The materials transition requires new ways of thinking and cooperating
Sweco is a fore-runner in planning and designing sustainable communities and cities of the future.
One of the areas of sustainability to Sweco is looking at now is bioeconomy, the use of renewable natural resources and materials.
”We must look closer at what materials we will genuinely have enough of in the future.
Apart from using new renewable fuels and materials, we have to for example be able to use waste sources more efficiently or develop carbon dioxide reprocessing further”, says Tuulamari Helaja, Business Unit Director, Biobased Industry at Sweco.
Helaja believes that now is the time to care-fully consider all the phases of the new processes, from the logistics and storage to the best re-use purpose for each material.
”There are a lot of conversations about eliminating fossil sources, but the details of how to make the most of their replacements are still unclear.”
Interdisciplinary expertise needed
Helaja believes that a successful transition is going to need fresh capabilities from everyone.
”From our perspective as an engineering and consultancy company I talk about the “leap ability”, our capability to grasp new potential and to understand that there is not going to be a reference for something that is brand new.”She also thinks that cooperation is now more necessary than ever. Given that new solutions demand a more modular or interdisciplinary approach, expertise sharing among sectors and areas of specialization becomes paramount.
”I want to put a strong emphasis on the human side of this transition, we need to have brave conversations and genuinely search for solutions together. I think this is one of our strong points at Sweco, we already have a wide scale of different expertise and a natural role as a conversation starter when it comes to sustainability.”
New innovations bring change
Helaja is hopeful about the sufficiency of materials if the utilization can be optimized.
”We have enough carbon; the question is how it circulates for different purposes. Luckily it seems that a lot of larger companies as well as smaller startups are now coming out with initiatives and innovations to tackle this. It is up-lifting to hear about the new ideas, whether it is using algae as raw material or creating textiles from wood fibre.”
Helaja also hopes that Finland will be a more attractive option for larger scale industrial investments for biobased products and materials.
”I think there are certain areas we could look at to make this possible, including the permit-ting processes and how the competence of our workforce is developing.”
Additionally, a key consideration revolves around the extent of pressure exerted on companies by consumers.
”Everyone of us decides on what to purchase and it will be interesting to see if there is a stronger consumer movement asking more sustainability and circular – biobased solutions. I think one of the ways to ensure this, and fact-based choices, is to make these ideas familiar to people of all ages starting from school.”
Tuulamari Helaja, Business Unit Director, Biobased Industry at Sweco. Contact tuulamari.helaja@sweco.fi.