a b s t r a c tEco-innovation combines economic advantage with lower ecological-resource burdens. Eco-innovation has been generally directed at energy input-substitutes, component recycling, etc. Some companies have made investments reducing resource burdens in the production process. This study investigated options for eco-efficiency improvement in two large manufacturing companies, Volvo and Arla Foods. Their impetus for eco-innovation comes from the companies' environmental policies, as well as from external drivers such as future higher costs and resource scarcity. Relative to their respective industrial sector, these companies represent strong prospects for reducing resource burdens in water-service processes, especially from chemical inputs and wastewater. Such eco-innovations involve more complex interactions beyond the production site, so the options warrant a whole-system comparative assessment.The EcoWater project has analysed the entire water-service value chain through meso-level interactions among heterogeneous actors (process-water users, providers and wastewater treatment companies). The project has developed a methodology to obtain the necessary information, to involve stakeholders in the assessment and to facilitate their discussion on alternative options. Each study stimulated internal company discussions on the need and means to evaluate whole-system effects of investment decisions. Inter-organisational cooperation helped to anticipate how meso-level resourceefficiency relates to lower burdens in wastewater treatment.The assessment method can be extended to any water-service system. By comparing options, the method can facilitate better decisions improving meso-level resource efficiency. As wider implications, some improvement options may complicate 'eco-innovation' as double-eco benefits: winewin for whom, where and what level?
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on co-creative approaches for place innovation in an Arctic town, based on the relocation of Kiruna’s city center in northern Sweden. Three cases of co-creative innovation processes in Kiruna are investigated and compared: an R&D project about local perceptions and visions of attractive urban environments; an R&D project about norm-creative design principles for inclusive and attractive urban design; and an R&D project about cross-industrial synergies for city center attractiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s research design encompasses a comparative and participatory approach. The comparative approach implies investigation and comparison of three cases of co-creative innovation processes in Kiruna. The participatory approach implies joint development of new knowledge by researchers and local actors. The data consists of participatory observations of workshops and qualitative interviews with local actors.
Findings
The study reveals that the studied processes have harnessed the city center relocation as an opportunity to make Kiruna more attractive to residents and visitors, by using the co-creative approaches of Living Lab, Now-Wow-How and Norm-creative design. These approaches have enabled experts and local actors to jointly identify excluding patterns and norms in the relocation process and to envision inclusive and attractive (re-)configurations and (re-)conceptualizations of the future Kiruna.
Research limitations/implications
The results add to the academic strand of inclusive urban transformation, by providing insights into co-creative approaches for re-imagining an Arctic town in times of industrial and social change. New insights are provided regarding how the geographical, industrial and cultural identity of an Arctic town can be harnessed to envision new configuration, content and communication that is attractive and accessible for a diversity of residents and visitors.
Practical implications
The results highlight the potential to harness Arctic and rural characteristics in the promotion of urban attractiveness and public well-being, especially when combined with co-creative identification and transformation of excluding norms and patterns.
Originality/value
The results provide new insights into how co-creative approaches may facilitate innovative and inclusive renewal of towns and cities in the Arctic and beyond.
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