Nowadays, we are facing more and more complex challenges, including population overgrowth, environmental pollution and energy over exploitation. These challenges require holistic approaches and new forms of co-operation, organization, leadership, and business models. We believe that the key to this is through long term sustainable development strategies like eco-cities based on the Hammarby Eco-city Alliance Concept. Sweden is one of the few leading countries in the world in sustainable urban development and strategy, and the country also ranks strongly in terms of competitiveness of knowledge, innovation and technology. This enables Sweden to contribute at a global level. In our opinion, the key solution to tackle the aforementioned challenges is through long term sustainable development strategies like eco cities based on the Hammarby Eco City Alliance Concept.

Sweden is Leading in Sustainable Development

Sweden has invested considerably into environmental improvements during the last 50 years. Due to its geographical location in the Nordics, Sweden experiences long, cold winters and mild summers, hence cities must be equipped with solutions that aid areas such as heating efficiency, in order to deal with the difficult climate challenges. Today, 55% of the total energy production in Sweden is from renewable sources, particularly district heating is almost exclusively powered by renewable and recycled heat (90%). Additionally, Sweden is a global leader in waste management as about 99% of all household waste is recycled and reused.

Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm

Hammarby Sjöstad is a prime example of Sweden’s unique collaborative model and innovative solutions in sustainable urban development. What once was a run-down industrial area in the 1990s, located just outside the city of Stockholm, is now a complete smart eco city. The urban development attracts global interest and visitors from all over the world, including the Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2010 (then acting as Vice President), to first-hand witness the famously scenic and sustainable eco city located next to lake Mälaren. The development of Hammarby Sjöstad was originally aimed at equipping the city to host Summer Olympics in 2004, as Stockholm was one of the bidding cities. However, the project has since then developed in continuously turning the city into a smart eco system; it has successfully managed to reduce the impact from emissions with up to 50%, created sanitary redevelopment systems, built energy efficient buildings, transformed brownfield sites, reduced heat waste and much more. It covers up to 250 ha and has managed to attract 11,000 apartments, 20,000+ inhabitants and with a prediction of 30,000 inhabitants in 10 to 15 years. Hammarby Sjöstad continues to grow with higher density, higher real estate value, fewer cars and carbon footprint, and higher levels of income.

The Hammarby Eco-city Alliance

China and Sweden have had long diplomatic relations as Sweden was the first Western country to recognize People’s Republic of China as an independent country in 1950. The two countries have since maintained a stable and friendly relationship with many sister provinces and cities bridging the two countries even closer, such as; Shanghai and Gothenburg, Guangzhou and Linköping, Yantai and Örebro, and Hainan and Gotland.

The Eco City Alliance was created by White Peak, Envac, SWECO and Business Sweden with the mission to deliver sustainable solutions with an innovative sustainable city design and construction through the Hammarby Eco City Concept, and to promote it to relevant stakeholders in order to enable future replication. The Alliance uses a collaborative model to deliver sustainable urbanization solutions and to support China’s sustainable city development.

Looking forward, the Alliance will work with the following:

• Expanding the Alliance by attracting more collaboration from Sweden and China
• Introducing business opportunities in China through Eco-city initiatives
• Working together with the Swedish government to secure support for growth
• Assisting Chinese cities in planning, implementing, and governing of eco-city projects

Yantai and the Future of the Alliance

The eco and smart city pilot in Yantai, based on the Hammarby Eco City Concept, was launched in May 2019. The Alliance announced the China-Sweden Hammarby Eco City Alliance at the Yantai Eco City Alliance Event, committing to building a “signature smart eco city” on the coastline of Yantai, in northern China’s Shandong province. Since September 2019, the Alliance has grown by the new additions of key members, including: ASSA ABLOY, Hags, Regin, Velux, Östberg and Alfa Laval. These organizations share our vision to create a sustainable, green future. We look forward to working and achieving our aim together here in China.