When knowledge leads to action: Studio Era reduced emissions by 37 percent during 2025

Fredrik Matz, founder/landscape architect, and Emma Frennås, engineer at Studio Era.

In 2025, Studio Era reduced its emissions by more than 37 percent. For the small landscape architecture studio, this is the result of a way of working where sustainability is an integral part of every decision.

To understand Studio Era’s climate impact, you also need to understand their business. In addition to designing public spaces, they often build the projects themselves, giving them an unusually high level of influence over material choices, processes, and execution.

“Our emissions naturally vary over time and from year to year, depending on which projects we work on, their scope, and how they are carried out. That’s precisely why it’s especially important for us to understand where emissions arise and how our choices in the design process, materials, manufacturing, and transport affect the overall impact,” says Emma Frennås, engineer at Studio Era.

With support from Hållbarhetskollen, the collaboration between Handelsbanken and GoClimate, Studio Era has gained deeper insight into how different parts of the business are connected—and how decisions made early on influence climate impact further down the line.

“Hållbarhetskollen helps us make these connections visible through data and follow-up. Getting a clearer picture of our actual emissions is a first and necessary step toward working more consciously and making better-informed decisions in each individual project,” says Emma Frennås.

Studio Era has also chosen to always financially support climate projects for all emissions, including those generated by suppliers. For them, sustainability work is not about achieving a single result in a given year, but about taking long term responsibility.

Local suppliers and short distances

As a small actor, Studio Era is aware of its limitations—but also of which choices can genuinely make a difference. A clear focus is placed on choosing local options, whether it concerns partners, subcontractors, or materials.

One example is their series-produced play collection for public spaces, launched last spring. The games are manufactured in the Stockholm region, within a radius of approximately 14 kilometers. With the exception of a few components, the materials are sourced and processed in Sweden.

Structure and better dialogue with suppliers and clients

“Hållbarhetskollen has primarily made a difference by gathering and structuring information that would otherwise be both time-consuming and difficult to oversee. Instead of working with assumptions or fragmented data, we get a clearer and more comparable picture of our emissions,” says Emma Frennås.

The improved data quality has not only raised the level of dialogue but has also contributed to increased engagement among manufacturers, suppliers, and clients. It has created a willingness to work in new ways and to test new solutions.

“Better data makes discussions more concrete. It becomes easier to follow up, ask questions, and reason about improvements when everyone starts from the same type of information. For us, this saves both time and energy while raising the quality of conversations and decisions,” says Emma Frennås.

From gut feeling to informed decisions

Previously, as for many others, sustainability efforts were shaped by both ambition and uncertainty. Climate issues were perceived as complex, and the connections between choices and climate impact were difficult to grasp, making it hard to know whether initiatives were actually delivering the intended results.

By gaining access to tools that enable a more structured approach, Studio Era has been able to move from intention to action. Without being sustainability experts, they have been able to work more consciously, set clear directions, and make better-supported decisions. The result is sustainability work that has become more precise, more constructive—and at the same time more engaging.

Knowledge that enables continued transition

For more companies to reduce emissions and set clear requirements within their supply chains, Studio Era sees increased knowledge as crucial.

“A lot comes down to making complex issues understandable and usable in everyday work. That’s where we think Hållbarhetskollen and GoClimate are really onto something. When more people understand the links between choices, emissions, and consequences, it also becomes easier to set requirements, collaborate, and drive change together,” says Emma Frennås.

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With GoClimate, companies gain a clear overview of their emissions, can identify the largest sources, and follow up on their efforts in a way that meets both customer expectations and regulatory requirements. This creates the conditions for more informed decisions—both in day-to-day operations and over time.

Would you, like Studio Era, like to better understand where your emissions arise and how to prioritize the right actions? With GoClimate, you get a comprehensive view that makes it easier to take responsibility, set requirements in the supply chain, and stay one step ahead.