Shaping Sustainable Places – Development and Construction of a Low-Carbon Built Environment

Discover how neuroscience and neurodesign are transforming workplaces to truly work for everyone. Dr. Elizabeth Nelson and Anna Wiśniewska reveal why designing beyond the "average brain" – by offering choice, catering to diverse needs, and embracing biophilic elements – leads to lower burnout, less stress, and more vibrant, productive environments. Tune in to understand the future of human-centered workplace design.

Host: John Ambrose

Unlock the secrets to improved productivity in construction. Dr. Jan Elfving from Skanska Finland reveals how new methods are slashing project times, enhancing quality and reducing environmental impact. 

Host: John Ambrose

The world faces a looming freshwater crisis, but innovative collaboration is providing solutions. In this Highlight episode, Siân Thomas (Anglian Water) and Jon Kiteley (Skanska) explain how strategic partnerships, data-driven insights, and nature-based solutions are helping safeguard water resources and build resilience.

In this episode, we dive into the critical global freshwater challenge and the innovative solutions emerging to secure our water future. Join Siân Thomas, Director of Strategic Asset Management, Anglian Water, and Jon Kiteley, Divisional Director for Energy, Water and Environment with Skanska in the UK, as they discuss the urgent issues – from looming shortfalls to infrastructure renewal – and how strategic investments, collaborative efforts and cutting-edge innovations are helping to bridge the gap between the water we have and the water we need. 

Host: John Ambrose

As 2025 draws to a close, let's reflect on the insights we’ve gained from the farsighted guests who joined us this past year, celebrating how we are shaping a sustainable future, together. 

Guests in this episode: 

Discover how public procurement is being redefined to drive innovation, sustainability and integrity in construction. This episode features insights from the City of Stockholm and Skanska Sweden on transforming traditional bidding into strategic partnerships for a better built future. 

Discover how public procurement is being redefined to drive innovation, sustainability and integrity in construction. This episode features insights from the City of Stockholm and Skanska Sweden on transforming traditional bidding into strategic partnerships for a better built future. 

Guests in this episode: 

Host: John Ambrose 

How is AI shifting the needle in construction today? This Highlights episode explores real-world examples of how data-driven insights are improving safety, sustainability, and decision-making in the built environment.

Learn how AI is reshaping construction with data-driven decisions, proactive safety measures, and a focus on sustainability. Experts from Gryps and Skanska discuss how these technologies are transforming the industry and what's needed to unlock their full potential.  

Guests in this episode: 

Host: Emalee Mandl 

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You can tune in, listen and subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. Follow Skanska...

Join us from Climate Week NYC as we hear from Dr Stephen Hammer of the New York Climate Exchange and Skanska's Lena Hök on the latest trends, challenges and solutions in sustainability. Discover how innovative financing, strategic procurement and nature-based approaches are shaping a more resilient world.

Guests in the episode:

Host: John Ambrose

Follow Shaping Sustainable Places:

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In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places: Highlights, we explore how electrification within the construction industry is not only the right move environmentally but also a smart business decision.

In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, we head to New York and speak with Julia Casagrande from the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, who explains how an unexpected alliance is driving the electrification of the construction industry. Later, Carl Slotte from Volvo Construction Equipment and Gustaf Werner from Skanska Group discuss the role of collaboration and partnership in this transitionGuests in this episode:

How are partnerships powering the development of advanced technology in the construction and property sectors? Hear @Daniel Kjørberg Siraj, CEO of OBOS Group, and @Christoffer Hernæs, Chief Digital Officer and Director of Skanska Digital with Skanska Norway in this Highlights minisode. #ShapingSustainablePlaces

In this short Shaping Sustainable Places highlight, get an inside look at Skanska's innovative efforts to reduce water consumption in residential buildings. We explore how the smart reuse of graywater, for purposes such as toilet flushing, is contributing to more sustainable water use in our cities. A small change with a big impact for the homes of the future.

Digital tech and artificial intelligence are shaking up the construction and property sectors. Two leading figures in Nordic property – Daniel Kjørberg Siraj, CEO of OBOS Group, and Christoffer Hernæs, Chief Digital Officer with Skanska Norway – discuss how they are partnering with startups to drive efficiency, improve safety, reduce costs and lower carbon emissions in an industry seen as traditionally slow to adopt new technologies.

In this episode, we take you on an inspiring journey to the outskirts of Prague, where a historic industrial site along the banks of the Vltava River has undergone a remarkable transformation. Join us as we explore Modřanský Cukrovar, formerly a sugar refinery dating back to the 1800s, which has blossomed into an attractive residential neighborhood rich in public spaces, modern amenities, and homes that integrate the latest in sustainable solutions.

Guests in this episode:

In this insightful episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, we delve into the evolving concept of the modern office and its crucial role in fostering employee well-being and productivity. With the backdrop of a shifting work landscape where flexibility is key, the discussion explores the New Era of Work – a paradigm that moves beyond where we work to focus on how the work environment supports our overall health and enables us to thrive.

Guests in this episode:

Dr Whitney Austin Gray, Senior Vice President at the International WELL Building Institute.

Myrrh Caplan, Senior Vice Presid...

Mass timber is driving a significant shift in how we build. It’s renewable, low in carbon, efficient to build with, and it looks and even smells great. It’s becoming a truly disruptive force in the construction industry.  

So why aren’t more building projects using mass timber? How Cn we overcome the biggest obstacles to accelerating the use of mass timber globally? 

In this episode, we get the inside running from last week’s International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon, the largest gathering of mass timber experts in the world, focusing on the en...

Hospitals are known for having a major impact on the environment, with significant needs for resources such as water and energy. So how can you build a hospital today that is sustainable, not only for the planet but also for the patients and those who work there?In this episode, we take a closer look at an amazing project where the construction and design teams worked closely with the customer to complete a major expansion of the UVA University Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the USA. The expansion had to be built while the hospital continued operating without interruption...

With its almost 700,000 inhabitants, Oslo capital of Norway has a vision: to be a smart, sustainable and inclusive city that thrives in all aspects: social, economic, and environmental. One important measure to minimize the city’s climate impact is to renovate buildings when possible, instead of demolishing them and building new ones with modern energy and accessibility standards. ​ 

In this episode, we look at how this renovation revolution is reshaping the Norwegian capital, and examine what other cities can learn from Oslo’s progress on renovating instead of demolishing. 

This episode’s guests: Heidi Sørensen, Direc...

In this episode, we take a closer look at how communities are protecting themselves from the increasing threat of flooding. What are the smart solutions being used today to save lives and reduce the impact of flooding?

Guests in this episode:

Anna Åkesson, Group Environmental Manager Skanska

Pedro Ribiero, Head of C40´s Water Program

The built environment accounts for almost 40 percent of global carbon emissions. But that big number represents a huge opportunity.

In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, we take a closer look at how turning buildings into intelligent, networked energy storage makes them more resilient, as well as improving the efficiency and reliability of the power grid as a whole.

Guests in this episode:

Henrik Ahnström, Director of Product, Process and Innovation within Skanska's commercial development arm in the Nordics.

Niklas Johansson, Commercial Product Manager for E.ON ectogrid™.

With circularity a key approach to reducing embodied carbon, how are companies creating the structures and ecosystem to make used materials a viable and economical alternative?

In this episode, we take a closer look at how materials that are commonly seen as waste can be turned into valuable resources and become an asset for businesses.

This episode’s guests:

Anders Lendager, founder of Lendager Group in Copenhagen, Denmark

Barbro Brattström Grujovic, Business Developer, Skanska Sweden, SIS

Concrete has been around for more than 2,000 years, and it remains  the construction material of choice for buildings, bridges, tunnels and more. But its popularity means it has a huge environmental impact. What role will concrete play in the future of construction?

In this episode we find out how leading companies are taking on one of our most pressing climate challenges and cutting the carbon emissions from concrete production.

Guests in this episode

Karin Comstedt Webb, Senior Vice President, Heidelberg Materials Sweden.

Recent years have been challenging for property investors, with high interest rates and volatile property values. At the same time, increasing demands for sustainability are adding new pressures. How can an investor today ensure they get the returns they need from their sustainable property portfolio? 

We talk with two experts who share their insights into the challenges and opportunities facing real estate investors right now, both in Europe and the United States. 

This episode’s guests:      

Cecilia Fasth, CEO of Stena Property, a major property investor in the Nordic and Central Europea...

There are some successful building projects that highlight the global trend towards urban sustainability and the impact of sustainable building design. To find out what it takes to design, construct and operate such a building, we take a closer look at Hyllie Terrass in Malmö, one of the most sustainable office buildings in Sweden. And what have been the major trends in the sustainable project development construction space over the past year? As we look back over our first two seasons of the podcast, we brought back a favorite guest, Lena Hök, Executive Vice President for Sustainability and Inno...

For many office workers, the post-pandemic years have meant a major transition. The return to the office has meant reintegrating into the social sphere of colleagues and customers, commuting to work, and maybe retiring those very comfortable but not too fashionable track pants. But modern workplaces have raised their game. Picture yourself working in a space that’s constructed with your comfort in mind, with cleaner air than your own home, with biophilic design bringing nature indoors, healthy food options, a gym, parking for your bike and even tools for fixing it. In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, we t...

Roads haven’t changed much in the last few thousand years. The Romans had the basic idea—a large aggregate covered in smaller stones, topped with something smoother—that we still use today. But the rock used in base and subbase of today’s roads, as well as the concrete and asphalt used on the surface, has to be mined and hauled to wherever it’s needed. Both are costly and not environmentally friendly. But now researchers are looking into cheaper, more sustainable, and smarter ways to build streets and highways.

In this episode we will take a closer l...

Amongst the most epic structures found on this planet, bridges are the giants. But even these marvels of engineering need a little tender loving care, so that they can serve their communities for decades or centuries to come. In this episode, we explore two exciting bridge projects.Skanska is renovating the George Washington Bridge in New York City, the world’s busiest road bridge with 300,000 vehicles crossing every day. We visit the bridge to find out what the challenges are in such a major renovation project.And with a major investment in solar energy, the Öresund Bridge, connecting Denmark and...

Is it realistic to believe that the construction sites of the future will be completely fossil fuel free? In this episode, we examine the benefits of electrifying construction sites and the challenges of achieving zero-emissions in construction sites.  

We visit the first fossil fuel free construction site in Sweden, Slakthusområdet i Stockholm and explore the differences between driving an excavator powered by diesel and an excavator powered by electricity. 

James Bailey, Executive Vice President for Skanska’s West Coast region, USA talks about the experiences and challenges of working with electrical machines in the m...

Many architects agree that there are advantages to building in mass timber. 

Trees bind carbon, wooden buildings have shorter construction time, and timber offers superior insulation. So what’s impeding the material’s widespread adoption? In this episode we explore if mass timber can be a game changer for the industry. 

We speak with Andrew Waugh from Waugh Thistleton Architects, UK, whose projects have included Murray Grove, the world’s first all- timber residential tower. Andrew is an architect specializing in mass timber, and is working on projects all over the world.  

W...

Before 2001 there were no global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.  The creation of the GHG Protocol then allowed companies to quantify and report their greenhouse gas emissions into categories called ‘scopes’.   

In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, one of the world’s top experts @Pankaj Bhatia explains the surprising story of how the scope structure came about, how it works today, and what the future holds. We also look at how the concept has been put into action in a tangible way.  ...

Circularity is one of the most effective strategies for reducing Scope 3 emissions in the construction industry. So how can we push the limits of circularity? In this episode, we visit Prague, capital of Czechia, where we find a perfect example of circularity in action. Circularity is also an important way for property developers to achieve their climate goals. Gustaf Lilliehöök, a partner with investment platform Urban Partners, explains what it takes to scale up circularity in the construction industry. 

This episode’s guests:   

 Martin Zemánek, Project Manager for the Mercury project.   

 Gustaf Lilliehö...

In this episode we explore how artificial intelligence, and the next generation of digitalization and automation, are helping the development and construction industry to reduce its environmental and climate impact. 

This episode’s guests: 

Emma Viklund, Innovation Lead at Skanska. 

https://se.linkedin.com/in/emma-viklund-a7b98052 

Mehdi Nourbakhsh, CEO at YegaTech, and author of Augment It: How Architecture, Engineering and Construction Leaders Leverage Data and Artificial Intelligence to Build a Sustainable Future. 

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In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places we discuss what is best: to refurbish an old building and bring it up to modern standards, or knock it down and construct a new low-carbon building instead? 

Both sides have their pros and cons.  

This episode’s guests: 

Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, architect and Founding Partner, Snøhetta, and Ståle Rød, Executive Vice President, Skanska Group. 

Learn more at Foresight. 

Skanska is providing this podcast as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not c...

Hurricanes, storms, heatwaves and heavy rain due to climate change are presenting new challenges for communities around the world. Farsighted cities are taking actions now to protect themselves from these sorts of hazards. 

This episode features Sean Szatkowski, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Skanska USA Building, and Philip Thörn, Head of Sustainability with insurance company IF. 

Sean shares how Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was a wake-up call for New Yorkers, and what’s being done to reduce the impact of flooding. 

Philip describes the impact on insure...

As more of us want to live more sustainably, we take a glimpse into the near-future, where homes generate more energy than they consume over their lifetimes.  

In this episode we visit the Norwegian city of Trondheim and meet Ivar Ørnes, Kim Bundgård and Ingrid Skirstad from Skanska, members of the crew behind the ongoing Powerhouse Lade – a series of almost-ready apartments that among other things will produce more renewable energy than they consume during their entire life span.  

And Dr Stephen Richardson, a leading expert in energy and carbon reduction at...

In this special episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, recorded during Climate Week NYC 2023, we delve into the collaborative spirit driving sustainability in the development and construction sectors. The emphasis is on collective action and shared innovation to accelerate climate-focused initiatives and decarbonize the built environment.

We welcome Justin Travlos, Global Head of Responsible Investments at AXA IM Alts, Lena Hök, Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Innovation at Skanska Group, and Benoit Bazin, CEO of Saint-Gobain, as our guests. They share insights on the evolution from vision to action, detailing how their organizations e...

The market economy is a powerful force in shaping the direction of future innovation. As our societies become more globally conscious we create economic shifts that motivate more climate-conscious business practices.

This episode features Magnus Persson, EVP and CFO at Skanska Group, and Thorsten Slytå, Managing Director and Head of Nordic Real Estate at BlackRock. Each is working at the forefront of the changing economic landscape relating to sustainability.

Thorsten discusses how good investment practice today takes into account the risks of climate change.

M...