“Twin transition” is an emerging concept that acknowledges the intricate dependencies between green- and digital transformation. Through the Vinnova funded initiative UTTC, we will increase our positive impact on sustainability through excellent research and outreach.
“We should harness this transformative power of the twin digital and climate transition to strengthen our own industrial base and innovation potential.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
As identified in previous research as well as policy, reaching the global sustainability goals will require significant digital transformation. In other words, sustainable transformation performance hinges on digital transformation performance.
During the past couple of years, we have seen increased attention and emphasis on sustainability related issues in the research, teaching and outreach conducted within SCDI. Building on this, we are now creating a new strategic initiative to further enhance the positive societal contribution of SCDI.
Our twin transition approach recognizes that there is a huge and largely untapped opportunity for digital technology to drive sustainability goals. Rather than treating digital and sustainability in isolation, our twin transition strategy combines these critical functions to unlock benefits in terms of efficiency and productivity. The twin transition can make a positive impact by ‘greening’ technology, data assets and digital infrastructures while accelerating sustainability across organizations and society at large. Against this backdrop, UTTC will devote significant resources into identifying the necessary digital transformation prerequisites for green transition. Through integrating the new initiative with existing and emerging research at SCDI and Rise, we hope to swiftly scale our efforts into mitigating the existential environmental crisis.
To make the most out of the twin transition, proactive and integrative management will be needed. As a first step, we have initiated a close collaboration with e.g., the Swedish Internet Foundation, Viable Cities and Rise to enhance our joint capabilities for addressing the issue among Swedish and European cities. Utilizing previous findings from the Digital Government Research Consortium, we hope to support cities aspiring for the Net-Zero Climate Agreements 2030 through concrete recommendations for how to align their digital transformation initiatives with green transition. As a second step, we will support the creation of capabilities in industry on both the net-zero solutions vendor- and consultancy side.
The initiative has received 20MSEK in funding from Vinnova, which together with an additional co-funding of 22MSEK will afford UTTC to have a substantial and direct impact on reduced green house gas emissions in Sweden.
As this collaboration deepens, we will continue to integrate additional projects and researchers into the strategic initiative, further enhancing the impact of UTTC. With twin transition still nascent as an object of inquiry, we will strive to establish SCDI as one of the leading academic power houses within the field and make strong and valuable contributions to policy, practice and research alike.
For additional information, please reach out to Professor Johan Magnusson.
