Learning from a failed project – challenges of implementing ‘green’ technology in a real world setting

Abstract

Sustainable development goals are defined at various institutional and organisational levels, and generate numerous 'green' technology projects. Most research concerns successful projects, and good examples are put forward for others to learn from. However, to pave the way for sustainability in practice, more knowledge is needed about the failed projectswhat, or who, obstructs the realisation of ecologically motivated projects? This study explores, from a time-geographical perspective, a failed project concerning the introduction of individual metering and debiting of hot tap water in rented flats in Sweden. The study is based on interviews with key persons, observations and documents. The results underline the importance of acknowledging all project constraints and their interrelationship in an implementation process to explain project failure, being of an economic, political, social, cultural, technical, physical or legislative nature. Put into local contexts, similar 'green technology' will have different connotations and will have to deal with place-specific constraints. The project owner's possibility to control and overcome local constraints will determine if the project will succeed or fail.

Households as infrastructure junctions in urban sustainability transitions: The case of hot water metering

“…The aim of the follow-up was to investigate whether the knowledge alone of having meters installed had changed water use behaviour and how people reasoned about installed meters which were then not used for individual monitoring of consumption. To cover the reasons behind the failed debiting six interviews were conducted with housing company representatives and with the Tenant's Association (for more details see also Ko¨hler, 2018). As we will see below, the practices of hot water usage and metering are connected in various ways to other resources such as electricity.…”

Local approaches to sustainable development with case studies from Sweden

“…Two of the articles in this themed issue focus on how initiatives for sustainable development may fail, and the lessons which can be learned from such failures. One of these concerns the introduction of IMD of hot tap water in rented flats (Köhler, 2018). This article illustrates how institutional structures and the organisational landscape challenge the implementation of technical systems for sustainable development in important ways.…”

“…Although the partners agreed that IMD is a desirable technique in principle, negotiations about the distribution of costs prevented this project from being completed. This example from a failed project illustrates 'how difficult it can be to do something that breaks with the "normal order of things", which sustainability is all about' (Köhler, 2018 ).…”

“…This leads the local authority to be cautious, and reluctant to enter into commitments with the private company that owns the building complex. This article is a parallel case with the example of IMD (Köhler, 2018), and explains the tensions that arise from national regulations and how they affect the possibility of mobilising shared interests and motivations across partners in local collaboration.…”

“…The four articles in the second group share a primary focus on the top-down impacts of national policy and regulations for local sustainable development initiatives. These four articles discuss waste management (Glad, 2018), the introduction of individual metering and debiting (IMD) of hot tap water in rented flats (Köhler, 2018), an initiative to renovate a building complex with housing for the elderly (Trygg, 2018), and the adoption of green growth policy among middle-sized cities (Hermelin & Andersson, 2018). The particular themes and research aims of the articles mean that the focus of sustainable dimensionsecological, economic or socialdiffers.…”