Now Väla - one of Sweden's largest shopping centers - stands out in the current climate and sustainability debate. By 2023, Väla's net energy consumption will be down to zero with the help of extensive investments in its own renewable electricity production, energy-efficiency improvements and reduced use. The unique and ambitious goal is called Vision Zero.
The vision is to symbolically cut all the wires that supply us with energy and in the long run become a self-sufficient and sustainable energy ecosystem, says Fredrik Arvidsson, Technical Manager at Väla.
Already in 2012, Väla initiated systematic sustainability work to reduce the shopping center's purchases of real estate energy. In these years, it has managed to reduce its total energy use by 40 percent; from 150 kWh per sqm to about 90 kWh per sqm today. At the same time, they are grappling with the challenge that large parts of the properties were built in the early 1970s, when things like energy efficiency, indoor climate and sustainability weren’t hot topics