development of innovations systems theory. Innovation theory is based in the idea that innovation does not only take place in the R&D function. Empiric research in the s showed that innovation rather is created in various functions, through interplay of related activities. When innovation is studied in a system of companies and other actors, as well as networks and institutions (norms, habits and rules) one can analyse the dynamics of the innovation system. These innovation systems can be delimited in several different but related ways. The view on innovation, whether only technical innovations or also e.g. organisational innovations are studied, may differ. There might be some differences in what elements that are studied. One common distinction is the level of aggregation, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Level of aggregation focused upon in the different approaches of innovation systems (adapted from Lindmark et al, 2004). 2.3 Functional dynamics of technological innovation system (TIS) Functional dynamics (Bergek et al, 2008) is an analysis framework used for studying technological innovation systems. It has been applied before in studies by Lindmark et al (2004) 7

18 on the Swedish telecom industry and Perez Vico & Oltander (2005) on the Swedish security sensor industry. The innovation system analysis is divided into six different steps that the analyst needs to take, but one does not need to take the steps in this order, it is rather an iterative process. Those steps are: 1. Starting-point; defining the TIS in focus 2. Structural components 3. Functions and Achieved functional pattern 4. Assessing functionality & setting process goals 5. Inducement & blocking mechanisms 6. Key policy issues The first step is to define the technological innovation system. In the second step the structural components, such as actors, networks and institutions, are recognised. The third step is divided into seven key processes: Knowledge development and diffusion, Influence on the direction of search, Entrepreneurial experimentation, Market formation, Legitimation, Resource mobilisation and Development of positive externalities, these will be explained in more detail later. In the fourth step one assess how well the functions are fulfilled. One also sets process goals to get the functional pattern one may want. In the fifth step one identifies inducement and blocking mechanisms for the functional pattern. The inducement mechanisms act as driving forces and the blocking mechanisms hinder the TIS to develop and grow. In the last step key policy issues are specified for the most critical blocking mechanisms. The structural components in the second step are described as: 1. Actors: Firms, universities and research institutes, venture capitalists, standardisation organisations etc. 2. Networks: Formal and informal networks as well as technological and political. 3. Institutions: Institutions in this framework means culture, norms, laws regulations and routines. As stated before, the third step was divided into seven key processes or functions, these are briefly described below: 1. Knowledge development and diffusion This process deals with the global knowledge base for the TIS and how well the local TIS performs according to it. It measures how it is changed over time and both the breadth and the depth is considered. It also considers how the knowledge is diffused within the system. 2. Influence on the direction of search There must be enough incentives and/or pressures to make companies interested in entering the TIS. The function Influence on the direction of search looks at the combined strength of incentives and pressures. To analyse it one can investigate growth potential (both for the already existing companies and also for new firms entering), the interest from leading customers, taxes and regulatory pressures. 8

19 3. Entrepreneurial experimentation If a TIS is strong there is much entrepreneurial experimentation and there is a need for experimentation to not stagnate. There will be many companies and inventions that will fail, but there will also be those that succeed. Here one might study how many new firms enter the market and the number of applications there is within the field. 4. Market formation Initially, there might not be any markets for the TIS. The markets are formed and developed through phases of nursing, bridging and mass markets. This function includes factors that may drive or hinder market formation. 5. Legitimation How big the social acceptance is and how well there is compliance with relevant institutions for the TIS are studied in this process. 6. Resource mobilisation How resources, such as human capital, financial capital and competence, mobilise in the TIS; that is what one is looking at in this process. 7. Development of positive externalities Positive externalities are effects of the dynamics in the TIS. The entry of new firms into an emerging TIS can create new opportunities. This function is not independent and can be seen as an indicator of the overall functionality of the TIS. It might be for example specialised suppliers. 9

20 3 Methodology The methodology for the study includes methods for data collection, mapping and innovation system analysis. The process used is summarised in Figure 2 and described in further detail in this chapter. 3.1 Data collection Figure 2: Methodological process used in the study. Interviews were selected as the main source of empirical data in the study, due to the availability to relevant persons and to get up-to-date information. Two kinds of interviews were performed, 30 in-depth interviews with mainly managers at ICT companies and 25 short interviews with companies at an ICT Fair (Easyfairs ICT 2010). Surveys were discussed as a complement to the interviews, but the interviews were judged to be sufficient for the objective chosen. Patent analysis as well as analysing statistics from different business fields would be difficult due to the variability of the Green ICT industry. Also, financial analysis without the understanding of the industry given from interviews was considered to be an inefficient use of resources. Since the data mostly was given from the companies themselves it is difficult to analyse the competitive landscape, but it was still considered the most appropriate source of information given the time and resources for the study In-depth interviews The sample selection, interviewing procedure and interview design is outlined and discussed in this chapter. Objective The objective of the in-depth interviews was to create an understanding for the field of Green ICT as well as collect material for the mapping and innovation system analysis. Interviewing procedure The interview time target was set to one hour. It was considered enough to get good answers to the questions, and also deemed reasonable to occupy the often busy interviewees. Since breadth was important, a too long time per interview would not allow enough interviews (a preliminary target of at least 20 interviews was set out at the start of the interviews phase). 10

21 The interviews were structured in four parts (for a full interview guide see Appendix A) to achieve a logical flow during the interview as well as for facilitating analysis. The four parts focused on: General information about the company, the role of the interviewee The environment, how the organisation works with environmental issues Clusters, networks, collaboration Future visions The interviews were conducted by two students, who asked about half of the questions each, and were taking notes when not asking questions. The audio for all the in-depth interviews was recorded to ensure the possibility to go back and listen. In total 30 in-depth interviews were performed. All of the companies approached agreed to participate in an interview, however in some cases we were recommended to interview another person than the one first contacted. 28 interviews had one interviewee, one interview had 2 interviewees and one interview had 3 interviewees. For 29 of the interviews, 2 persons were interviewing, one interview was done with 1 interviewer. 25 of the interviews were performed at the interviewed company, 4 interviews were done at other places and 1 by telephone. Sample selection The identified actors and formal networks were mapped according the main segments of Green ICT the companies served. Important was that the interviewees represented all identified business segments within Green ICT to get the breadth desired to capture the innovation system chosen. The aim was to approach CEOs and managers because they can to a higher extent represent the whole company. However, there is always the matter of different persons putting emphasis on different things. For the companies 7 CEOs, 13 managers in different roles (for example 2 CTOs, 2 marketing managers, 1 ITS manager) and 1 system developer were interviewed. The final selection of people to contact for interviews was made in cooperation with the thesis project s supervisor at BRG. Due to the time schedule present, accessibility was one important factor to consider. Therefore, persons that we were able to contact on seminars and events were prioritised over contacting previously unknown persons. Interview design Semi-structured interviews were used, with some room to detail with follow-up questions. According to Kvale & Brinkmann (2009), the degree of how the interviewer can verify and follow up the answers is crucial for the interview quality. The questions used for the in-depth interview are listed in Appendix A. Slightly altered questions were used when interviewing the cluster organisations, then with a higher emphasis on the cluster/networking part. After the first two interviews were performed, the interview design was evaluated and some parts were changed to improve the relevancy of questions and maximise the output of time spent. Data registration The audio recordings and written notes were used when transcribing the interviews in a word processor. Since the interviews needed to be verified by the interviewees and also since the analysis focus was not on the language, effort was made to get a good flow in the text rather than 11

22 to be completely accurate with the exact words stated. The objective of the registration process was to reflect on the interview content. Data reduction and analysis With the seven functions from the Functional dynamics framework (see chapter 2.3) as reference, the interviews were scanned to find statements that would correspond well to the individual functions. After breaking down the interesting data according to functions, and reducing the text, it was used as a basis for the analysis. The results from the analysis are presented in this report while, in line with common research practice, the raw data (interview transcriptions) as well as the reduced data are not published Short interviews The sample selection, interviewing procedure and interview design is outlined and discussed in this chapter. Objective The objective of the short interviews was to get an up-to-date overview of what the companies within the ICT sector worked with in the region: How their viewpoint was on Green ICT and how they perceived the IT industry s knowledge about the subject. The interviews also served as a quick way of gauging the interest from companies in cooperating within Green ICT. Interviewing procedure The interviews were performed at the EasyFairs ICT. The interviews were structured with 6 questions and took about 10 minutes each. One person asked questions and the other took notes. No recordings were made. Sample selection In total 25 companies were interviewed. The sample consisted both of companies identified as interesting beforehand by the project supervisor, as well as companies judged as interesting, by the writers of this report, while visiting the fair. The interviewers had for the short interviews little control over what person to talk to, which resulted in a wide variety of roles for the interviewees. The short interviews therefore have less reliability in reflecting the companies official view. However, by interviewing a wide variety of people, a breadth of different views could be captured. Interview design The questions were formulated so that they would be possible to answer in a brief way. A printed paper with the questions and a short summary of the project was handed out to each interviewee, so that he/she could read along while being asked the questions. The concepts Green ICT and clusters were not explained in beforehand to the interviewees to be sure that bias was avoided. Data reduction The answers from the interviews were collected in a condensed way in a spreadsheet. 12

23 3.1.3 Additional interviews In order to fill some knowledge gaps, additional interviews were made towards the end of the study. These interviews were of a more open structure, discussing around a particular subject that needed clarification or additional data. A total of 3 additional interviews were performed. 3.2 Mapping of Green ICT companies One of the objectives was to map the stakeholders in the innovation system. Since mostly firms were studied, the emphasis of the mapping was on the firms. The method of mapping was used since it was judged to be a good way to present the structure in a detailed thus accessible format. It gives the opportunity to easily show relations between the different sectors. To do the mapping a classification of the concept Green ICT was needed Classification of Green ICT Many of the different ways to classify and categorise Green ICT that has been presented in reports are based on what kinds of effects that are gained as well as in what product/service areas the ICTs are used. There is not one standard definition, but the different ways to classify it share many similarities. For this study a combination of effect and area classification was used. One popular distinction is Gartner (2006), which classifies it according to the effect on the society. The 1 st order concerns the environmental burden from ICT itself; to reduce the energy consumption, waste, hazardous substances and usage of scarce and non-renewable resources that originate from ICT. The 2 nd order concerns the application of ICT to reduce environmental load from other kinds of businesses. The 3 rd order concerns long-term socio-economic structural changes that impact energy productivity. Arnfalk et al (2009) states that the term Green ICT today is most commonly understood in the media and ICT industry as ICT with a low environmental load (1 st order or direct effects). They suggest that the meaning of the term should be expanded to include indirect and system effects (equivalent to Gartner s 2 nd and 3 rd order described above). Arnfalk et al. (2009) do actually choose not to refer to Green ICT at all, due to the risk of presenting the area in a too narrow or misleading way but rather uses ICT and the environment. According to Movin & Zandelin (2009) Green ICT has two general viewpoints: Environmental impact from ICT and reduced environmental impact by using ICT. In the context described above, the first viewpoint is equivalent to direct or 1 st order effects, while the second viewpoint is equivalent to the 2 nd and 3 rd order effects. Movin & Zandelin (2009) states that the potential to reduce the environmental impact by using ICT is greatest in the areas of reducing and making travel more efficient as well as for facilities. However they point out that the potential will depend on the type of company; if they use large facilities and/or travel a lot. The Climate Group (2008) uses the term Smart ICT and identifies the following areas as some of the biggest and most accessible areas for reducing CO 2 emissions; Smart motor systems, smart logistics, smart buildings and smart grids. The term Smart as presented by the report contains the meaning of Standardise, Monitor, Account, Rethink and Transform (as different ways to reduce carbon emissions) where Transform is equivalent to third order effects mentioned above. 13

24 Arnfalk et al (2004) specifies areas where ICT impacts the environment; ICT industry, ICT use, e- business, virtual mobility, virtual goods, waste management, intelligent transport systems, energy supply, facility management and production process management. As a basis for the mapping in this study, a combination of Gartner s (1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd order) and Arnfalk et al (2004) were used. The categories are shown in Table 2. Table 2: Categories of Green ICT Mapping procedure Identified companies were registered in a database along with applicable categories (Arnfalk, 2004). The actors within the Green ICT innovation system have been identified and analysed from the basis of: Gartner s 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd order of Green ICT Different categories/sectors where ICT may have an environmental impact (Arnfalk et al, 2004). For the Gothenburg region, the companies were found to be best presented in the following categories: 1. ICT use (1 st order) 2. E-business (2 nd and 3 rd order) 3. Virtual mobility (2 nd and 3 rd order) 4. ITS (2 nd and 3 rd order) 5. Waste management (2 nd and 3 rd order) 6. Energy supply/smart grid (2 nd and 3 rd order) 7. Facility management (2 nd and 3 rd order) 8. Process management (2 nd and 3 rd order) No companies were found solely in the Virtual goods category. It is difficult to pinpoint a company as solely replacing goods with digital goods, since the business is becoming more service-oriented. One example is e-invoice that is deemed to evolve more and more into e- business. There are however, solutions aimed at the private customer market as e-books and music for digital download. The impact of the ICT industry (environmental impact from production) was omitted. There are a number of large ICT equipment and infrastructure manufacturers such as Fujitsu, IBM and 14

25 Cisco that are present in the Gothenburg region. However, they do not have their production here, and was therefore considered to not be a central part of the innovation system. The category Production Process Management was expanded to include other ICT solutions and services that make companies processes more environmentally sustainable. One example of such a solution is Sustainability reporting systems. A preliminary mapping (see Appendix B) was done early in the study as a basis for the interview sample selection. This preliminary mapping was showed to the interviewees during the in-depth interviews as a means to validate and expand the mapping. The presentation of the mapping was later expanded with more details regarding the specific technologies and solutions for the respective categories (see chapter 4 for the full mapping). The mapping of Green ICT companies was used as a basis for step 1 and 2 of the Innovation system analysis (as described in chapter and 3.3.3). 3.3 Innovation System Analysis The methodology is based on the scheme of analysis proposed by Bergek et al (2008). The scheme consists of six steps. The steps do not imply that the analysis follows a chronological order; it is rather a process of iterative character Objective of the Innovation System Analysis To analyse the growth potential of the Green ICT field from a technological innovation system framework Step 1: Defining the TIS (Technological Innovation System) in focus There are, according to Bergek et al (2008) three types of choices to consider when defining the TIS. 1. Defining the TIS as a knowledge field or a product/artifact. The knowledge field Green ICT was given from the start. To further specify the knowledge field, the categorisation described in chapter was used. 2. The choice of breadth or depth. Since the knowledge field is wide, the study will be leaning towards breadth. 3. Spatial focus was given from the start as the Gothenburg region. Literature studies and the interviews served to further detail this point Step 2: Identifying the structural components of the TIS The structural components are actors, networks and institutions. To identify actors the following methods were used: o Consultation with supervisor at BRG o Internet searches BRG newsletters Google search, keywords Green ICT + region (e.g. municipality) Miljösverige 2 company catalogue

26 Incubator company catalogues o Snowball effect from showing the interviewees a preliminary mapping of actors o Attending events such as EasyFairs ICT, Viktoria Institute Forum and IT på framkanten. To identify networks and institutions interview questions were the primary method used along with consultation with supervisor at IT Center West. Since the TIS studied is an emerging/potential one there may be difficulties to identify the actors, networks and institutions. Therefore, an iterative process was used Step 3: Mapping the functional pattern of the TIS Interviews were the main tool along with consultations with supervisor for mapping the functional pattern. The interview questions were constructed to answer how and to what extent the seven functions are filled in the TIS. However, the answers need to be interpreted in terms of the industrial characteristics of Gothenburg region as well as the context of the interviewed companies. Knowledge development and diffusion Since the interviews are conducted with a broad range of actors, different kinds of knowledge development and diffusion will be captured. Questions regarding where the actors search knowledge regarding Green ICT was asked. Also, in analysing the company actors activities and operations within Green ICT knowledge development and diffusion could be made visible. Influence on the direction of search This can according to Bergek et al (2008) be measured qualitatively. Questions regarding beliefs in growth potential, pressure from regulations and interest from customers were used. Entrepreneurial experimentation To map this function, questions such as What new Green ICT ideas have your company/organization developed? were asked. Also the overall mapping of companies in the region will aid in analysing entrepreneurial experimentation. Market formation The actors was asked about what was needed for creating and sustaining a market for Green ICT products and solutions, and also what may hinder market development and if they consider international expansion. Legitimation The field of knowledge has to be considered legitimate in terms of social acceptance and compliance with relevant institutions (Bergek et al, 2008). Questions such as Has the recent focus on environmental/climate issues created new opportunities/competition for the company? were used to find out how the knowledge field s (Green ICT) TIS is aligned to legislation and the value base in the industry. Also of interest are which stakeholders that influence the legitimacy. Resource mobilisation Questions were asked regarding where the companies looked for recruiting employees as well as if there are resources (human, financial and other) available for future expansion. 16

27 Development of positive externalities For development of positive externalities entry of new firms is very important. This function can be seen as an indicator of the general dynamics of the classification since it works through reinforcement to all the other functions. (Bergek et al, 2008) One question used here was If Gothenburg becomes really strong on the Green ICT market, which effects might that have on your company/gothenburg? Step 4: Assessing the functionality of the TIS and setting process goals According to Bergek et al (2008) there are two ways to assess the functionality; how well the system is functioning. The first is to judge the TIS from what phase it currently is in. The second is to compare it to another TIS. The conclusions in report will mostly be based on an assessment of the current phase of the TIS. Depending on what phase the TIS is currently (mainly) in, that will affect what functions are most critical for the growth of the TIS. To assess the current phase a set of criteria set up by Bergek et al (2008) were used. This study is not a comparative one, but still there is a history in the Gothenburg region of working with strengthening business areas in a conscious way e.g. through cluster organisations, so comparisons between these and the studied knowledge field may be beneficial. Other Green ICT cluster organisations have not been found, therefore such a comparison is not possible to make Step 5: Identify inducement and blocking mechanisms Inducement and blocking mechanisms of the TIS found in the study was mapped to the corresponding functions. A matrix was used for determining the blocking mechanisms with the largest impact Step 6: Specify key policy issues The key policy issues are determined from the main blocking mechanisms. 17

28 4 Mapping of Green ICT companies in the Gothenburg region In this chapter the results from the interviews and literature studies are presented: a mapping of the studied Green ICT innovation system. First the delimitation will be explained. Then an overview of the structure of companies will be presented. That will be followed by a more thorough description of companies in the different sectors of Green ICT. The chapter will end with opinions from companies about participating in cooperation within the field of Green ICT. 4.1 Delimitation of the innovation system The delimitation is based on companies in the categories where ICT can influence the environment. Companies working with green ICT solutions of 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd order according to the structure by Gartner were considered. Actors in the innovation system consist of companies, public authorities, venture capitalists and other source of funding, education and research institutes. The detailed mapping will focus on companies since most of the data collection consisted of interviews with companies. 4.2 Overview of structure of companies An overview of the studied sectors is shown below in Figure 3. The sectors differ quite a lot in character, but still have a number of connections to the other ones. The arrows symbolise these interactions that were found between the sectors. Figure 3: Overview of sectors in the studied Green ICT TIS. 18

29 4.3 Description of activities in the different categories in the innovation system This chapter will include detailed mappings of the sectors as well as sub-sectors of Green ICT and the companies and activities within these in the Gothenburg region ICT use ICT use regards the direct or 1 st order effects: the emissions and energy consumption from the use of ICT products. The effects of ICT use will be determined much by the product design; if the servers, desktop computers or radio base stations are energy efficient in itself. However, the effects could then be affected both by software (e.g. virtualisation) and services (e.g. consulting in selecting environmentally optimal ICT solutions). The companies identified in this sector are shown in Figure 4. Figure 4: ICT use, overview of companies. In the Gothenburg region there are many companies working towards more efficient data centres. The biggest actor within this field in the region is Volvo IT. Cooling of the servers is one important aspect in achieving efficient data centres. For cooling, cold air or cold water can be used. The multinational company Google (Ekstrand & Wikström, 2010) has recognised Sweden as one potential place to put their data centres due to the available cold air and water here. Not only these big companies work with this kind of solutions, companies as e.g. Enaco also offers data centres that are energy efficient and reuse the waste heat. In addition to server cooling one can use software that virtualises the servers and in that way may reduce the number of physical servers. Sun is one example of the multiple companies that offers virtualisation in cooperation with the suppliers of the virtualisation software. Using software through the Internet instead of having it on your computer, also known as cloud computing, allows companies to use less resources on new hardware. It also allows the user to work from home and other places instead of going to the office. The IT/network infrastructure is 19

30 necessary for cloud computing. Cisco and Zyxel are producers of network equipment, but the products are not produced here in Sweden. Telia, Relacom, Gothnet and Banverket ICT are providing the network infrastructure. There are many ICT consultants in the region. Their main environmental contribution regarding ICT use is to guide companies to use their ICT equipment as efficient as possible by using the techniques described above. The ambition to reduce environmental impact may be more or less a focus area for the consultant companies. Tieto are notable for receiving top marks in analyst company s Exido s Green IT audit (Tieto, 2010). Malmeken is a small IT consultant specialised in Sustainable IT. Many of the companies in the other sub-sectors are also working with consultancy since the customers need guidance. The resellers have the opportunity to affect the environmental impact from what products they recommend and sell to their customers. By analysing their customers IT environment from a holistic perspective, taking into account the different characteristics of ICT use in server rooms, offices or factories, companies like Atea and Dialect are working with this. They also offer services to take care of old IT equipment to have control of the electronic waste handling, so that it does not cause environmental damage. Ericsson is the second largest ICT company in the Gothenburg region and they have been a hub for telecom development for a long time. Recently the Chinese telecom company Huawei have established a research and development centre in Gothenburg and are then challenging Ericsson s dominance. Both of the companies have pointed out more efficient base stations for the telecom infrastructure as a core way to contribute to a better environment. The Green ICT sector concerning ICT use is characterised by a large number of companies, due to their breadth in customers. Volvo IT and Ericsson are the two biggest ICT companies in the region, but there are also many small companies in the region that have seen the opportunities in the virtualisation and cloud computing. Cloud computing with web-based software-as-aservice can be used for various business applications, and is thus a way to deliver more environmentally sustainable e-business solutions E-business E-business includes business activities that are performed in an electronic way, from a Green ICT perspective the web-based solutions are most interesting. By using e-invoices, e-payment, e- marketing and ERP 3 -systems the business can be more efficient and use fewer resources. Webbased E-business solutions are simple to improve with new ideas without the need for travels or waste of material resources such as paper and ink. E-business producers and users also have the potential to work in a more mobile way. The number of ERP systems on the market has previously grown, but lately many systems have been consolidated. However, new systems then appear on new platforms, for example web-based. Web-based solutions are interesting from a Green ICT standpoint, since they reduce the need for additional hardware, the initial investment can be lower and thus allowing smaller companies to use the solutions. The customers of e- business solution include all kinds of companies and typical customers are e-shopping companies. 3 Enterprise Resource Planning 20

31 Figure 5: E-business, overview of companies. Web-based ERP systems are a fairly new phenomenon in Sweden. The founders of Specter studied such a web-based system in Chile with users back in year 2000, and started the company in Today, the Swedish market is more mature in using web-based solutions and storage. As described in chapter 4.3.1, Cloud computing has the potential to decrease the energy use of ICT, however it also lets the users perform their business in a more mobile way from everywhere. This has the potential to reduce travels, but on the same time it may promote travelling more since you are not locked to the position of your servers. A key issue for the companies that use web-based e-business solutions is to be able to connect to other systems. One example is how Specter s ERP system has functions for the users (typically an e-shop owner) to forward the orders from customers to the supplier s warehouse system, and that the supplier is sending the goods directly from the warehouse to the customer, thus eliminating one transportation route. In the other way, the web-based warehouse system of Ongoing Warehouse can connect to ERP systems. Pagero s e-invoice solution also uses connections to other systems. Partners are very important for these e-business companies in order to improve the connectivity. E-shopping is another chain in the link, and by coordinating the orders and transports more the e-shopping might have the potential to be environmentally sustainable. While companies offering e-invoice all mention the environmental benefits of the solution, in general e-business companies do not yet have an outspoken environmental profile. The servers contribute to a large part of these companies own environmental impact. However, besides the servers, the e-business companies can manage operations with low need for energy since the products are delivered to customers electronically and much support can also be done via the Internet. The importance of the physical location is diminishing when moving towards more and more web-based solutions; the offices could be either in the centre of a city or out in the archipelago. By utilising efficient servers, the e-business companies have potential to perform business in a comparably environmentally sustainable way Virtual mobility Virtual mobility is a term for describing that travels are replaced by virtual means, and in this way saving energy. Included in this sector are both the infrastructure, hardware, services and 21

32 supporting solutions (e.g. security solutions) needed to provide the solutions enabling virtual mobility. An overview of companies within the sector is shown in Figure 6. Figure 6: Virtual mobility, overview of companies. Many different companies have diversified into the virtual mobility space; this trend was clear when visiting the Easyfairs ICT trade fair 2010 (Gothenburg) and mobility was identified as a key area also at the Mobile World Congress 2010 (Barcelona). However, it is difficult to pinpoint how the Gothenburg region innovation system is distinguished from the Swedish as a whole. Within Virtual mobility, video conferences is one sub-sector that is talked about a lot, when discussing Green ICT. Due to the financial crises many companies have realised that they need to reduce their travelling costs. To replace the meetings that requires travels different kinds of communication can be used. Cisco and Tandberg are together marketing the telepresence videoconference system, a system that offers high-definition video and audio. However, these systems are expensive and used by large multi-national companies that have a strong motivation to use them. Smartphones such as Iphone constitute another platform for mobile communication, and videoconferences via smartphones are also possible from service providers such as Cisco and Skype. Still ordinary teleconferences are much more frequently used than the different video conference services (SIKA, 2007). The reason is that the hardware (telephones) is already present everywhere, but another reason might be that the quality of the video conference is determined by the different hardware and services all participants are using. It also depends on the users need for interaction, many times text, voice and sharing the desktop is enough level of communication for e.g. communicating with customers. To be able to connect to the Internet in a mobile way is a precondition to be able to work in flexible locations. Ericsson is producing the radio base stations that enable this way of working. In addition to the mobile broadband access, specialised access points from Ericsson and Icomera are used on trains and buses. The products may both be used as an access point for the passengers as well as providing GPS functionality for positioning and tracking of the vehicle. 22

33 When accessing and working with sensitive company information, for example using mobile broadband access or wifi hotspots, the security is critical. Encryption solutions from e.g. Cryptzone allows for distance working while still having a secure access to the company s internal data. Multiple actors are needed to provide Virtual mobility: infrastructure, hardware, security (if working with sensitive information) solutions and software. There is no common video conference standard as widespread as telephone or mobile phone. Since mobility is such a strong trend, the companies within virtual mobility will probably be challenged by multiple new actors ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), solutions using ICT to optimise transports and logistics, is a very wide sector due to the size and diversity of the transport industry. In the Gothenburg region the transport industry and questions around person and goods transportation are central thanks to the automotive companies (Volvo and Saab) as strong customers as well as the Port of Gothenburg and the regional public transportation system. Viktoria Institute 4 is performing research on the subject and many actors gather through the organisation Telematics Valley 5. So, one could say that the ITS sector is also large in the Gothenburg region. An overview of the companies is shown in Figure 7. Figure 7: Intelligent Transport Systems, overview of companies. The related organisations and networks are arenas for exchanging knowledge about ITS and various subjects regarding ITS are discussed within Telematics Valley and ITS Sweden. For example Telematics Valley is inviting potential customers such as DB Schenker and DHL to closed workshops for discussing solutions to the customers problems and builds contacts that may be the first step of creating business deals. To a great extent the technical development in the companies is internal, while the environmental issues are discussed with the most influential 4 Viktoria Institute is presented in Appendix A 5 Telematics Valley is presented in Appendix A 23

34 external parties. Within ITS solutions the network NTM 6 is used as a source of knowledge and calculations models for environmental impact of transports. For ITS used in transport and logistics the customers are branded fleets, road carriers, central trucks, bus carriers, goods owning customers, third and fourth party logistics, forwarding agents, subcontractors for the car companies and the public sector. Many customers to transport and logistics companies have strong environmental demands. The transport and logistics companies, such as Green Cargo and Fraktkedjan, thereby have an interest to show that they do not ignore the environment. This will affect the companies supplying ICT solutions for logistics, warehouse, e-business etc. Among transportation of goods one trend is the transition to more intermodal transportation, i.e. using multiple means of transportation; trains, boats as well as cars 7. Proxio is a company offering solutions to calculate the environmentally optimal and most efficient combination of transport means for their customers. The IT-research institute Viktoria Institute has, within the area Sustainable Transports, so far been focused on person transportation; however they will probably expand the research into goods transportation by roads, waterways and maybe by air. It is easier to optimise and reduce transports environmental impact when using waterways. There are a number of companies offering different ways to manage transport fleets and optimise their routes. Vehco sells mobile computers for vehicles that by monitoring the routes and fuel consumption, coupled with communication with the office and eco-driving application the fuel consumption can be reduced. One important aspect of the product is useful functions from the driver s point of view so that the driver also is positive to use the system. Logistics systems are being expanded with functionality to support cross-docking. Cross-docking is a more instantaneous repacking of goods from e.g. one truck to another without residing for a long time in a warehouse. The idea may be to coordinate repacking from many cars so that just one car has to drive in to a city, reducing emissions inside the city. 8 Compared to the US, Europe is well prepared with a public transportation infrastructure. Public transportation is discussed a lot in the Gothenburg region 9 and there is a lot of traffic on rails. There are good preconditions for supporting the optimisation of the transports by ICT. Different public transportation companies are working together within the DART 10 Group, and to invest more in public transportation is regarded as a way to avoid traffic jams The public transport wants to move towards more open communication interfaces and there are European standards e.g. for communication aboard public transport vehicles. 11 The regional public transport company Västtrafik have experimented with solutions for communication from the vehicles. GPRS 12 has been used since 2001 up till now when the vehicles are out driving, but they are investigating different means of communication. The communication is a basis for services for travellers such as electronic real-time timetables, 6 The Network for Transport and Environment 7 Interview with an ITS company 8 Interview with an E-business company 9 Interview with CIO, City of Gothenburg 10 Västtrafik, Trafikverket (former Vägverket and Banverket), Trafikkontoret 11 Interview with ITS Manager, Västtrafik 12 General Packet Radio Service 24

35 electronic payment system as well as downloadable applications for smartphones that uses GPS in conjunction with the timetable information to present the optimal route. In addition to solutions that optimise the public transportation itself, applications that encourage a change of travel behaviour from private cars to public transportation and cycling, may reduce the environmental impact. One initiator of such a project is Volvo IT s Commute Greener, the motivation behind the work is both that they have the knowledge of the automotive and transport industry as well as a corporate social responsibility since the products have huge negative impact on the environment. Another aspect is the structure and design of the information systems for the public transportation, here besides Västtrafik themselves, various consultants as Prospero, Infracontrol, Thoreb and Consat have been engaged. Cities and municipalities use web-based solutions from Infracontrol to interconnect and monitor variable speed signs, signs for finding parking lots, alarms etc. This interconnection gives the opportunity to continuously expand the infrastructure with more functionality, therefore encouraging experimentation, as opposed to being locked in to specific hardware solutions. To interconnect whole cities infrastructure gives new opportunities for reducing environmental impact. Geographic information systems (GIS) are applied in many sectors, and have a central part for many ITS systems, such as route planning. Multiple kinds of information can be presented through maps, another area of use when monitoring work at a site without being there in person. One discussed example to apply in the future where ICT solutions can be used to measure is the Pay-as-you-pollute concept. By basing the congestion taxes upon the individual environmental impact when driving in cities (instead of a template with fixed taxes at entry/exit) will result in a more fair system. The idea to measure the environmental impact with more detail is present in multiple categories of Green ICT, one other example is the wirelessly connected power meters that measures energy consumption (see chapter 4.3.6). ITS may not only be used for the transport system but also for the individual car. The needs for such solutions will increase when switching from traditional fuel cars to hybrid and electric vehicles. An electric car will be more intelligent and will always prioritise to reach the goal, it might turn off the radio or the heat just to save energy. In the winter when it is well below freezing point the engine will not be able to heat up the car directly, so one need to control when the engine should start to heat up the car in time to when the user should use it. Everything about how to charge the car and to control it will need ICT Waste management Waste management can in some cases be seen as a sub-segment of ITS, since transportation of waste is one large area of interest for ICT used in waste management. Still it is an interesting area in itself for the Gothenburg region because of the large focus on recycling from companies as Renova and Stena Metall as well as from the city administration. ITS solutions such as route optimisation and eco-driving are used by the recycling company Renova that runs a district heating plant. However, companies providing specialised ICT solutions for waste management are few in the region, and will probably meet heavy competition from international companies. 13 Interviews with Executive Director, Telamatics Valley and Product Manager, Göteborg Energi 25

36 Waste management customers are construction companies, owners of apartment blocks, private house owners and offices. An overview of the companies within waste management is shown in Figure 8 below. Figure 8: Waste management, overview of companies. Noticia has solutions within waste transportation that include sensors for measuring the fill rate of waste containers in order to optimise the collection of the waste. AMCS offers similar solutions as well as a system for weighing of waste. Through using an ID tag on the waste bin, the waste fee for the private house owners can be partly based on the weight. This kind of system is applied in 26 of 290 Swedish municipalities (Gidlund & Lundström, 2008), in the Gothenburg region Partille, Härryda as well as Varberg (which was the first municipality in Sweden to introduce weighting of household waste) are utilising weighing of waste, and there are plans for the City of Gothenburg as well. 14 Optisort sells a system that uses a camera and artificial intelligence software to sort batteries. ICT technologies has huge potential in this kind of applications, however many kinds of waste such as the organic waste used to produce biogas, have such high requirements of purity that an automatic solution for separation is unlikely Energy supply The electricity grid is subject to many changes and we are only in the beginning of using alternative renewable electricity sources. By shifting to these sources there will be a need to change the whole grid. Also, after the deregulation of the Swedish electricity market, the customer perspective has become more important for the energy industry. Smart grid is a term for the concept for a future evolution of the electricity grid that includes production, distribution and consumption of electricity. The consumer is no longer just consuming energy; it is also a node for storing and distributing energy. One specific example of possible mobile energy storage is electric vehicles. ICT is an important tool when handling the smart grid. There will be a need to use electricity more efficiently and optimally during all twenty-four hours of the day. There will probably be a shift from an AC-grid to DC. To be able to manage 14 Interview with Renova 26

37 those huge shifts there will be a need for ICT. Energy efficiency will be a focus area to manage to meet the huge energy demand and rising electricity prices. An overview of the companies in the Gothenburg region that are working with the field is shown in Figure 9. Naturally the energy companies are at the front of the development accompanied by research at Chalmers University of Technology. Solutions such as wirelessly monitored energy meters may be viewed as a first stage of the smart grid development. Different companies with backgrounds in automotive, telecom and IT infrastructure are contributing in projects related to Smart grid. According to The Climate Group (2008), by integrating ICT for better monitoring and management of electricity grids it is possible to reduce power losses by 30% in India, so there is a huge potential for the export market. Figure 9: Energy supply, overview of companies. One example of how companies in Western Sweden are working with Green ICT for energy supply are the companies working with infrastructure and communication questions regarding electric cars. Göteborg Energi is aiming to be ready with charging posts before the electric cars, the charge post is called Amplius and is meant to function together with a mobile booking system. Amplius was a project between Consat, TSS and Göteborg Energi. It is a challenge how to develop the infrastructure for electric vehicles since there are not that many electric vehicles on the market today. Renewable energy sources, both small-scale and large-scale, are important elements of the smart grid. Göteborg Energi aims to install 100 wind-power stations before Before the financial turmoil there was difficulties in securing units, but now many other companies that have ordered wind-power stations have financial insecurities, thereby it is easier for Göteborg Energi to fulfil their goal. The energy supply category is closely intertwined both with ITS and facility management and there are companies in the Gothenburg region that are involved in all of these fields, and/or 27

38 forming alliances across the categories. To change the electricity grid is a long-term and costly process though. In Sweden, a lot of the power equipment used in the grid was build around 50 years ago, and thus naturally need to be replaced in a not-too-far away future, there should be opportunities within the field of ICT for energy supply Facility management Different applications that connect the functions of a building (heating, lights, ventilation etc) with ICT systems and interfaces are summarised under the title Building automation. From an ICT perspective different aspects of facilities are going to be more and more integrated and one will be more and more reliant on other aspects such as electrics, alarm, video etc. In addition to panels inside the facilities, cellphones are used as a platform for prototypes for monitoring and control a facility. The facility owner business is seen as highly motivated to try different solutions 15. Companies working with different application areas found in the Gothenburg region are presented in Figure 10 below. Figure 10: Facility management, overview of companies. The previously mentioned systems for monitoring the energy use through wirelessly connected power meters in households can be seen as the first stage of the smart grid. However, a study by Pyrko (2009) indicates that the effect of measuring and continuous information does not in itself change the behaviour to lower the energy consumption. Other solutions that may be combined with remote power meters are forecast controlling and building automation. For building automation, the effect comes from using a combination of hardware and ICT to monitor and control different parameters in facilities. The main customers for the companies in the facility management sector are private and public housing companies, utility companies, installers, OEM-costumers, system integrators, electricity producers, companies that want to decrease their energy consumption and municipalities. The City of Gothenburg owns a lot of facilities and is therefore an influential customer, and the residents are strong stakeholders concerning environmental issues. One way to handle the challenge for reaching the EU goals of energy efficiency is to build new energy efficient buildings. 15 Interview with Product Manager, Göteborg Energi 28

39 However, there are a large number of buildings from the 50s and 60s (miljonprogrammet) that are unfavourable from an energy standpoint, but at the same time they may be protected from drastic renovations. ICTs may then have potential reduce the energy consumption without the need to dramatically change the facilities. When ICT is used to make buildings more energy efficient, knowledge about the building is vital when developing these ICT systems. Many companies within the industry are interested in buying companies with building automation solutions. That is because if you are in control of the brain of a building, you can sell a plethora of related products. There is a sometimes complex situation where different actors may not agree on communication standards. 16 It thus becomes a way for the big companies to lock-in to their standards. One business opportunity expressed is to gather around larger construction projects and work across industries in creating buildings with the intention to be e.g. efficient/flexible workplaces 17. These kinds of projects requires cross-functional competence from several different sectors, and it is a possibility for IT infrastructure companies to get involved and influence in the early construction phase, thus optimising the use of their solutions Process management ICT may be used to make various business and industry processes more environmentally sustainable. The identified companies within the process management sector are presented below in Figure 11. Figure 11: Process management, overview of companies. There are many policy instruments one can use to force companies to abate 18 their emissions (Sterner, 2003), these policy instrument are one great motivation to that production process companies are interested in ICT solutions for emission reduction. Refunded emission payments 16 Interview with a Facility management company 17 Interview with CTO, Cisco Sweden 18 To reduce in amount, degree, or intensity 29

40 (REP) are used in Sweden for NO x emissions. The polluters pay a charge on the emissions and this money is returned to the same group of people but not in proportion to payments but in proportion to other things such as production, output, etc. Tradable permits are used for CO 2 emissions in Sweden. There is a fixed sum of allowed total emitted amount of emissions (in this case CO 2 emission) in Sweden. One permit means an amount of emissions that one is allowed to emit. Those permits are sold or handed out to companies whom can use them in exchange for their emissions. If a company needs to emit more than they are allowed to, according to their permits, they can buy permits from other companies. If there are no permits left, then companies need to stop production. (Sterner, 2003) Capee Group started in the paper and pulp industry but the solution, a software that helps process managers to make better decisions and thus reduce the unnecessary emissions, has proved to be useful in other industries; PVC production, ethanol production, asphalt production and also the energy sector. Since it is a software solution the expansion can be made with quite small usage of resources and it is flexible to be applied to different kind of industries. The term Green ICT have low legitimacy among the company s customers in the process industry, it is considered to be a word mainly directed towards investors. When speaking to industry customers, the benefits of the solution are rather expressed in other terms such as energy efficiency and emission reduction, and the project managers need to be process engineers in order to establish a relation to customers. Large companies with great amount of emissions have an interest in measuring, analysing and reporting their environmental impact. ICT is a powerful tool in collecting, calculating and ordering relevant environmental data. Therefore it may greatly help companies in facilitating sustainability reporting, and in the long run help them to abate their emissions. Emisoft that sells sustainability reporting systems motivates their establishment in Gothenburg by the proximity to the large industries. Consultants giving advice about management processes may also, if they are working with sustainability, in the end impact how the companies are working with ICT to reduce environmental impact. It is not unusual to perform LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) on manufacturing companies products, but there is potential to do LCA also on the processes companies use. 30

41 4.4 Thoughts from companies about forming a Green ICT network The answers from the in-depth interviews were interpreted and collected as a diagram in Figure 12. Figure 13 is a summary of the answers from the short interviews Number of respondents (in-depth interviews, companies) interested in network within Green ICT 0 Yes, would like to contribute Yes/probably Yes, if it creates business opportunities Maybe / do not know No Figure 12: Number of respondents interested in network within Green ICT (In-depth interviews, companies). 12 Number of respondents (short interviews) interested in cooperation within Green ICT Yes Likely Possibly Do not know / can not say No Figure 13: Interest from companies in cooperation within Green ICT (short interviews). The short interviews showed similar indication as the in-depth ones. However, one should be aware that the short interviews were performed in many cases with persons not in the position 31

42 to tell the company s official standpoint. However, it still gives an indication of the interest, primarily within the ICT use, E-business and Virtual mobility sectors, since these were most represented at the Easyfairs ICT. Many of the companies see networks as an important aspect of working, this is especially important for the consultant companies. For a subject as Green ICT, it is highly valued to exchange knowledge with other actors. Still it is an area of uncertainty for some companies, regarding if and how it concerns their business. One objection against the idea of a network within Green ICT is that it is perceived as very widespread, and to hold together a wide network is a difficult thing when communicating with all members. Many, especially the smaller companies, are firstly looking for seminars and networks that fit their own companies specific profile and knowledge field; Green ICT is seldom the primary profile of a company. Some interviewees especially stressed the importance that the network should create clear business opportunities, in order to be interesting for them to join. This means that the potential customers should then also be members of the network. For some of the sectors, the customers are quite specific, which is why the companies are hesitant to this broad field. Another objection raised by smaller companies is the time and resources needed, for a small company the engagement in a network requires a larger share of the total cost and time than for a large one. Companies that are very positive to the idea of a Green ICT network and would like to contribute with resources belongs to the category of large companies. It is important that the network has the right focus. One interviewee at a company within ITS mentions that it is more interesting with a network regarding how to affect people to act more environmentally smart, rather than having one that just concerns issues regarding IT equipment. The majority of companies express clearly that it would be positive for their future business if the Gothenburg region could stand out as strong within Green ICT. A practical advice given by interviewees for working over the sectorial borders is to gather around projects, e.g. construction projects where all aspects of how ICT can be used are considered. Another advice was that the seminars etc should be recorded, broadcasted and collected on the web to facilitate for members not situated in the city. This is already done in other existing networks, for example Dataföreningen has been a driving force in the region to make materials from their seminars available on the web. 32

43 5 Innovation System Analysis The innovation system analysis will be presented in this chapter. Each function will be analysed separately. Then the functionality of the functions will be assessed in order to identify inducement and blocking mechanisms for the innovation system. Policy issues will be specified from the blocking mechanisms with the most impact. 5.1 Functional mapping The mapping aims to answer the questions how and to what extension the functions are fulfilled in the studied innovation system Knowledge development and diffusion The knowledgebase within the Green ICT TIS is identified to consist of three main areas (see Figure 14): Technological ICT knowledge, System thinking knowledge and knowledge how to visualise and communicate. This knowledgebase is supported by an underlying understanding for environmental questions and parameters. Knowledge diffusion should not focus on the technical issues but rather how to develop favourable interfaces and visualisation solutions, build business models and communicate the ideas about systems thinking. Figure 14: Knowledgebase of Green ICT. Technical knowledge development and diffusion Regarding ICT technology, wireless technologies is the main strength for the Gothenburg region. The companies need to always keep up-to-date with technology since it gives the opportunity to improve the solutions to be more secure, quicker and more functional. The technical knowledgebase for companies engaged in Green ICT in the Gothenburg region has a large breadth. The knowledgebase extends through both IT infrastructure and software but a particular strength for Gothenburg region is wireless technologies. The knowledge about wireless technologies is diffused through the cluster organisations Microwave Road and Telematics Valley as well as through Charmant and Chase research centers at Chalmers University of Technology. Ericsson is and has historically been a driver in technological knowledge development, and the Chinese competitor Huawei recently established in Gothenburg. 33

44 Much technology knowledge diffusion is performed within companies and/or between customers and suppliers inside projects. In some cases, such as IT equipment, a supplier may be the only connection to the end customers. Knowledge about how to visualise and communicate in order to change human behaviour One reoccurring comment from actors is that it is not the technology that is the problem, it is the people. The emphasis on visualisation and directed communication is a strong current running through all categories of Green ICT. Several of the companies involved in the study are working with solutions that aim to influence what choices people make, or making the environmental impact visible in a clearer way. Thus the knowledge and competence regarding these questions can be considered a core competence within the Green ICT TIS. For example, such knowledge is diffused through the Center of Visualization 19. Educationally, the Interaction design program at Chalmers Lindholmen is a core factor. The present trend in mobility and widespread success of smartphones such as Iphone is one way that knowledge and understanding of the practical usefulness of solutions for visualising and communicating is diffused both to companies and individuals. This may also reduce the fear and scepticism towards ICT solutions. System thinking knowledge Green ICT of the 2 nd and 3 rd order demands a system approach and a different perspective than just cutting costs. This can be seen both regarding facilities, transports and smart grid. System thinking is perhaps most apparent when considering development of entire cities and the transport infrastructure within and between them, when municipalities and city administrations are investing in ICT solutions. The systems thinking required for Green ICT extends to other areas, e.g. when planning a new suburb it is necessary to consider the road infrastructure for public transportation, if one is to reap the benefits of the ITS solutions already invested in. The central issues for Green ICT broaden the potential base of companies and competences that may be involved in the development of the area. The system thinking knowledge is diffused practically through projects where companies from multiple categories, or companies themselves active in different categories, work together. Two examples is Consat whose subsidiaries are working with telematics, energy systems and Göteborg Energi that are active within Energy supply in connection to electric vehicles as well as solutions for facilities. On a theoretical level, this knowledge is diffused through seminars. The smaller companies in the study often have a focus on their own sub-field and getting new customers and have limited time and resources to diffuse this kind of knowledge. However, they emphasise the important role of partners. The IT infrastructure is a precondition for ICT in general and Green ICT in particular for system solutions. A reliable internet connection is a necessity for the critical solutions such as Infracontrol s. However there are still large numbers of people that not realise the value of the IT infrastructure issues, e.g. the availability of frequency bands for mobile broadband 19 A membership organisation managed by Business Region Göteborg and Chalmers University of Technology 34

45 communication 20. The broadband quality in Gothenburg is according to a study by (Fu et al, 2009) ranked 19 in the world among the more than 240 cities in the study. When developing standards, system thinking is necessary. There is always an uncertainty what technologies or solutions that are the best from an environmental perspective. This uncertainty is always disputed as new advances are made, leading to a dynamic situation where different solutions are tested, proven or dismissed. However, the uncertainty may also be a breeding ground for greenwashing. As an example, the Energy star labelling has been disputed to be an ineffective and unsophisticated basis when choosing products, since it only considers energy efficiency in terms of yes or no for individual products, and not how different products perform relatively to each other (Drape, 2009). Knowledge about the field Green ICT Knowledge is diffused through research conferences, where recently conferences worldwide with theme of Green ICT have shown that the subject is not just a trend 21. However, for companies the subject may sometimes be too broad to be of direct interest to them, there are a lot of information available, and the challenge for the companies is to screen the most relevant information. The public authorities interviewed, City of Gothenburg and City of Stockholm, mention the analyst Gartner as an important source of knowledge. Large international actors such as IBM and Fujitsu are in a symbiosis with Gartner and sets the agenda 22, however Volvo IT which originates from the Gothenburg region has in fact themselves influenced Gartner s outlook on Green ICT Influence on the direction of search There are a number of incentives and pressures (see Figure 15) that influence the direction of search towards the Green ICT TIS in the region. It is difficult to pinpoint that the factors found actually direct the influence of search specifically towards the Gothenburg region, in fact many of the interviewees state that other regions might be an as strong candidate for Green ICT and that it rather is Sweden in general that is the point of interest. However, the belief in growth potential is strongly articulated by the companies in the study that are active in the region. 20 Interview with Birger Ekengren, Great 21 Interview with researcher, Viktoria Institute 22 Interview with former Chairman, Dataföreningen Västra Kretsen 35

46 Figure 15: Pressures and incentives influencing the direction of search. Environmental laws and taxes will most likely have a positive effect for the business since the products and services they sell reduce the environmental impact. Many of the companies work with energy efficient products or products that decrease the carbon dioxide and/or NO x emissions. Today there is a refunded emission payment on NO x and for carbon dioxide there is a limit of how much you are allowed to emit (tradable permits). Some argue that green solutions needs policy instruments such as regulations and taxes to be competitive on the market. If products will be marked with their individual Carbon Footprint the whole economy is ought to change, and people will not accept products that are not produced in an energy efficient way 23. Others say that policy instruments could be a way, but it is more about habits that one needs to stimulate new habits not just by rules, to make people realise what it is all about is better than to force them. Companies get interested thanks to that one can save money by investing in Green ICT, the payoff time is short and one can thus make savings during crises by investing in technology. Due to the climate change, social climate and the need to use energy more efficiently Green ICT is highly prioritised. The interest have increased and also the knowledge about how ICT can be used 24. In the future there will probably be less need to invent new technology; instead there will be an improvement of already existing technology. In the software business especially there are many possible improvements. 25 One can also see that ICT have matured and companies now see it as a supporting tool instead of just a cost. The financial crises have affected Western Sweden really hard, especially the automotive industry and its subcontractors (Andersson, 2009). Many of the Green ICT companies were affected since they work in this market. But some of them still came out stronger, after the 23 Interview with CEO, Prospero 24 Interview with Public Affairs Expert, Swedish IT and Telecom Industries 25 Interview with CEO, Capee Group 36

47 crises, than they were before. The automotive industry is in great need for new solutions and here the Green ICT companies have a role to fill. In general, the companies believe that the future is bright and that there is a need to expand. Even if it has been a financial crisis recently several of the companies in the study still have managed to grow and/or show black figures. Since Green ICT and ICT overall often is a new market, many of the companies were founded very close to or during the crises, so they do not know if they have been affected or not by the economic instability. They have in many cases been growing but maybe not as fast as they would have been with a more stable financial situation. Some companies were affected very little or not at all. One of the companies was affected neither of this crisis nor of the dot-com bubble There are also companies that have grown thanks to the financial crisis. Due to the crisis many companies needed to save money and did so by using video conferences instead of travelling. This had positive effect for the companies that sell products and services within that market 26. There are also other solutions like process optimising software and services that decrease a company s administrative costs that might have been positively affected. Due to the financial turbulence, many in the ICT business lost their jobs. Therefore there are many unemployed people with valuable knowledge that may be forced to leave the industry. 27 The large number of layoffs of engineers related to the automotive business will also influence the character of the labour market. Questions have been raised if there is a market for Green ICT here 28 but then again, among the companies in the study the home market is assessed as an important one. The Gothenburg region has a good reputation for being well organised in working with environmental technology 29 demonstrated by initiatives such as Eco-ex Entrepreneurial experimentation Under the Green ICT umbrella a lot of different applications can be placed, which is not surprising since it contains solutions targeting many different businesses. The field is quite new so it can be said to consist of diversifying companies and new companies. While the old, larger companies are in some way converging towards working for a system and not just one part, the newer/smaller companies are not diversifying in terms of different solutions but rather finding new usage areas for their solutions. Many of the companies in the studied Green ICT TIS started with ICT solutions for reducing costs and energy. Green ICT is a problematic field to study the entrepreneurial experimentation within. One cannot find e.g. patents that are labelled as Green ICT. It is difficult to pinpoint that the experimentation really is within Green ICT since it many times is a tag put on afterwards, sometimes by outside observers and analysts, sometimes by the companies themselves. One way to look at it is to look at the breadth and number of solutions that are marketed or regarded as Green ICT, and in that case there is a lot of experimentation going on in the region. There is a rising interest from companies to try different solutions that can be marketed from the environmental impact means, along with other benefits. But the question remains if one can analyse the TIS from these standpoints. 26 Interview with CTO, Cisco Sweden 27 Interview with former Chairman, Dataföreningen Västra Kretsen 28 Interview with Executive Director, Telematics Valley 29 Interview with Project Manager, Swentec 37

48 The incubators and venture capitalists funding and supporting new ventures are interested in environmentally sustainable companies. Chalmers Innovation is supporting technology-based ventures and two successful companies (Vehco and Capee Group) in the studied Green ICT TIS that were interviewed are stemming from Chalmers Innovation. Regarding research grants, sustainability is gradually gaining more importance however it is seldom the only factor. The regional Environmental Secretariat is however, one example where environmental factors are the highest priority for receiving such grant 30. Also companies with environmental profile such as Göteborg Energi are funding research projects. Volvo IT is a strong force in the ICT landscape in the Gothenburg region and has the largest number of employees in the region among the ICT companies. In addition to their large data centres the company is working with Open innovation within Volvo IT Innovation Centre and mixing people from different departments and backgrounds for developing new solutions in thematic areas such as the Commute Greener application. Volvo IT has seen a continued belief in Volvo IT Innovation Centre even though it is a large cost for the company. When a large company such as Volvo that has environmental care as a core value invests money in promoting open innovation within ICT and others it will strengthen the entrepreneurial experimentation. Within public transportation, the DART 31 group is a forum where actors collaborate around transport informatics. Västtrafik also has a labs website 32 where individual developers can interact and contribute. However, this site seems to have a modest user activity comparing to non-affiliated forums. The need to feedback to the users is large if users should participate in open innovation and the usage of social media is difficult to promote artificially. Since Green ICT may not primarily be about technical problems, networks are regarded as very important to meet many stakeholders and in a cooperative way drive the development. For some companies such as the technical consultant company Consat, it is necessary, in order to remain competitive, to have an open sharing of documents and inquiries within the network Netgroup. However many of the companies working with Green ICT have their main innovation through cooperating with their customers, the Open innovation idea does not seem to be regarded as important by the newly established companies. The resources spent on R&D may be studied as one indicator of the entrepreneurial experimentation. This is not explored quantitatively for this study, but the interpretation of the interviews is that the smaller companies spend a lot of resources in getting new customers. Universities, public sector and industries (the triple helix) work very close in Gothenburg and they interact and cooperate a lot. One example of a physical as well as social meeting place is Lindholmen Science Park. It is a distinct example that embodies the thought of Triple Helix and how the Gothenburg region is pursuing that. Opinion was raised that there is too little money aimed towards market development from the government and authorities, especially towards smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). There are too many discussions that venture capital is missing in cleantech, but what is missing is action and focus on SMEs Interview with researcher, Viktoria Institute 31 Driftsättning Av Regional Transportinformatik Interviews with SME companies 38

49 5.1.4 Market formation The formation of markets can be divided into the regional, national and international market. The characteristics and maturity differ between the different aggregations of markets but also between sectors of Green ICT. The markets are summarized in Figure 16 below and detailed in the following chapter. Figure 16: Market formation characteristics. Future changes that will form the market The new generation both have a more environmental thinking and are also used to use ICT. There will be big technical changes due to this. For the ICT sector there has been a change from the local ICT technician who by his own learned how to work with ICT, to consultant companies, to movement of the technicians to another country such as India to save money. But soon it will be cheaper to have the technicians here, because the salaries will increase in e.g. India and if you have the technician here he speak your language. It is the same for the whole ICT sector. 34 The introduction of new fuels may change the market conditions for a company such as Vehco, whose current solution is focusing on the most common fuel for trucks today, diesel. Market expansion and export Markets are often global, but the companies home market in Sweden is strategically important to test new concepts and products, to learn, and to obtain early revenues. But to be able to expand the market, companies need to start to export to the global market. The companies have different expansion goals; some wants to act on the global market, for some Sweden or the 34 Interview with Region Director, Elicit 39

50 Nordic market is deemed enough, so there is no need to expand further and start an office in e.g. Paris or London. The companies in the public sector only work in Sweden, but some of them have projects with other countries. One factor is how well the global climate conferences go. But if the countries can agree to work towards the same goal and that everyone contributes with what they can, then ICT is a big part. To be able to act on a global market one needs resources. Many of the companies have the will to export and to open offices in other countries, but have to little resources and knowledge about how to act on the global market. For a company with too small margins and the fact that the company need to survive, they do what they have to do to survive and then market expansion have to wait. If the Swedish Trade Council could help small and medium companies to act on the global market, many more could have that opportunity 35. Some can have the advantage of having partners that act globally and follow them. Since some solutions could be done here in Sweden and be transferred over Internet e.g. software, companies can work and expand globally but still have their office here. International companies are interested in green solutions and Swedish environmental technology is appealing abroad. Even if international companies talk about Green ICT, not many are producing and selling actual solutions, so Sweden and Gothenburg have a huge potential market share 36 and international companies have shown great interest in Swedish companies. Green ICT (as well as ICT in general) is not very resource-demanding to present and demonstrate for international venture capitalists. Marketplaces exist in Gothenburg and there are a number of potential customers. In Gothenburg there are many industrial companies, more than in for example Stockholm that has more offices than actual industries. Having industries and companies that can use Green ICT nearby is important since they can become a customer. The fact that large automotive companies have their industries here in the western part of Sweden and that the biggest harbour in the Nordic region is situated in Gothenburg attracts many Green ICT companies that work within the transport and logistics sector. Emisoft have chosen Sweden since it is close to their home market (Norway) and the culture here is similar to the one in Norway and Gothenburg in specific thanks to the industry density. What hinders the market to form? Old habits hinders the market. Many companies that have started to work with a partner are often not willing to change. Especially big actors have a hold on markets which they are taking care of and are, by doing so, blocking new technology. There are also many different countries and organisations with different standards and laws. They often have troubles to agree about one standard. That is one big challenge which many might not have an interest in solving. Have the financial crisis affected the Green ICT market? According to Ewa Thorslund 37 The companies that can see why they should use Green ICT have still been investing in it, while the ones that only did it because it is seen as a trend, might have stopped their investments. But those companies cannot have seen the potential in the concept. By being very much a trend word/market it has now cooled down a little, which might hold back market formation. It can 35 Interview with an SME 36 Interview with an ITS company 37 Public Affairs Expert, Swedish IT and Telecom Industries 40

51 also be a good sign, that the market is established. People might not talk as much about it as they used to, but they are using green ICT in an active way. 38 To spread information used to be harder than it is today, but now there is too much information and many companies and people have a problem to absorb it. It is to complex and one may not cope with all information. 39 There are also many people outside the market that have good knowledge about new ICT phenomena such as social media but inside companies they need to be educated about it Legitimation Legitimation concerns the social acceptance and how well there is compliance with relevant institutions for the TIS. The primary issues are summarised in Table 3 below. Table 3: Summary of issues affecting legitimation. The interviews reassess that the maturity regarding use of ICT has grown leading to an increased legitimacy for Green ICT solutions. It is accepted and appreciated to use software-as-aservice, and even established to run critical operations through cloud computing. Nowadays it is possible to acquire new customers without meeting them in person, or at least with lesser amount of meetings. For companies offering fully web-based solutions this maturity facilitates the selling and management of their solutions. While the acceptance and awareness has grown, there are still areas of scepticism regarding ICT. Some aspects of the thinking behind smart grid might raise objections from the public about the energy companies monitoring and controlling energy consumption in detail. ICT in general might be looked at with harsh eyes after the dot-com bubble and large IT projects that fail to meet goals (EIU, 2004) as well as reports on the ineffectiveness of statistics services for energy uses (Pyrko, 2009). Green ICT solutions may require large changes in how the company works. There may be low legitimacy towards ICT in general within conservative businesses such as the accountancy business. This may affect e.g. the possibility to fully implement e-invoice and other e-business solutions. Many of the companies in the study stress the importance of engaged and committed employees for the environmental profile. The environmental awareness of the company, when working 38 Interview with an ICT use company 39 Interview with an ITS company 40 Interview with former Chairman, Dataföreningen Västra Kretsen 41

52 with Green ICT solutions, acts as a motivating factor for the current employees and also as a way to attract new employees. Even though environmental questions are more and more significant in the society and environmental technology is growing in general, Green ICT as a concept has some hurdles to overcome. How the customers view the Green ICT affects the legitimacy of the field, and there has been identified a market pressure within the area, the industry consider it to be of importance and not just a hype 41. Green ICT may not be considered as trendy as it was one year ago, and in a couple of years one might not talk about it in those terms, not hire a Green ICT consultant. That might be since one may then be working with it actively 42 and it will be a given that ICT is Green 43. However, Green ICT as a concept may be seen as fuzzy and nonstandardized, it has a low legitimacy outside of the ICT equipment industry. The actual term Green ICT might be one reason. More descriptive terms such as Greener by/with ICT have been proposed and are also used by companies in the field, and a future development into Sustainable informatics 44 has also been proposed. The arrangement in Figure 17 shows different terms related to the concept and how they may mature over time, i.e what terms that could be used to describe the field. Figure 17: Arrangement of terms related to Green ICT. The public authorities are considered a strong proponent of environmental issues and the reason for this is the mission they have from the general public. Since the individuals in the 41 Interview with Public Affairs Expert, Swedish IT and Telecom Industries 42 Interview with Project Manager, Atea 43 Interview with CEO, Regin 44 Interview with researcher, Viktoria Institute 42

53 society are the end customers it will affect the legitimacy that the environmental awareness is growing among individuals. It is mainly the large companies that stress the importance of environmental parameters in their purchasing. For a smaller company, environmental certification will result in a cost which may be passed on to the customer, resulting in a higher price 45. However, the energy consumed by businesses such as production and facilities have to be of quite large amounts for the companies to consider investments. The pressure and incentives might rise when the energy prices are ought to dramatically increase 46. The opportunity to save money is a powerful driving force for companies and to save energy can be considered an easy way to save money. Moreover, since of efficiency concerns, they will be more and more powered by electric energy. The economic crisis has affected the legitimacy of green ICT solutions, both in terms of telecommunication solutions that reduce travel and thereby costs as well as software for reducing emissions in production processes. Overall, solutions with a low initial investment like e-invoice as well as virtualisation can succeed in a pressured economy Resource mobilisation Human resources It is difficult to sum up the common qualification within Green ICT. Of course IT competencies as programmers and system developers are necessary, but otherwise it is not possible to pinpoint. The companies in the study are mainly looking for seniors where the system thinking is of high importance. For the future, visualisation and human behaviour is deemed to be more important. All of this should be supported by an understanding for environmental issues. No particular weak area in education was identified. At Chalmers all education programs should have at least one environmental course, and there are also master programs with an environmental profile, such as Sustainable Energy Systems and Industrial Ecology, that provides the necessary environmental understanding. No program that covers the whole Green ICT spectrum was identified, but the different fields are represented in courses and projects. Within the companies there is additional education where further specialisation is applied. For the Gothenburg region, strong technical competency resources are identified within wireless technology 47 and the software applications for the automotive and transport industry 48. There is also strong knowledge creation through the research performed at universities and institutes (examples are Department of Signals and Systems at Chalmers and Viktoria Institute) combined with the increase in students of IT programs. When working with ICT aimed at another industry such as transports, facilities or production processes, it is very important to, apart from the ICT competence, know the businesses well. There are companies specialised in cooperating over borders (e.g. Consat) and the Triple helix thinking is considered strong in the region. In these cooperative efforts, to succeed within Green ICT, a strong component of competence in visualisation and human behaviour need to be added. 45 Interview with an SME 46 Interview with CEO, Regin 47 Interview with Birger Ekengren, Great 48 Interview with CIO, City of Gothenburg 43

54 Many of the companies in the study emphasise the significance of networks and friends when recruiting new employees. One can reflect about what this means for knowledge diffusion in the Green ICT innovation system, if there are not existing networks between different sectors (such as facility automation and software companies). This may hinder the movement of personnel and therefore the diffusion of knowledge. The creation of networks that span over the borders will be important in spreading the human capital. Financial resources Cleantech in general is a high-priority area for many Venture capitalists (VCs), and companies in the study that are funded by VCs argue that their environmental profile was significant in receiving the capital. However, SMEs that are not supported by VCs may experience a need for financial resources aimed at market development, and that the large companies are prioritised by government and authorities. Moreover, a disproportional majority of VC firms are based in the Stockholm region (Lindmark et al, 2004). Energiutvecklingsnämnden within the Swedish Energy Agency are funding environmental technologies. There the status of ICT has been low and companies working within that sector are not prioritised for funding. Ever since 1970, energy efficiency has been talked about but in practice the most effort have been put into energy production rather than energy efficiency techniques 49. Complementary resources The IT infrastructure is a necessity for companies in the Green ICT innovation system as well as their customers. In a worldwide perspective the broadband infrastructure in the Gothenburg region is very good. Still, when looking just at Sweden, some large city regions are a little bit ahead in the IT infrastructure development. Therefore, the IT infrastructure would probably not be the critical factor for companies establishing in the region. Stockholm is identified as a pilot market for smart grids, thanks to the good IT-awareness and penetration, and at the present a project of implanting smart grids at the Norra Djurgårdsstaden (currently in construction) is performed by Fortum and ABB (ABB, 2009). In Gothenburg such large-scale projects are not yet active, but the demonstration projects with charge posts for electric vehicles is one aspect that can be expanded upon for new construction projects. Lindholmen Science Park and the demonstration and testing arena Test site Sweden acts as complementary resources for technical innovation and collaboration. Since numerous actors in the studied innovation system, in particular they were identified for ITS and Virtual mobility sectors, are active in the proximity of Lindholmen Science Park it strengthens the function of resource mobilisation Development of positive externalities Since Green ICT is a theme which, both theoretically and practically, is supporting many people s wishes about a city with good quality of life, it might attract new citizens in a stronger way than the heavy industry companies. It might also make the region more well-known to tourists and international business. However, as a contrast to this positive view there are also some views from the companies in the study that it is difficult to pinpoint why the Gothenburg region would 49 Interview with Associate Professor, Environmental Systems Analysis, Chalmers University of Technology 44

55 be a better fit for Green ICT than other regions in Sweden. However, Sweden as a national market is perceived as a strong actor both in ICT and environmental technology. The development of ICT will result in a growing number of devices, as well as buildings and cars, that will be connected to the Internet. That might be a basis for many new markets, locking and unlocking your house with your cellphone is just one idea along with infotainment products and services for cars. However, to do this the companies need to have large resources and it might also cause a lock-in effect. Working with open standards is one way to avoid the lock-in effects. If smart grids are growing new markets would open up for small-scale energy producers. 5.2 Assessing the functionality of the TIS and setting process goals What the critical functions are may vary, according to Bergek et al (2008) depending on the current phase of the TIS. A number of indicators can be used to determine if TIS is in the formative phase. These indicators include the time dimension, volume of diffusion and economic activities and whether the demand is unarticulated. The formative period is seldom shorter than ten years. Green ICT as a term and concept is younger than that but the central technologies have been developed and tested for a long time. This follows well the general historical development patterns of technologies, where there is usually more than 20 years of research before the technologies are reaching public awareness and application. For the Green ICT TIS, the concept, context and objectives with the technology is more interesting than the technology itself, since that is what is understood to differentiate Green ICT from ICT. Another characteristic of the formative phase is that the volume of diffusion and economic activities that is but a fraction of the estimated potential (Bergek et al, 2008). This is true for many of the companies in the study, at least for those working with the second and third level solutions. Some more established solutions as virtualisation of servers are already a common solution though. The measure of unarticulated demand is a bit difficult to answer. The demand for greener ICT is not very articulated, even though the transport industry emphasises environmental sustainability. However, the demand for cost-reducing solutions is well articulated. The formative phase is characterized by high uncertainty in terms of technologies and markets (Bergek et al, 2008). Because of this, the function entrepreneurial experimentation is critical. 5.3 Inducement and blocking mechanisms A number of inducement and blocking mechanisms were found from the analysis. The inducements mechanisms (driving forces) are summarised in chapter and all the identified inducement mechanisms along with their connections to the functions in the TIS are shown in Appendix C. The blocking mechanisms that were identified can be seen in Appendix C. They were ranked according to how many functions in the TIS they blocked by using a matrix. In this way they were reduced to fewer blocking mechanisms, which were identified to be more influential than the others. These five blocking mechanisms were analysed more deeply and are explained in chapter

56 5.3.1 Inducement mechanisms Inducement mechanisms that are probably similar at the national level include the environmental charges that direct companies attention towards Green ICT solutions. There are global markets in huge need for energy efficient solutions and Sweden has a good reputation within environmental technology. The IT maturity and widespread use of solutions such as cloud computing makes it easier to market and sell Green ICT. There are new demands to reduce costs after the financial crisis, and ICT is identified by the customers as one day of doing that. From the perspective of the Gothenburg region subjects relating to different fields of Green ICT are studied and researched and the knowledge is spread through the networks and cluster organisations that relate to Green ICT. The interaction between industry, research and politics is strong and makes diffusion easier. There is a strong belief in growth potential among the companies and working the field is regarded as a good opportunity to position Gothenburg region as more attractive in the future. The financial crisis in 2008/2009 put tough pressure on the automotive companies and their suppliers as well as other companies, which led to many people being unemployed. The amount of competent human resources on the labour market is thus large, even though there to some extent still is a shortage of skilled workers within ICT Blocking mechanisms The blocking mechanisms that were more deeply analysed are seen in Figure 18 mapped to the corresponding functions. The thicker arrows symbolise a stronger blocking mechanism to that particular function. They are explained more in detail in this chapter. 46

57 Figure 18: Most critical blocking mechanisms mapped to the functions. Short-term outlook: Since several companies are looking for short term profits many environmentally beneficial solutions that have a payoff time that is more than a year is often not prioritised. This is a blockage mechanism for the innovation system since some Green ICT solutions have a longer payoff time. The functions that were identified to be negatively influenced by this was Knowledge development and diffusion, Influence of the direction of search, Entrepreneurial experimentation and Market formation. They were negatively influenced because if companies do not buy the product since the pay-off time is too long, than knowledge will not be diffused. If there are no customers there will not be any research within the field and if there only will be a market for short-term solutions and not the more long-term solutions there will not be a market formed for many of the Green ICT solutions. 47

58 The term Green ICT is considered to not be loaded with value: When e.g. the related cluster organisations considers the term Green ICT of low value, it will get less attention and less knowledge will be developed and diffused. The companies outside the ICT business may think that it does not relate to their business, thus weakening the influence on the direction of search towards Green ICT. Eventually, this might lead to a weakened legitimacy and social acceptance of the field. Weak carbon economy: The fact that there is no CO 2 tax for energy production (though tradable permits are used) and emitted CO 2 from transport sector is seen as a blocking mechanism for the innovation system. Green ICT products and solutions would be more interesting to more clients if the tax included these sectors. It acts as a blocking mechanism to the functions: Influence of the direction of search, Market formation and Legitimation. This is, since the market for many of the Green ICT products are dependent of CO 2 reductions, several of the companies are depending of this and it hinders markets to form. IT-scepticism, personal integrity: The functions that were identified to be blocked were Market formation and Legitimation; since if few will buy and use the solutions there will not be a market formed and the scepticism may lead to a lower legitimacy in pursuing large IT projects or systems. Large companies blocking new entrants, Lock-in effect: If there is a lock-in effect, the Entrepreneurial experimentation function will be weakened. It also complicates the Market formation and eventually the Development of positive externalities will not take place since new entrants to the TIS are blocked. 5.4 Specify policy issues Short-term outlook: The short-term outlook might block the system thinking. It is also a risk of using e.g. ICT hardware for a short/limited time. Sharpening the laws and regulations to steer that the profits are realised earlier is one way to help the situation. But also to in different ways raise an opinion and changing the views towards a more long-term outlook. Inform more about upcoming rules and regulations, so that the companies in the Gothenburg region are one step ahead. Gothenburg has an ambition to be a green city but as of today it may not be seen as the top. The term Green ICT is considered to not be loaded with value: Ways to mitigate this blocking mechanism might be first and foremost to inform about the concept to a wider audience. Its meaning is well known within the ICT business but there may be confusion in other businesses. There might be a good idea to have help from some party experienced in communicating messages. Changing the term to a better describing one (e.g. Greener by ICT) is another possibility. Green ICT, as it stands today does not have any formal demands (in contrast to e.g. Green Building). It might be seen as a greenwash with low legitimacy if used too broadly. Sharper requirements when it is used is one alternative way to improve the legitimacy. Environmental standards relevant in the ICT sector, such as Energy Star have been criticised for not being strict enough. By writing debate articles and inviting politicians to discuss the issues of the lack of strict labelling for energy efficiency, preferably with connections to EU, one may start a process towards more meaningful standards. 48

59 When considering the regional approach and use of Green ICT one has to be aware of the export market and its influence. Since this study is delimited to the Gothenburg region the worldwide market use and legitimacy of the concept is not captured. When speaking to a representative from ISA 50 in India, an interest in the Green ICT companies was apparent, but if the term itself is valued is difficult to say. Weak carbon economy: Inform and communicate with the political actors more about the environmental and economic potential in the Green ICT field, to create understanding what regulation changes that might support the field. One could cooperate with organisations such as Cleantech InWest that share the same viewpoint on this issue. This is also a question on an international level so lobbying through NGOs, local politicians and profiles such as Christian Azar 51 towards EU and UN one might catalyse the process towards stricter regulations. IT-scepticism, personal integrity: Measuring and controlling more and more via ICT solutions might offend and even scare people. Here also informing the most sceptical customers is critical. In this mission, simpler and less hostile ICT-solutions in all fields are of importance. The city of Gothenburg and the municipalities have a great responsibility, resources and potential in trying out and evaluate such solutions. If the trust in ICT in general would be larger, it would be easier for companies marketing Green ICT solutions. Large companies blocking new entrants, Lock-in effect: By helping SMEs in the region to cooperate (e.g. facilities, test labs) they can be a strong enough force to compete. Also, by inviting the large companies to a dialogue one might reach more understanding, the SMEs can act as suppliers to the larger companies. The large companies have the economic resources to perform changes, but the innovation is happening to large extent in the SMEs. A Green ICT network where the large and small companies are treated equally, where the influence is not dependent on companies sizes, can be a way to help new entrants entering the market. 50 Invest in Sweden Agency 51 Christian Azar has done much research on the subject and he is also a member of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change) 49

60 6 Discussion In this chapter we discuss the implications of the term Green ICT, in what forms could cooperation take place within the field in the Gothenburg region, if there is a network or other means of cooperation how should it be composed. Finally, the methods used in the study will be discussed, including whether the Technological innovation system (TIS) framework is suitable for studying Green ICT in the Gothenburg region. 6.1 The term Green ICT Is the term Green ICT suitable to use or is it misleading? Is it a word that people will use in the future or is it just a buzzword? Today many companies use the term Green ICT, both for marketing and for explaining what they do. But there are companies that do not use the word since their customers are not familiar with the term. Others do not use it since they believe that it is just a buzzword and some companies have stopped using it recently. There are also companies that have started to use other words and concepts instead, such as Greener by ICT, Sustainable ICT and efficient ICT. But generally more people have started to talk about it in terms of Green ICT. One example is the Swedish Government Offices that recently proposed a Green ICT action plan and the City of Stockholm where they have just proposed a Green ICT policy. In Gothenburg IT Center West have been talking a lot about Green ICT and had seminars about it, which has established the term so that many companies in the region know and talk about the field. This might be in favour for keeping the term since it is established already. Still, one might need to look outside the borders and actually use the term that is most frequently used internationally. Will people be talking about Green ICT in a couple of years, or will it be natural that ICT is green? One can compare it with the history of TVs. In the 1950s when colour-tv was introduced everyone said colour-tv (as opposed to black and white TV), after 20 years no one used the word any longer colour-tv had become just TV. Maybe it will be the same with Green ICT in a couple of years, that one will only talk about ICT and assuming that it is green. It has been discussed earlier in the report that the concept is very wide. The term is also a little bit misleading since one may believe that it only covers the 1 st order effects. Many people do not know that Green ICT also covers e.g. route optimising, energy efficiency and process optimisation. There are many people that never have heard about Green ICT and are not familiar with the concept. But from our experience we could say that are many ICT companies that have heard about it and know what it is. Many of them though only refer it to the first order effects which is a problem if the term should have a future. This speaks for a change of the name. Some people think that the term is only a buzzword and are tired of the concept. One example of that is Dataföreningens IT på framkanten were they did not want to have it as a subject since they thought that people were tired of the concept. Should there be one name for all the concepts that are included in Green ICT or should there be different kinds of names for all different fields? This question one can discuss and we believe that it might be better to either use different names or use a more describing name, e.g. Greener by ICT. So if there should be a Green ICT cluster organisation/network one might consider to use a different name. 50

61 6.2 Cluster organisation/network within the Green ICT field Should there be a Green ICT cluster organisation or should it be something else? Should one talk about networks instead of clusters? If cluster is the best form, should there be just one organisation or should there be many? Should BRG be the one to form a future cluster organisation? While discussing the term Green ICT, we argued that the concept is too wide. While discussing a cluster organisation within the field one can go back to that discussion and ask Will a company as Vehco get any exchange value out of meeting companies as Regin or Atea that work in a totally different sector than Vehco? The answer is, probably not. If there should be some sort of network one should probably focus on different areas. This will be further discussed below. The concept cluster might be subject to many preconceptions and the term network might be a better word to use when continuing the work. Network does not carry as strong notions and appears more accessible. Many of the studied companies are SMEs. Can they afford to pay membership fee for a cluster organisation? Do they have time to go and meet other companies that work within the same field as them? They might have fully planned calendars already and will probably rather spend time with a client than go to a network meeting. The membership costs are big problems for many of the small companies. They cannot be a part of as many cluster organisations as they might want due to financial limitations. Some of the companies that we talked to are interested of a being a part of a cluster organisation and some are not. Some were only interested if they could meet customers there so that they could get business out of it. This speaks in favour for having some kind of meeting place for the companies and prospective customers. Today there are seminars about Green ICT arranged by BRG, it might be enough with these meetings to remain as a cost-efficient alternative for the companies. Related to the transport sector there is today a cluster organisation called Telematics Valley. Some of the mapped companies are involved within that organisation and maybe it might be good to have a small Green ICT section within Telematics Valley and invite the vehicle and logistic companies that are not involved today, because ineffective to compete with already existing clusters. The Center of Visualization is a forum that could be interesting to quite a few of the Green ICT companies, and develop a profile towards Green ICT. Who should be the ones initiate networks or cluster organisations? Should it be the companies or the municipality? Of course the idea should come from the companies involved. It is better to let a cluster form itself than forcing companies together. In this case there have been many companies that have asked for a place to discuss Green ICT and meet other companies that work with it. BRG has therefore investigated the idea to form a Green ICT cluster organisation. Since they have a good knowledge about the field and the companies and they also have the financial capacity to investigate the question further they should be the one doing it. Working with the ICT sector have given them many connections to companies that work with Green ICT and are interested in the subject which gives them a benefit while contacting companies. 51

62 6.3 If there is a cluster organisation/network If there will be a future cluster organisation, or network as we prefer to call it, within the field of Green ICT/Greener by ICT there are some things one need to think about. Those are discussed here. We believe that there is better to have some small networks instead of one big network. That is because of the diversity between the different companies. As discussed above, companies within the logistic sector will probably get little value out of meeting companies that work with first order effects. Some ideas might be of interest for all the companies and it might be good if the different networks are working close each other so that they can cooperate when there is a need for that. They will have almost all meetings in their smaller networks but sometimes meet over the borders. The fields that we can see have most potential are: Vehicles, logistics and smart grid Buildings, energy and smart grid E-business, warehouse systems, logistics 1 st order effects companies (ICT use) The first field; vehicles, logistic and smart grid might not be any surprise since the Gothenburg region and West Sweden have strong competencies within this field. We can see that there are both many Green ICT companies within this field situated in the Gothenburg region and also many customer companies. Smart grid is included here since one part of it is electric vehicles as well as strong actors doing research on the subject. In Gothenburg there is today a cluster organisation where many of the companies in the vehicle and logistics sector already are members of, Telematics Valley. One idea could be to integrate the Green ICT companies within this organisation or to cooperate with them as much as possible. Porter (2000) says: Government should reinforce and build on established and emerging clusters rather than attempt to create entirely new ones. If these sectors discussed here are integrated within Telematics Valley they will probably gain more out of that than being a network of their own. The second field; buildings, energy and smart grid have a great potential since these sectors combined have huge opportunities to decrease the energy use and CO 2 emissions. There is both a big market locally in Gothenburg when there will be refurbishments of the Swedish Miljonprogrammet buildings from the 50s and 60s. Also, to globally be able to meet the future generations energy demand, buildings need to be built more efficiently and energy needs to be used more efficiently. GREAT 52 is one example of an organisation that as members has facility companies that may share these ideas. Connections between e-business, warehouse and logistics systems are increasing, and there are probably opportunities to integrate more systems to these. Networks between these companies as well as customers that run e-shops and other commerce business could be one way of growing. 52 GREAT (Gothenburg Region Easy Access Technology) is presented in Appendix A 52

63 Companies that decrease ICTs own environmental impact, i.e. 1 st order effects companies, are many in the Gothenburg region. They also have a big market share, since their customers are in all sectors. Many people refer Green ICT to this kind of solutions which they can use in their advantage. Since the concept Green ICT is wide there are many sectors and all of those are not covered in our suggested networks. We have chosen the markets that we have seen have the greatest potential and also the markets that we believe are most distinguishing for the region and that will stay here. The companies that are within a sector that is not mentioned here and would like to be a part of the network can chose the network they feel closest to. If companies within all sizes should be able to afford to be a part of the network it is important to not charge to much from the member companies. To keep cost down the companies can invite each other and have the meetings and seminars in the member companies own locales instead of renting a locale every time they should have a meeting. For many smaller companies cost was not the only problem, having the time was also a big issue. For those that cannot be there it might be good to broadcast as a webinar and also record the meetings. In the interviews many companies asked for a forum where they both could exchange knowledge and experience and also meet clients. If these networks will be formed one should invite not only the companies that work with the Green ICT solutions but also possible customers for the companies. It is also important that the networks communicate the message to community, companies and politics that this is something they need to focus on. Within BRG, the Business and Environment project as well as the Eco-Ex project are natural arenas for companies with an environmental orientation that may be beneficial to coordinate with a Green ICT network, in order to facilitate for the participating actors. Before any network is formed it might also be good to talk to the West Sweden Chamber of Commerce and Industry and ask them if they have any interest of cooperate with any of these networks. Finally, one needs to remember to think about what value the network has. If it can be proven that the network cost more than the companies and the region gain it is better to close it than to keep it. A network can easily become a club for reciprocal back-patting, no one will have any profit out of that. 6.4 Method discussion When information was gathered for this report we first read literature and after that we interviewed people within the Green ICT sector here in the Gothenburg region. If this was the optimal choice for gathering information one can discuss. By interviewing many companies we got a good knowledge about the sectors and how they are working with Green ICT. We also managed to get a pretty good insight in their views of networks and clusters. By doing these interviews we managed to find a foundation for the possible future networks and we knew who was interested to participate and not. Another way to get in touch with companies can be by sending out a survey. By doing that many more companies could have been contacted and we might have gotten a wider basis to form the networks from. But if surveys were sent out we would have no chance to influence who at the company that would answer the questions. For us it was important that the person answering 53

64 both had good knowledge about the whole company and also had mandate to make decisions about which networks they should be a part of. It is also harder to get the companies to take the time to fill in the form than to visit them for an hour. So doing interviews was probably the best option. Because then the right person was contacted and all contacted companies were willing to cooperate. If we talked to the right companies and if we talked to a preferable amount of companies one can also discuss. Of course we could have talked to many more companies, but one needs to draw a limit somewhere and we decided that the limit was thirty interviews. We believe that we talked to the right companies but if there was time available we would have liked to have met some more. Since the majority of the data originated from the companies themselves, one has to be aware of the risk that the data is biased by the companies intention to present themselves in a positive light. Still, many of the companies expressed doubt towards Green ICT and this fact we believe strengthen the credibility of the data. One part of the project was to investigate whether Technological innovation system was a good framework for analysis. Since we were able to go through all steps that were included and we got some good knowledge and conclusions out of it we can say that the tool was useful. But since Green ICT is very wide it was sometimes difficult to present one uniform view. If we should have chosen to analyse each field separately or decided to concentrate on one field the recommendations might have been more specific and thereby more useful in practice. So finally one can say that it was an adequate tool to use but it would have been preferable to use it on only one field at a time. 54

65 7 Conclusion Gothenburg has good potential for further growth within Green ICT, and most potential is identified in the different cross-sectorial areas that were discussed in chapter 6.3. The presence of large industries such as the automotive industry and oil refineries is one aspect, where Green ICT can support. There are existing clusters that involve similar questions as Green ICT. There is a general ambition from the Gothenburg region to work in a sustainable way and the companies in the studied innovation system are gaining an increasing interest from individuals looking for jobs due to the growing environmental awareness. However, there are few indicators that the Gothenburg region would have superior growth potential compared to e.g. Stockholm, rather Sweden as a whole has potential within the field. The stakeholders are in a variety of fields and categories where ICT can reduce environmental impact (see mapping in chapter 4). Some big stakeholders are the City of Gothenburg and its enterprises, both as users and producers. Because of their long-term perspective, size and responsibilities to the society sustainable solutions such as Green ICT are prioritised. Customers to Green ICT solutions exist in all kinds of companies, at least where the goal is to save energy. There is at the time of writing this report no general organisation or network for Green ICT in the Gothenburg region, but a number of activities by BRG/Dataföreningen/Swedish IT and Telecom Industries have been arranged that gathered stakeholders from the range of Green ICT. The attitudes towards cooperation historically are good in the Gothenburg region, and this study confirms this. The triple helix idea is strong and also supports the TIS in this study. There are many SMEs within the innovation system, and the collected resources gained from the cooperative efforts of SMEs are significant. The City of Gothenburg, the surrounding municipalities and the publicly owned companies are large customers of Green ICT solutions and have an opportunity to test new solutions in collaboration with companies. The TIS of Green ICT in the Gothenburg region is quite fragmented. It might be difficult to proceed as a cluster organisation comprising all categories of the field. Green ICT is already present in some respects as a part of Telematics Valley as well as the Center of Visualization. The Business and Environment project of BRG also supports Green ICT companies. If there are too many cluster organisations, the SMEs have problems to choose which clusters organisations to join due to lack of financial and time resources. The term and concept Green ICT is not very well-known outside of the ICT business. Even in the ICT industry it may have different meanings and many people still believe that it only considers 1 st order effects. The stakeholders that are aware of the wider interpretation of the concept are also associates more value to the term. The term is, compared to alternative terms to describe the field, widely used and many new initiatives use the Green ICT/Green IT terminology. However, using a more descriptive term might help in getting more legitimacy for the field. Due to the fact that the concept of Green ICT is so fragmented, it is difficult to describe and analyse the TIS from a functional dynamics in a uniform way. Still, it is a helpful tool for understanding the TIS, because you need to study different functions and aspects. 55

66 8 Recommendations In this chapter recommendations for BRG are presented. The objective is to collect the most important tasks from the report writers point of view in a concise way. The order of appearance does not indicate the order of importance and the recommendations should be assessed by the persons in charge. The knowledge about the area of Green ICT is lacking outside the ICT industry. One needs to continue the work to spread knowledge and good examples of ICT solutions for environmental sustainability. Seminars are a good tool for this, and can be used in a similar way as they are today. The strength is that physical meetings are beneficial for networking and the seminars are also recorded and made available on the Internet to a larger audience. One needs to monitor the industry, look beyond the pure ICT companies and try to involve companies and people within new application areas. One should involve the concept of Green ICT in already existing cluster organisations. Examples that we have found are Telematics Valley (for ICT used for vehicles, logistics and transportation) and Center of Visualization (for the companies that use visualisation in their Green ICT solutions). Considering the breadth of the field, there ought to be more possible connections to other existing networks and cluster organisations for sub-sectors of Green ICT. One example if looking at the full spectrum of the field is the West Sweden Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They should be contacted to check if they are working with the field. We identified fields with most potential (see chapter 6.3) and recommend that these fields and their connections are further investigated, and possibly create networks within the respective fields. Lobbying towards the City of Gothenburg as well as the publicly owned companies to utilise greener ICT solutions should be done to increase the significance of environmental factors in procurements, as well as to invest and pursue more projects with such profile. The term Green ICT is fuzzy and interpreted in different ways. One should think carefully about what term to proceed with. Suggestions are Greener by ICT if one want to emphasise the environmental aspects or Efficient ICT if one wishes to primarily communicate the efficiency gains that are possible. 56

67 9 Suggestions for further investigation In this report there are some areas that are not investigated. It is suggested to investigate them in a future research. Those areas will be described in this chapter. For this report only the Gothenburg region was studied and other Swedish cities and regions were only briefly touched. The global market was not studied at all. For further research it might be good to look at Stockholm and/or Malmö and compare Gothenburg with them and also look at the condition to cooperate with them and other Swedish cities that work with Green ICT. It might also be of interest to look at the global market, both where the possible future customers and producers are situated. Also compare the Swedish Green ICT market with the international. How well can the Gothenburg region compete with it? The financial part was only considered from the interviewees (mainly companies) point of view and not from Venture Capitalists (VC) and the markets. This can be investigated by interviewing VCs and also ask companies about how they are working with national and foreign VCs. Do they contact them on their own? In this report thirty stakeholders were interviewed, but there are still many more Green ICT companies in the Gothenburg region. Those can be contacted and requested to answer some questions in a survey. One can also look at changes for the companies investigated in this report, i.e. which companies that have been sold, have closed down, declared bankruptcy and also which new companies that have entered the market after this report was written, or historically. To do that can be useful before performing new analyses of individual sectors. In this report the analysis was made through a TIS and it was found that it might be preferable to only look at one sector of Green ICT at a time instead as the whole field as was done here. During the time span of this study the Swedish Government has requested the Swedish environmental protection agency to look at an action plan for Green ICT and they are supposed to present it in the end of April Swentec 53 had a request from the Swedish Government to present a plan to the Government of how to improve Swedish environmental technology. One of the potential areas of strength identified was Green ICT. They have continued to study that field and will present a report in June Those reports could be studied further in a future research. Finally the suggested networks need to be formed. Formalities for the networks, such as who can become a member, what should it cost for the members, are there any external funders/investors, where should they have the meetings, who should be in charge of it etc need to be established. 53 the Swedish Environmental Technology Council 57

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70 Appendix A: Interview questions and interviewees Interview questions The questions from the interviews, both for the in-depth and the short ones are listed below. Questions for the in-depth interviews These are the questions for the in-depth interviews. The numbers within the brackets symbolise which function of the technological innovation system the question refers to. These questions were used for the companies, for the cluster organisations a slightly altered set of questions were used. Introduction: [Short summary of the objective with the study] Presentation of the company: 1. Can you please tell us a little bit about the company? 2. What is your position? 3. How has the company changed during the last couple of years? Environment: 4. How is environmental questions a part of your company? a. ICTs environmental impact b. ICTs possibilities for a better environment? 5. How is your environmental work affected by the stakeholders? (i.e. employees, board, members of the board, shareholders, media, customers, suppliers) 6. Are there any stakeholders that pushes harder, for these kinds of questions, than any other? 7. Are there any environmental questions that are of more interest than any other? 8. How has new technical conditions had an impact on your work with ICT and environmental questions? 9. Are there any shortcomings in the technology that is an obstacle for you? 10. What is your impression of the motivation for your companies environmental work? 11. How would you define Green ICT? Clusters, networks, collaboration: One definition of a cluster within a business community is that companies within the same business and the same region create values for each other by collaboration and competition. The reason is to, for example, to stimulate innovation and create growth thanks to that. Some examples of areas of cluster organisations here in Gothenburg within the ICT business are Telematics, Microwave technology and Visualisation. Within these organisations there are meeting places such as meetings, seminars and workshops. 12. Which meeting places exist today a. For your company? 1

71 b. Within environment and ICT? 13. Which role does BRG play? 14. Do you feel that there is a need for a new form of meeting places? a. Within the same business, for those that work with Green ICT, value chain? 15. Why are these relations important? 16. How would you prioritize a Green ICT cluster against other clusters? 17. (1) From where do you get knowledge about ICT and environmental questions? 18. (6) Where do you recruit your personnel? Which partners do you use for recruitment? 19. (2) Can you describe a typical costumer? Would you prefer a costumer that is already green? 20. (3) What new Green ICT ideas has your company developed? 21. (4) What is needed to create a market for Green ICT solutions? a. Are there any obstacles? 22. (5)Has the recent focus on environmental/climate issues create new opportunities (/competition) for the company? How? The future: 23. What do you think about the future for your company? For the business? 24. (6) What is your next step? a. Do you have the resources? b. Are there any obstacles? 25. (7) If Gothenburg becomes really strong on the Green ICT market, which effects might that have on your company/ Gothenburg? 26. Which possibilities does the company have to succeed abroad? a. How do you work to accomplish that? b. What is missing for you to succeed? 27. Which business/segment do you see as the future? Questions for the short interviews These are the questions for the short interviews at Easyfairs ICT 2010: 1. What is your role at the company? 2. Where is your company situated? 3. What ICT solutions do your company offer that can contribute to a better environment? 4. Are there many such solutions within the ICT market? 5. Which knowledge is there in the ICT business about how ICT solutions can contribute to a lower environmental impact? 6. Has the recent focus on environmental/climate issues create new opportunities for your company? a. in Sweden? b. abroad? 7. Would your company be interested to cooperate with other companies that are working with ICT for a lowered environmental impact? 2

72 List of people interviewed The people interviewed are listed in alphabetic order of the company. In-depth interviews: Company Person Title Atea Lina Bodin Project Manager Capee Group Peter Nilsson CEO Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Energy and Environment Lina Bertling Professor in Sustainable Electric Power System, Head of the Division of Electric Power Engineering Cisco Henrik Bergqvist CTO, Cisco Sweden Consat Jeanette Johansson CEO, Consat Sustainable Energy Systems Dataföreningen Thure Bergström (former) Chairman, Dataföreningen Västra Kretsen Dialect Caroline Antonsson Marketing Manager Elicit P-A Freiholtz (former) Region Director Elicit Jon Perslow System Developer Emisoft Beata Ferenc Director, Emisoft Sweden Gothia Power Fredrik Sjögren CEO Great Birger Ekengren Responsible for activities Göteborg Energi Dennis Jonsson Product Manager, New services & ITbased energy services City of Gothenburg Magnus Petzäll CIO Infracontrol Jenny Gustavsson Marketing Manager Microwave Road Erik Bick Web and Marketing Ongoing Warehouse Gerhard Guron CEO Pagero Jonas Edlund Executive Vice President Prospero Timo Pohjanvuori CEO Regin Johan Ohlsson Managing Director Proxio Mattias Bergström CTO Renova Thérèse Schultze Business Development & IT Manager Renova Viktoria Edvardsson Manager, Quality and Environment Renova Fredrik Ranelöv IT Infrastructure Manager Specter Lennart Samsson CEO City of Stockholm Stefan Svensson Administrator, IT-strategy Sweco Andreas Ahlberg GIT manager Swedish IT and Telecom Industries, Almega (Använd grön IT) Ewa Thorslund Public Affairs Expert Telematics Valley Jan Unander Executive Director Vehco Johan Wennerby CFO Viktoria Institute Anders Hjalmarsson Researcher Volvo IT Magnus Kuschel (formerly Magnus Holmqvist) Västtrafik Sture Hedin ITS Manager Managing Director, Commute Greener 3

73 Additional interviews: Company Person Title BRG Joel Görsch Project Leader, Cleantech InWest Chalmers University of Technology Björn Sandén Associate Professor, Environmental Systems Analysis Swentec Catarina Hedar Project Manager 4

74 List of companies and organisations Almega, Swedish IT and Telecom Industries Almega is a trade organisation with seven different organisations within. One of them is Swedish IT and Telecom Industries, they have almost 1000 companies as members. Almega helps the members with economic-political matters and employer issues, they also hold seminars. They are working a lot with Green ICT questions and have some information at their webpage about how companies can use Green ICT and they also have an Index called Green-ICT Index, where companies are measured against each other. They also have seminars about it and have a blog were Green ICT is discussed Atea Atea is a supplier of IT infrastructure products and services in the Nordic and Baltic region with employees, in Sweden (2008). Atea uses a method, Evidence Green IT, to evaluate and classify the IT infrastructure. They deliver environmentally classified products and configure them to use energy saving modes. Atea also have a program for collecting and recycling old IT hardware. Capee Group Capee Group is a Gothenburg-based company founded in 2004 with 6 employees. Capee Group is owned by Chalmers Innovation, the founders and personnel. They develop and sell software that helps in visualising and diagnosing process disruptions in a quick way. The initial application was within the pulp industry, but it can be used in various process industries. This software both helps the industry to save energy and use less chemicals and it also decreases the emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxygen and other environmentally hazardous substances. Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers is a technical university in Gothenburg. Chalmers is divided in seventeen different institutions and one of them is Energy and Environment. One division at Energy and Environment is Electrical Power Engineering that performs research related to Smart Grids. There are also other institutions and divisions that work with Green ICT. Cisco Cisco is a multi-national company with employees globally and around 130 in Sweden. Cisco sells a variety of IT solutions, including energy-efficient products, but also solutions for smart grids and smart buildings. There is no R&D of products in Sweden, the impact is rather how the company designs solutions with the customer. 5

75 Consat Consat is a Swedish consultant company with around 175 employees. They work within the fields of industrial automation, electronics and system development, telematics as well as sustainable energy systems. Consat Sustainable Energy Systems works with energy efficiency programs, electric and hybrid power trains, sustainable energy systems, life cycle assessment, alternative power trains, energy technology development, engines and certification and Sinus charge stations (charge stations for electric vehicles). Dataföreningen Dataföreningen is a user network for people active within the computers and ICT industry. They have members. For the members they have meetings, seminars, discussion meeting and activities to find contacts. The members can start their own clusters/networks within Dataföreningen. It is a non-profit association. Dialect Dialect is a retailer chain specialised in mobile communication, with a total of 85 stores and 700 employees in Sweden. They sell products and solutions that can reduce the need of transportation. Dialect has arranged a contest for Green Office of the Year and offers the opportunity to plant a tree when handing in an old mobile phone. Elicit Elicit is a consultancy firm with offices in Gothenburg and Malmö and about 40 employees. They provide efficient IT solutions for different businesses such as building and transports. Currently Elicit is involved in the project Green IT Homes, which aim is to provide information about energy consumption directly to the computer or mobile phone. Emisoft Emisoft is a company based in Norway with 36 employees, Emisoft in Sweden has so far one employee. Emisoft offers environmental consulting and software for sustainability reporting. The customers are mostly big companies with a large environmental impact, such as the petroleum industry. 6

76 Gothia Power Gothia Power was established in 2004 and is a Swedish consulting company. They are located in Malmö, Göteborg and Västerås and have 27 employees. Their business is the electrical power business and they offer different services within that area such as measurements, research, energy efficiency studies, courses and they also performs studies necessary to plan, design and operate generators and transmission and distribution networks. GREAT Great (Gothenburg Region Easy Access Technology) is an organisation for IT-infrastructure. They were founded in 2004 to investigate if Gothenburg were lacking behind Stockholm in ITinfrastructure. They are financed by their members (companies and other organisations) for whom they have meetings and seminars about IT-infrastructure and networks. City of Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden. As an organisation, it consists of two parts: committees and companies. The companies include Göteborg Energi, Renova and the Port of Gothenburg. Göteborg Energi Göteborg Energi is an energy company. They also have products such as district heating, fiber broadband (GothNet), district cooling, gas and are now working with various new products and services. By using a wireless connection, the energy consumption in each flat can be monitored. Other related projects are locks that do not require a key (a cell phone is used instead), direct alarms to the fire station/guardians for households and electrical vehicle charge stations. They are owned by the municipality of Gothenburg and have about 1000 employees. They were founded in 1908, at that time the name was Göteborgs Elverk. Infracontrol Infracontrol is an ICT company that was founded 1993 and have 25 employees. They sell a web based platform that gathers all information from alarms that show if something is broken, like lamps and traffic signals, and visualises this information. The system is also used for monitoring variable speed signs, the visualised timetable for the trams, parking guidance (signs that say where there are available parking lots) etc. 7

77 Microwave Road Microwave Road is a non-profit cluster organisation within the microwave field. The members are 33 companies and universities. They are a national cluster organisation that focusing on international technology and market development uniting industry, universities, research institutes and regional and international authorities. Ongoing Warehouse Ongoing Warehouse is selling a web-based warehouse system which means that they are offering logistic companies system that makes the logistic handling more efficient. They were founded about two years ago. They are situated in Gothenburg and have 5 employees. The company is owned by the two founders. Pagero Pagero has an office and 45 employees in Gothenburg. Pagero s main offering is e-invoices, but the company is expanding into other aspects of e-business. By using e-invoices, paper as well as transports can be reduced and it is also a more secure solution. Prospero Prospero is a small technology consultancy firm (14 consultants) in Gothenburg with a specialty of working with projects concerning complex systems with many stakeholders. Many of their projects are in the area of public transportation, such as traffic information systems or services with the aim of making public transportation more attractive. Proxio Proxio is company in Gothenburg with 6 employees. The owners are Volvo Technology Transfer and KTH Chalmers Capital. The company started in 2006 and is working within the transport sector. They offer transport companies tactical optimisation software for efficient transportation optimisation. 8

78 Regin Regin provides energy efficient building automation through a combination of products (controllers, thermostats, sensors) and IT systems for managing buildings. The main office is situated in Kållered south of Gothenburg. Regin has about 80 employees. Renova Renova is a recycling company in western Sweden that operates a district heating plant. They are owned by the municipalies of Ale, Gothenburg, Härryda, Kungsbacka, Kungälv, Lerum, Mölndal, Partille, Tjörn, Stenungsund and Öckerö. City of Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and largest city in Sweden. The City of Stockholm has proposed a policy for Green IT and is European Green Capital Sweco Sweco is an international technology consulting company. In Sweden they have 49 offices and employees, worldwide they are employees. They have six different business units; building, energy, industry, infrastructure, sustainable city and water and environment. One part of Sweco in Gothenburg is geographical ICT. Their focus is energy, infrastructure, green ICT, public sector, forest and transportation. By using geographical information systems much information can be structured, analysed and visualised in an easy way. Specter Specter is based on the island Tjörn outside of Gothenburg and offers a web-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. The system is used by many e-shopping companies and also has automated connections to logistics systems. Specter has 4 employees, the company is owned by the employees. Telematics Valley Telematics Valley is non-profit cluster organisation within the telematics field. The 46 members are companies and organisations. Telematics Valley seeks to promote the use of telematics to benefit all users in the automotive and transport sector. They were founded in

79 Vehco Vehco is a telematics company with more than 40 employees. They produce ICT systems for vehicle computers. Their customers are hauliers, truck depots and other companies with large fleets of trucks. The ICT system helps the user with navigation, to lower the fuel consumption and with more efficient order handling. Viktoria Institute Viktoria Institute is a non-profit IT-research institute located at Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg, Sweden. They are focusing on automotive and transport informatics and employs approximately 25 researchers. The units within Viktoria Institute are Electric & Hybrid Vehicles, Active Systems for Safety, Infotainment & Telematics, Transportation efficiency and Vehicle Diagnostics. Volvo IT Volvo IT is a global company in the Volvo group with employees globally, in Sweden (2008). Volvo IT offers industrial IT solutions, telematics services and consulting services. Volvo IT has an efficient data center cooled by sea water. Volvo IT Innovation Centre has developed Commute Greener, a service that uses your mobile phone to calculate and compare the CO 2 emissions for different travel choices. Västtrafik Västtrafik is a public transport executive company in the western part of Sweden. It is owned by all the municipalities in the region and VGR (Västra Götaland Regionen). They were founded in 1999 and before that they were four different companies. They have an ITS department that are working with vehicle technology for their own vehicles such as trams, busses, trains and boats and also with visualised traffic information. 10

80 Appendix B: Preliminary mapping 1

81 Appendix C: Incentives and blocking mechanisms, ranking matrix 1

82 2