No need to reinvent the weel

The desire and necessity for the countryside to develop climate, economic and social sustainability is evident in these times and at the same time probably the solution to how we can sustainably continue to develop without depleting our finite resources and preventing catastrophic climate change.
It is as much about taking advantage of innovative technology as building resilient infrastructure for sustainable power and food supply, while maintaining and developing services that make it possible and attractive to live and work outside the big city.
In my opinion, the way to get there is to learn from each other. No one needs to reinvent the wheel. Initiatives in this direction are underway around the world and solutions to anyone’s challenges or problems already exist.
Smaller villages act as testbeds for large-scale solutions for more urban environments, while large-scale urban solutions can be scalable and modular to work in more rural environments.

Småland and Skåne in southern Sweden share their experiences and good examples

I recently had the pleasure of guiding a visionary delegation from the Klaipeda region of Lithuania. It was a tour of southern Sweden, Småland and Skåne, where we visited and met municipalities, companies, associations and universities, all of which in different ways have taken initiatives for a more sustainable social, economic and climat development.

Good examples for sustainable social development

Here is a brief description of our visits.
In the small town of Häradsbäck, after a storm swept across Sweden, there was an awakening. 30 days without electricity is a real challenge and the mother of innovation and structural changes. Meeting place Häradsbäck was created.
Here, they have now built infrastructure for their own power supply, while at the same time they have joined together locally and taken ownership of service facilities that ensure that the local population is not isolated. The next step is to establish circular production facilities that increase self-sufficiency in vegetables and fish. They think circularly and take advantage of residual flows and share infrastructure.

IKEA, Älmhult
As everyone knows, IKEA operates globally, but clings to a strong local historical identity. IKEA also focuses on future sustainable solutions and circular production models. I can recommend a visit to the IKEA museum in Älmhult. Here you get to experience a fantastic journey through time about how social development and trends have affected our way of living and working.
Muff – the restaurant of the future is already on site in Älmhult.
The restaurant is buzzing with life and activity, a meeting point where you feel at home and welcome. The whole establishment is based on reuse, there was nothing that I could see in the interior that was not reused from before.
The most interesting thing then was that there is no menu. A buffet of the day is served, which consists of what the restaurant has come across locally. Nothing goes to waste, while local suppliers all have the opportunity to contribute, big or small. Last but not least – it was incredibly good food.

The big city’s initiatives and solutions are adaptable for the countryside

Helsingborg Innovation District gathers the city’s good initiatives for sustainable development. This is how they describe themselves;
Bridging academia, private and public sectors towards impact innovation in Helsingborg and beyond.
Located in one of the most innovative regions in the Nordics, Helsingborg Innovation District brings together the ambition and capabilities of motivated actors in government, business and academia. Our collective goal is to be a driving force for the development and advancement of global Impact innovation.
Helsingborg Innovation District is an extensive network of cross-collaborative actors established in Oceanhamnen, Helsingborg. Our ambition is for that strength to extend through partnerships with communities in Helsingborg and beyond who share the same dedication to advancing global impact innovation.
The innovation district is not just another business hub. It’s a unique and continuously growing ecosystem infrastructure, a catalyst for cross-collaborative impact innovation. This district bridges actors and resources in a dedicated neighbourhood, integrating like-minded people with a shared vision and purpose to work together in developing, testing and implementing impactful social and business solutions.

We also had the privilege of getting to know FoodTel, which is one of the companies developed at HETCH in Helsingborg, as well as Michael Johansson, who is a researcher at Lund University-Campus Helsingborg while also being a board member in Leader Skåne Mitt Nordväst.

RecoLab offers a creative and informative environment with a focus on urban development around water and sewage management, waste, energy and recycling. The business consists of three departments, a development facility, a test bed and an exhibition hall.

In the development facility, all source-sorted waste water and food waste from Oceanhamnen in the H+ district is handled and recycled in a 3 pipe system.

Important to give our children a good start

At Västra Ramlösa school in Helsingborg, they were the first to use sensors, both indoors and outdoors, to measure e.g. carbon dioxide level and temperature, but also keep track of food waste. Everything is put together in a digital platform, Antiloop, which is available to both students and parents. Nowadays, the system is expanded in all municipal primary schools in the city of Helsingborg. In the school cafeteria, they grow their own salad and herbs in a hydroponic system. It creates an early awareness in the children to take care of and not waste valuable resources.

When municipalities and private initiatives work together, magic is created

A very good example of this is how Lydinge Resort has been built up and developed in the municipality of Åstorp. What used to be a landfill and ordinary agriculture is now a very attractive international destination and tourist attraction that creates new opportunities for many regional businesses. Lydinge Resort today houses a golf course, SPA, paddling hall, MTB track, recreational fishing, hiking trails, high-class restaurant and last but not least a hotel. It does not end there – the next step in the development is the expansion of an attractive residential area. In connection with the Lydinge resort, the business area has been given new life and is now buzzing with activity.

Brunnshög, the most innovative and advanced research and development arena in its sector in the world

We are talking about Lund municipality and Science Village, but we will start in Veberöd. Veberöd is a small community in Lund municipality that functions as a test bed for innovative community solutions that attract the whole world. In Veberöd, they are a test pilot within Sustainable Mobility. Systems and infrastructure are developed for how a sustainable and accessible service and public transport can function, and autonomous robots/vehicles (HUGO) that deliver goods and medicine to municipal residents are tested, to give a few examples.
Brunnshög – Science Village
When fully developed, 45,000 will live, conduct advanced materials research, work and study here.
RnD heavy companies will exist side by side with world leading academics, students and large research infrastructure. And a university, Nano Lab and industry liaisons.

Circular Development Hub

In Skåne, we jointly take on the challenge of transforming into a society where no resources are wasted.
Circular development hub for food is a gathering of forces between about 15 partners where the focus is on collaboration in the borderland between companies, academia and society. The goal is to develop capacity and thus speed up the transition to a circular sustainable food system where no resources are wasted.

How come 22 visionary people from Lithuania come to visit

It all started with an international Leader project within the framework of Short supply chains in the food sector. It was then noticed that one of the solutions for a continuation project in Lithuania had its solution with a company in Åstorp-Bjuv, Solserv. During on-site visits to Sweden, the smaller delegation was made aware of the excellent activities that are on site in our region, which led to a large delegation wanting to see more and exchange experiences. We also took the opportunity to visit Ekobalans, which deliver solutions for plant nutrient recycling and sustainable management of residual flows from sewage treatment plants, biogas plants, the food industry and agriculture. 
It is together development thrives and gains strength. Don’t spend unnecessary energy reinventing the wheel – when you can instead spend energy collaborating and implementing. Time is running out to change.

This much appreciated and in many ways fantastic study visit would not have been possible without helpful friends – many thanks.