Positive result at half time for CoAction Lund
IN CoAction Lund There are 25 actors with the goal of making Lund climate-neutral by 2030. The work includes small and large companies in Lund, universities, municipalities and other organizations. In addition to the original organizations, more have been added and there is cooperation with cities such as Helsingborg, Gothenburg and Kristianstad.
Charlotte Hauksson is part of the project office together with Marcus Paulsson, Erika Frimanson and Per Eneroth at Lund Municipality. They are having an intense and in many ways successful year to look back on.
- I think Lund is a fantastic city where different actors can sit in the same room and discuss challenges and opportunities, says Charlotte Hauksson. Through CoAction Lund, we have a neutral platform for the climate-neutral city. Our goal is to benefit climate goals — but we know that much of what we come up with will also benefit companies' businesses.
Innovative thinking in energy
On the energy side of the project, CoAction has already had a breakthrough. In the spring, he pressed Via Europa on the start button of what is known as EnergyNet where one tries to share energy between LKF:S and LKP's properties at Brunnshög. It turned out that the energy exchange works just as well as it was intended.
- Now we look at how this can affect business models, such as how EnergyNet fits together with The power ring's business model. Planning is underway for EnergyNet to be distributed, the same system is planned to be used in 270 of LKF's apartments in western Lund, continues Charlotte Hauksson.
The power ring has also started with pilot, which is a continuation of E-flex, along with Academic House Using a model from Energy Opticon to enable properties to optimise the flexible use of heat, cooling and electricity.
- The electricity grid in southern Sweden is strained at certain times and these solutions can be ways to relieve it so that the power is distributed better, says Charlotte Hauksson. It is good if we have several solutions for the future when there will be more electric vehicles to charge and also many new constructions in Lund.
Planning platform for a robust energy system
A robust energy system needs to be planned from a holistic perspective and Lund Municipality Infrastructure strategist Karin Hammarlund has led the work to create a planning platform. There, Lund can submit expansion plans and connect them to energy supply and other technical infrastructure. The work is carried out in collaboration with Kraftringen and RISO and the actors together create the foundation for a robust and sustainable energy system.
- The platform created in the project is unique, says Charlotte Hauksson. Through this we can try to avoid power peaks. It is also an opportunity to interact with the mobility part of the project by adding charging points and places for hydrogen refueling. An exciting opportunity is that the new member ChargeNode want to test balancing vehicle charging to certain times and V2G chargers (veichle to grid) in the project.
Green Itinerary for Sustainable Travel
In the field of mobility there are many sub-projects. All actors implement a green itinerary with support from Trivecteur Trafic. The participants receive coaching and inspiration to find the right measures for the organisation to increase sustainable travel. 21 organisations have participated and 19 of them have today decided on their action plans.
In autumn 2024, a travel survey was conducted in which approximately 9,000 people in the organizations responded to the survey (out of a total of 30,000 employees). Now there is a basis for many new measures in the project by knowing which cities many people commute from, how many employees at different companies cycle and ride by public transport and what participants think is missing to enable them to commute in a more sustainable way.
Road construction is a window for change
At the moment, many road works are underway in and around Lund, including on the E22 and road 108 between Lund and Staffanstorp. In CoAction Lund, it is called “road building and sustainable commuting” and it is seen as an opportunity to encourage people to try new ways and ways of travelling. Through a communication platform, companies receive timely information about changes in order to more easily adapt their information on current route choices to relieve and perhaps even create new habits among employees.
Sustainable Commuting Together
During May, a commuting competition was organized in order to commute as sustainably as possible. More than 1,400 people from 19 organizations participated. Among those who had a low sustainable commute before the competition (maximum two days a week), 70% increased their sustainable travel.
CoAction Lund is also investigating more ways to develop bicycle commuting. One ambition has been to develop cooperation with Lundhi to install bike pools on the organizations' land, but the start has been slightly delayed. On Medicon Village a mobility hub is planned; and Coride will offer the possibility of carpooling. The project also discusses how to find more places as bases for micromobility, so that travelers can get on from public transport stops via rental bicycles, electric scooters and more.
New collaborations in freight and parking
Farms are another exciting area where major climate gains are possible. A survey was conducted to increase cooperation in areas such as alternative fuels, transport planning and charging stations, and to provide more knowledge on how to set environmental requirements in procurement. Now, cooperation with Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Malmö and Kristianstad has also been initiated to achieve coherent climate-neutral freight transport.
Also in the area of parking, a survey has been carried out as a basis for working with common strategies. On Wihlborgs parking has tiered charges tested, where those who carpool with the app Coride pay lower parking fees. In connection with this, the price of commuter passes and day parking has also been revised to make it more profitable to leave the car at home a few days a month.
Several new members
In addition to working with energy and mobility, there is what is known as the Hub, which organizes collaboration, works on communication, replication and dissemination of the results and collaborates with accompanying researchers. This autumn, a visitor platform for technical visits will be launched. It is based on the areas of CoAction Lund, but the organisations can also connect.
- We are very pleased with the first year, and one of the great successes is that the collaboration between the actors works well, sums up Charlotte Hauksson. A clear indicator is that the actors in the project are still active. It has also not been difficult to recruit more — it is gratifying that we have eleven new exciting members on the way to the collaboration!