[Public Seminar] Malmö: ‘Sustainability as a Driver of Change’ & ‘Waste to Energy’

Date/Time
Date(s): 30/10/2014
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Category C: Seminar/ Workshop for urban experts on specific innovation issues

Category D: Academic Seminar/ Workshop on urban development theory

Malmö

Location
RRS 905, Sir Run Run Shaw Building, Ho Sin Hang Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong

Language: English

Admission: Free, please register below.

Event Partner(s): This event is organized in cooperation with the City of Malmö, Swedish Consulate, Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Speaker(s):
-Kerstin Akerwall, Director of the Environment Department, City of Malmö
-Ebbe Nordell, Vice President and Member of The Board of Directors, International Energy Solutions AB

CLICK TO READ SPEAKERS’ BIOGRAPHY:

Ms. Kerstin Akerwall

Mr. Ebbe Nordell

Event Description:

Malmö: ‘Sustainability as a Driver of Change’
Ms. Kerstin Akerwall, Director of Environment Department, City of Malmö
Abstract: The city of Malmö, Sweden, has made a remarkable journey in the last 20 years – from an industrial city in crisis to a prosperous and vital city, internationally recognized for its work in urban sustainability. Malmö sees sustainability as a driver of change and has set ambitious targets for the coming years. One example is energy. Malmö intends to make all city activities climate neutral by 2020 and has a plan to ensure that the whole city runs on renewable energy by 2030. Already today, around 30% of all electricity is produced by renewable sources. These include photovoltaic installations throughout the city and Sweden’s largest offshore wind farm situated 10 km off the coast.

Malmö: ‘Waste to Energy’
Mr. Ebbe Nordell, Vice President and Member of The Board of Directors, International Energy Solutions AB
Abstract: Hong Kong and Malmö cooperate in the area of waste management via the Sustainability Charter concluded by the two cities in 2011. Malmö’s waste management strategy has transformed its heating infrastructure into a model waste-to-energy system. About 65% of the city’s heat demand is met by waste incineration. The Sysav plant was placed close to the city. It alone can handle 650,000 tonnes of waste annually for producing 1.4 TWh heat and 0.3 TWh power. Malmö’s waste management strategy has enabled the city to minimize the use of landfills and to produce heating and cooling through waste incineration.

Event Summary: Malmö is the third largest city in Sweden, with a population of 300,000. An international city with 175 different nationalities and 147 languages, 48% of the population is younger than 35 years old. Sustainability is a driver of change in Malmö and the city is quite well known internationally of their way to create attractive and livable cities. The city has a long history of industries and manufacturing in the 20^th century and large shipyard was the economic pillar. In the 1980s, Malmö’s shipyard and industrial sectors suffered from deep economic recession and was on the verge of bankruptcy in the 90s. Citizens moved out at an alarming rate and things were bleak.

A number of strategic decisions were made by the City to reverse the situation, including initiatives to build a new university, open up the region with the connection to Copenhagen and transformation of the old shipyard area. Hereafter, Malmö successfully transformed itself into a modern city, with knowledge based and innovative economy, which strives towards sustainability. This is demonstrated via its extensive use of renewable energy from solar and wind (100% renewable target in 2020), biogas generation from organic waste, promotion of cycling, green roofs and parks. The remarkable transformation of Malmö has been recognized with a number of international awards.

Ebbe Nordell shared the experience of waste management in Malmö. With clear legal framework and municipal responsibility, the City has set up the goal of maximizing recycling and minimizing the use of landfill. Nowadays, only 1.5 % of waste will go to landfill in Malmö because of the effective waste treatment system. The Sysav Group handled more than 900,000 tonnes of waste, of which 98% of them are recycled as material or energy.

A long interactive discussion about the waste management strategy in Hong Kong was followed after the presentations. Audience and speakers discussed the aspect of social acceptance of building waste incinerators in Hong Kong and examined some possible ways to enhance Hong Kong’s capability in dealing with waste problem with a lot of constructive remarks and suggestions from the audience.

Event Poster: