New edition of "Hållbar utveckling – en introduktion för ingenjörer och andra problemlösare"
What is the shared core of sustainable development? That was the guiding principle when the authors – Chalmers’ Magdalena Svanström and KTH’s Fredrik Gröndahl – set out to write the first edition of the textbook “Hållbar utveckling – en introduktion för ingenjörer och andra problemlösare”, published in 2010. For a period, the book was the best-selling science and engineering title in Sweden. An updated edition has just been released.
Since the first book was published, much has changed in the broad field of sustainability. The global goals for sustainable development have been introduced, as have the EU Green Deal, the concepts of planetary boundaries and critical raw materials, among other things. Alongside new technologies such as AI and new knowledge about PFAS and microplastics, a range of policy tools have been implemented: digital product passports, sustainability reporting, CSRD, the GHG Protocol, Scope 1–3, biofuel blend mandates, the mass balance principle, and traceability.
It was time for a new edition – and now it has been launched!
The book has been developed to provide the broad foundational knowledge of sustainable development that every engineer needs. It is aimed at the bachelor’s level at technical universities. The first edition was also used in teacher education programs and in some upper-secondary schools.
“The book is a foundational platform; some courses will need to complement it with additional literature,” says Magdalena Svanström.
The authors want the book to convey the importance of engineers thinking beyond traditional approaches of technical solutions and optimization from a direct energy and material perspective. Instead, they advocate a more holistic perspective that includes systems thinking and systems analysis.
“We have worked to maintain a clear through-line in the book. The last three chapters contain most of the new content in this edition,” says Fredrik Gröndahl.
These chapters are titled:
• Governance and Planning for Sustainable Development
• Technical Solutions Show Great Potential
• Achieving Change – How and for Whom?
The book is written in Swedish.
About the authors
Magdalena Svanström is a professor in the Division of Environmental Systems Analysis at Chalmers. She teaches environmental science and environmental and sustainability assessment for future engineers, as well as education for sustainable development for future educators.
Fredrik Gröndahl is an associate professor in Industrial Ecology at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering at KTH. He teaches ecology, environmental impacts, and sustainable development to future engineers and to industry, government agencies, and municipalities, both nationally and internationally.