Public sector’s role in public-private climate collaboration - Large Finnish companies’ perception of the role of municipalities
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2022
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Creative Sustainability
Language
en
Pages
74 + 4
Series
Abstract
The world was once again reminded about the consequences of the destructive path we have chosen over and over again when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published their latest report in the first half of 2022: climate change is a threat to humankind and the globe we live in. IPCC’s scientists, however, emphasized that we still have time to change the course but the time to act is right now. Addressing climate change, one of the grand challenges of our time, requires the inclusion of all sectors of our society and in particular collaboration between the sectors. In the scientific literature, the results on the successfulness of public-private collaboration in climate change action are inconsistent, but it can be argued that collaboration between the public and the private sector is part of the solution and the literature calls for more research on the topic. To answer this call, I have studied how large companies in Finland see the role of cities and municipalities in public-private climate action. The public sector’s role in private climate action is largely an unexplored topic in the literature but especially in the Finnish context, and thus the City of Vantaa commissioned me to do this study. To create an understanding of the expectations and hopes of companies, as the empirical part of my abductive study, I have interviewed nine large companies operating in Finland. My findings revealed that large Finnish companies have a limited understanding of the means that municipalities have to support private climate action. Energy solutions and especially the availability of renewable energy are highlighted as important means. Municipalities are perceived as small actors in climate matters, and thus companies tend to focus on other stakeholders. Clear and transparent communications are highlighted in the interviews as a way for municipalities to increase and improve climate collaborations with companies. Also, most of the time companies are indifferent toward municipalities’ climate communications. My study has both practical and academic contributions, but practical implications are emphasized. I encourage municipalities to be ambitious on climate matters and embrace the role of a climate leader that facilitates climate work in their area. Public-private climate collaborations would benefit significantly from more active dialogue and interaction between the parties and I hope to see more of it in the future. Companies, on the other hand, should be active partners in developing the relationship with municipalities further even though the public sector would take the initiator’s role. These findings will be used in a project funded by the Ministry of Environment that aims to create a nationally available framework for municipalities to utilize in their climate collaborations with the private sector. Academically, the most important contribution is a foundation, an initial understanding of the topic which allows to take the research on the topic further.Description
Thesis advisor
Patala, SamuliKeywords
climate change, public-private collaboration, public-private climate action, municipalities, cities, large companies