Byggande för en hållbar utveckling i Luleå kommun : En utredning av Tekniska förvaltningens arbete med miljöfrågor för en hållbar utveckling inom byggande

Our climate is about to change and the concept sustainable development has become a keyword for our time. In Sweden today you work according to sixteen environmental quality goals among other things. One of these goals is “A good built environment”, a goal that we will not be able to reach by 2020. Why will we not reach this goal? The energy consumption for housing and services has basically remained constant since the early 1980s, the energy consumption in the transport sector has increased, the proportion of household waste has increased and less is recycled. This thesis is about identifying problems in the way the Technical Department in Luleå handle environmental issues in their projects today. The Department is currently working accordingly an environmental program that issued in 2006. This program has not been updated or revised since then. Why is the documents not used properly? Is it about a lack of commitment within the Department? Is it about a lack of knowledge? A literature review initiated the work, in order to get a basic knowledge in the subject of sustainable development, with the purpose to be able to conduct interviews and surveys for the case study projects. There were also interviews with other people within the organization of the township of Luleå. The case study interviews were completed with a survey to each client, project planner and contractor in the projects. Finally an additional survey about motivation and commitment was made within the Technical Department. All of this has been the basis for the thesis result, analysis and conclusion. The literature review showed that there is in uncertainty in the meaning of sustainable development, it can mean different from person to person. One of the most commonly accepted definitions of the concept is that it is depending on three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Sustainable construction requires long-term planning, education and knowledge, follow-ups and evaluation. In order to accomplish this, the involved parties have to take responsibility and work towards common goals. Commitment is the greatest momentum to do your best. To promote commitment and motivation, it is particularly important that the communication occurs on equal terms through the Departments levels and that the employees have a chance to develop their skills and a chance to be involved when making important decisions. The interviews showed that the majority of respondents were not well acquainted with the Technical Departments environmental program, but it was still an important port of their work. What makes the Departments work with environmental issues in their projects fall short is due to lack of knowledge and commitment according to the respondents. The first survey clearly showed that the involved parties do not present the documents they are required to according to the Technical Departments environmental program. The result varies from project to project, but generally speaking documentation is missing. One of the respondents had not even heard of an environmental program. The second survey about motivation and motivation and commitment within the Department showed that the respondents are dedicated to their work today, yet the environmental programs directives are not followed. The respondents mentioned that they lack clear goals and guidelines for the Departments work with the environment, they also lacked knowledge and education. The conclusion is that it is not the environmental program of the Technical Department itself that is the problem, but it falls short because the employees does not know how and why they should use it. The Department also needs a shared vision and clear guidelines on how they should work with environmental issues in their projects. The Department also needs to increase the knowledge of the concept, in order for the employees to understand the purpose and importance of the sustainability work and with that also become more motivated in their work.Validerat; 20140505 (global_studentproject_submitter