Student prize to thesis project that gives smart energy solutions a boost

Why is it so difficult to get energy-efficient solutions utilised even when they make both environmental and financial sense? Christer Gerdin and Louise Hammarberg got to the bottom of this question. Their thesis project, which gives companies help along the way, is the winner of Sweco’s 2010 Student Prize.

”If it takes hold, a really good thesis project has significant potential as a catalyst for sustainable development of society,” says Andreas Gyllenhammar, a climate and environmental strategist at Sweco who has read and analysed the entries to the year’s Student Prize.

In their thesis project, Christer Gerdin and Louise Hammarberg looked at a number of bottlenecks and developed a tool that calculates profitability, provides information and helps to overcome the communication problems that can easily arise when implementing major energy-efficient solutions. The project presents five factors that are critical in motivating more investments in energy-efficient solutions.

“We are very pleased that our work has been recognised. Although it may seem obvious to make investments that are both profitable and sustainable, this issue needs all the attention it can get to encourage companies to work in a more sustainable direction,” according to the prize-winners.

Facts:

• Sweco’s Student Prize has been founded to recognise thesis projects that provide smart solutions for a better climate.
• Christer Gerdin and Louise Hammarberg’s thesis project is titled “Why are profitable energy investments not made? – a study of the decision-making process for energy-efficient investments in the real estate business”. The project was carried out within the Technology Management master’s programme, which is a collaborative effort between the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Economics and Management at Lund University in Sweden.
• The prize, a travel grant of SEK 25,000, was presented by Mattias Klum during Sweco’s inspiration day at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm on 23 November.
• On 23 November the Swedish Energy Prize was also presented to Alingsåshem and its Managing Director Ing-Marie Odegren.
• Christer Gerdin and Louise Hammarberg have completed their studies. Today Christer Gerdin is a trainee at NCC and Louise Hammarberg is a trainee at Vattenfall.
• The jury for Sweco’s Student Prize consists of Carl-Erik Nyquist, Jury Chairman, Tomas Kåberger, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency, Lars Nilsson, former Editor in Chief of Ny Teknik, Lennart Jagemar, Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Per Fahlén, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology and Louise Trygg, Researcher at Linköping University, as well as Lars Olof Matsson and Karin Annerwall Parö from Sweco.

For additional information contact:
Rebecka Gunner, Head of Communication at Sweco Sweden, +46 734-12 66 75

Sweco is an international consulting group with combined expertise in consulting engineering, environmental technology and architecture. Sweco has 5,300 employees in 11 countries and recorded annual sales of more than SEK 5.3 billion in 2009. The company has projects currently underway in some 90 countries worldwide. Sweco is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB.

The information contained herein may be subject to the disclosure requirements in the Swedish Securities Exchange and Clearing Operations Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act.

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