How the Vestland Region can realize its potential for green growth

In the Green Region Vestland project, EY has collaborated with the Vestland County Municipality and Innovation Norway to chart over 250 innovation projects.

EY’s most recent project in the county is the Green Region Vestland 2021. This is a follow-up from 2020 wherein EY developed the Vestland Scenarios 2020 as an assignment from the partnership. This project was a scenario analysis for green value creation, development of value chains and future workplaces throughout the region. With the Green Region Vestland 2021 project, EY has concretised how stakeholders can jointly realize opportunities for a green transformation in the county.

The Vestland Scenarios plot the way forward for the county’s green prospects by the end of this decade. Vestland is currently responsible for more emissions than any other county. To achieve a preferred scenario by 2030, reduction in climate emissions, creation of new green jobs, increase in exports and value creation is crucial. Decarbonization efforts must be targeted where they will create the greatest effect: projects within industry, oil and gas, shipping, and road traffic.

Green Region Vestland has therefore charted 250+ projects for green business development in Vestland. Once these are prioritised and developed, the Vestland portfolio will consist of 16 green hubs. This will include the projects in Vestland that have the greatest potential to reduce climate emissions, introduce green jobs, take the lead in new green value chains, and create the greatest ripple effects. The report also illustrates opportunities for collaboration across value chains in the county, between public and private actors, and academic institutions. The hubs must collaborate to achieve an industrial symbiosis that will provide increased competitiveness through reductions in emissions and costs.

The creation of these hubs will ensure that Vestland takes the lead in decarbonization and accelerates the development of important green value chains. For this purpose, 17,000+ green potential workplaces have been identified in the county. The new value chains must be built and scaled to become the new Norwegian industries. This will require extensive collaboration to build a new energy system and sustainable infrastructure between land and sea.

There are four key areas for Vestland to succeed with this transformation:

• World-leading green hubs must be constructed through an industrial symbiosis. The Vestland portfolio identifies 16 such critical hubs that must be urgently established.
• Vestland must mark its position as the apex marine region in the world. The new value chains will be sea-based - and Vestland has the perfect opportunity to rein in.
• Innovative green infrastructure must be built. Realization of this potential is dependent on sustainable infrastructure between the hubs, and sufficient power to carry out the projects.
• Increasing the pace through prioritisation and optimal cooperative structure is required. The green shift cannot be imagined alone. Stakeholders across value chains and sectors must collaborate to increase the pace of implementation and synergise to create an industrial symbiosis.