2022 was the year when Smart City Sweden fully could welcome physical delegations to the offices in Sweden again.
A delegation from Rwanda visited Smart City Sweden West in August
This year, Smart City Sweden has had visitors from over 60 countries. The focus area with the most interest from the delegations was climate and environment, showing the will for a green transition in cities worldwide. At smartcitysweden.com, waste management was the most visited topic.
– We are seeing great interest from international decision-makers and business leaders when it comes to finding sustainable city solutions. There are technologies, solutions and best practices out there, but they need to be matched with the demand. That’s where Smart City Sweden comes in, says Gina Aspelin Hedbring, Project Manager at Smart City Sweden.
World leaders gathered in Stockholm
Smart City Sweden participated in a wide range of events on smart cities and sustainability, such as the Thailand Sustainable Development Forum, E-world energy and water in Essen, Germany and Smart City Expo Doha.
Visiting E-world in Essen, Germany
In June, Stockholm +50 took place, an international meeting convened by the United Nations and hosted by the Government of Sweden with support from the Government of Kenya. The event brought together leaders from all over the world and Smart City Sweden hosted some of the world leaders, including the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic and the Minister of the Environment of Slovakia.
From visits to implementation
The so-called pre-feasibility studies have continued, and more than five new studies have been conducted during the year. In Rugao, China, a pre-feasibility on mobility was conducted, which led to the decision to create a pilot facility with the goal to provide Scania’s new establishment with biogas. Another example from 2022 is El Salvador, where a feasibility study for the establishment of a Waste-to-Energy plant in San Salvador soon will be started up. In Somaliland, more installations of solar cells have been carried out during the year.
Swedish delegation visits The San Salvadror region, El Salvador
– The more than twenty pre-feasibility studies have been very successful and have filled the gap between visits, feasibility studies, pilots and full-scale installations, says Östen Ekengren, Head of Business Development at Smart City Sweden.
Continued interest in digital tours
During the pandemic, Smart City Sweden launched several virtual tours to keep sharing knowledge and continue cooperation with other countries. The tours have proven to be a good tool for delegations that are not able to visit Sweden, which is why three new tours were launched in 2022. The tours handle topics such as wastewater treatment, biogas and sustainable buildings. Visit the virtual tours here.
One of the most frequently asked topics at Smart City Sweden is waste management. A new film regarding waste was published during the year, which gained 50,000 views in a week on Sweden.se’s Youtube channel. Watch the film here. Smart City Sweden is currently collaborating with UNDP and Avfall Sverige to create an e-learning platform for decision-makers that want to take action regarding waste management in their city. The platform will be launched in 2023.
Smart City Sweden will now close for the holidays and open again in January.
Happy holidays!
The Smart City Sweden Team
