Greener and smarter? Transformations in five Norwegian industrial sectors

Abstract

This report is an output from the INTRANSIT Research Centre on Innovation Policy for Industrial Transformation, Sustainability and Digitalisation. The report presents an analysis of green and digital transformations in five Norwegian industrial sectors: oil and gas, maritime, aquaculture, manufacturing and process industries. By drawing on perspectives from innovation and sustainability transition studies, we analyse how the industrial sectors respond to green and digital pressures as well as opportunities. Our results show that while a green transformation is gathering momentum in the maritime sector, little radical change has yet taken place in various other sectors. Meanwhile, the thrust driving digitalization is often connected to increasing cost-efficiency and competitiveness in global markets. However, in the aquaculture sector, digital technologies are often applied to solve environmental and fish health issues. Green and digital transformations in industrial sectors may thus have points of interaction, leading to complementary, but occasionally also conflicting, developments. Based on empirical findings we draw insights for green and digital transformation policy, and take note on how COVID-19 pandemic may affect such transformations.