Innovation activity in enterprises in Sweden 2018–2020
Process innovation – the most common type of innovation
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2021-11-11 9.30
Between 2018 and 2020, 55 percent of enterprises in Sweden carried out innovation activities, which is similar to the percentage in the previous survey round, concerning 2016-2018.
Process innovation – the most common type of innovation
Between 2018 and 2020, 30 percent of enterprises engaged in product innovation, while 45 percent introduced business process innovation during the reference period. Large enterprises carried out innovation activities to the largest extent, at 79 percent. A product innovation is a new or considerably improved good or service introduced by the enterprise. A business process innovation, in turn, refers to a new or improved business process for one or more business functions at the enterprise. It can be a matter of new delivery methods, production methods, or management-related activities.
Increased awareness among clients – the most significant consequence of climate change for enterprises
The effect of climate change on enterprises as well as innovations with environmental benefits have been the focus of the survey concerning 2018-2020. An innovation with environmental benefits is a product or business process innovation that generates positive or lower negative environmental impacts, compared to the enterprise’s previous products or processes, and that has been made available to potential users or brought into use, either for the enterprise itself or for the end user.
The most common consequence of climate change for the enterprise was increased awareness among clients; 62 percent of enterprises felt that this was of high, medium or low significance. The consequence of climate change with the least significance for enterprises was the effect of extreme weather conditions, at 40 percent. One in five enterprises did not know whether Government regulations or measures related to climate change had a significant impact on climate change for the enterprise.
Innovations that contributed environmental benefits to the enterprise
Among enterprises, 8 percent stated that they had introduced an innovation that had significantly contributed to the environmental protection with regard to reduced energy use or CO2 ‘footprint’. The corresponding percentage for innovations with an insignificant contribution to the environmental production was 16 percent.
Environmental benifits | Significant contribution to environmental protection | Insignificant contribution to environmental protection |
---|---|---|
Reduced material or water use per unit of output | 4% | 12% |
Reduced energy use or CO2 ‘footprint’ | 8% | 16% |
Reduced soil, noise, water or air pollution | 4% | 11% |
Replaced a share of materials with less polluting or hazardous substitutes | 5% | 13% |
Replaced a share of fossil energy with renewable energy sources | 6% | 11% |
Recycled waste, water, or materials for own use or sale | 5% | 13% |
Innovations that contributed environmental benefits to the end user
For the end user, reduced energy use or CO2 ‘footprint’ was also the most common environmental benefit of innovation. The percentage of enterprises stating that they introduced an innovation that significantly contributed to environmental protection was 9 percent. The corresponding percentage for insignificant contributions was 25 percent.
Environmental benefits | Significant contribution to environmental protection | Insignificant contribution to environmental protection |
---|---|---|
Reduced energy use or CO2 ‘footprint’ | 9% | 25% |
Reduced air, water, soil or noise pollution | 4% | 15% |
Facilitated recycling of product after use | 6% | 19% |
Extended product life through longer-lasting, more durable products | 7% | 20% |
Definitions and explanations
Enterprises with innovation activities include:
- Enterprises that introduced a new product and/or process innovation in the period 2018-2020.
- Enterprises that, in the period 2018-2020, have abandoned or postponed the development of new products or processes before completion.
- Enterprises that had ongoing development activities of new products or processes at the end of 2020 that are not yet completed.
Statistical Database
More information is available in the Statistical Database
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.