Explorando um futuro mais verde

KONE participates in "decarbonization catalyst" workshops.

Finnish OEM KONE recently participated in a series of workshops that brought together members of the Nordic Superblocks as Decarbonization Catalysts consortium (NSDC) to brainstorm innovation opportunities and consolidate hundreds of ideas into a few specific areas, align on shared goals and identify key success factors and roadblocks, the World Alliance for Low Carbon Cities (WALCC) reported in January. The workshops marked the beginning of process that aims to, ultimately, lead to the creation of greener, more inclusive city planning. Sponsored by Business Finland, NSDC consists of KONE, Skanska, Tietoevry, Granlund, Integrio, Synocus and Tampere University. Nordic Superblocks refers to an "internationally scalable and viable city block design concept" created through collaboration with community stakeholders and aiming to ensure a sustainable and inclusive environment throughout a community's life cycle. WALCC elaborated:

"The vision and roadmap for the Nordic Superblocks are guided by principles such as sharing spaces, functions, services and infrastructure with holistic accessibility and inclusivity, securing data sharing and cross-utilization, connection with the urban ecosystem, economic viability, stakeholder co-creation and tackling climate change and biodiversity loss."

With a common goal of supporting sustainable urban planning and development, as well as building life-cycle management through breakthrough research, NSDC used the "strategic foresight" process adopted at KONE as part of its innovation program, "The Flow of Urban Life," to create a vision for an internationally scalable and viable city block design concept supported by four pillars: zero-emission energy, harmonization with nature, social inclusivity and cohesive collaboration. WALCC elaborated on what each pillar entails for the Nordic Superblocks, which aim to:

• Em termos de energia com emissão zero, acelere a transição para edifícios com emissão zero implementando sistemas híbridos de energia inteligentes, estabelecendo conectividade com os sistemas de energia locais com base em redes inteligentes, superando os requisitos regulamentares e integrando novas tecnologias energéticas.
• Estar em harmonia com a natureza para atingir as metas climáticas que beneficiem os cidadãos e possibilitem uma vida sustentável em todo o distrito, restaurando a natureza e promovendo a biodiversidade, reduzindo as emissões de carbono incorporadas, viabilizando a gestão inteligente da água e maximizando a reciclagem.
• Promover uma comunidade socialmente inclusiva e atender às suas diversas necessidades com um design que priorize a acessibilidade holística e uma ideologia, infraestrutura e plataformas digitais inclusivas.
• Ter a cocriação como conceito central, criada com e para as partes interessadas da comunidade, num esforço para desenvolver uma estratégia de colaboração, criar princípios de compartilhamento de dados e compartilhar uma mentalidade de aprendizado.

A previsão estratégica é “uma forma estruturada e sistemática de usar ideias sobre o futuro para antecipar e se preparar melhor para as mudanças”, segundo a Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE). O processo envolve a exploração, por parte das organizações, de diferentes cenários futuros plausíveis, decorrentes de suas oportunidades e desafios individuais, para melhor compreender o futuro e tomar decisões mais acertadas.

Os workshops ocorreram em Helsinque, Finlândia, em outubro e novembro de 2023. Representantes das sete empresas do consórcio começaram desenvolvendo uma visão geral do ecossistema do NSDC e identificando áreas de busca por inovação. Informações relevantes foram extraídas de cenários criados pela KONE em colaboração com especialistas em prospectiva durante estudos anteriores. Mais de 200 oportunidades foram exploradas e consolidadas. 

The project team defined shared goals and the Nordics Superblocks' vision supported by four strategic pillars and three underlying principles that help achieve this vision. Finally, short-, mid- and long-term strategic initiatives and innovation opportunities were mapped on a roadmap for each pillar.

KONE Flow of Urban Life Project Manager Ulla Tikkanen and Jaana Hyvärinen, senior manager of the KONE Strategic Foresight team, said the workshops provided a solid base for a program that will continue through 2025. Hyvarinen said that, since 2022, the Strategic Foresight team has believed the process helps better anticipate changes that could emerge in the future, reveals options for experimentation with innovative approaches and "stress tests existing or proposed strategies and solutions."

Tikkanen observed that, although there is still a lot to be worked out — including ownership of the topics — the inaugural set of workshops were a "good kickstart for the NSDC project and a good opportunity to get to know all consortium parties, which are very different, and work together with them to create a common vision." She said the first workshops will help inform future iterations of the project.

Hyvärinen acrescentou:

"At KONE, we are not just observing the future, we are actively shaping it. But the future is not a puzzle to be solved by a single player. Therefore, we strongly believe in the power of collaborative foresight."