Learning To Change – a case of MKB Fastighets AB

Abstract: MKB Fastighets AB (MKB) is a municipally owned company in Malmö Stad with a well-established position on the housing market, meaning that MKB owns 22 238 rental apartments and 1000 commercial spaces which are 33% of the tenancy market in Malmö. Their business concept is to provide rental apartments to a wide range of people with different socio-economic conditions. According to Swedish law, the corporation must be managed according to business principles and be profitable. MKB aims at making long-term investments that returns revenue due to an increased property value and through investments foster their interests within the area. Furthermore, MKB works towards achieving sustainable development and to integrate a sustainable thinking within the organisation. Sustainable development is an ambiguous concept influenced by a constant change of interpretation. MKB makes efforts to incorporate all three aspects of sustainable development namely the social, economic and ecological dimensions. MKB’s main focus has traditionally been to achieve social sustainability and since the 1990’s MKB has contributed to a strategy approach named the GÖRHAN-model, which focuses on the client. Through daily communication with the clients, MKB involves the clients in the development and within improvement of areas. A recent example of this strategy is a project named Bokalerna located at Örtragården, Rosengård. MKB has through an urban “acupunctural” investment and by close dialogue with the clients managed to fulfil a demand for more commercial spaces, change the monotonous design and give possibility of social interactions. Bokalerna is however only a single investment that in a holistic perspective will have a greater impact on Malmö’s urban development, by increasing Malmö’s attractiveness and through fostering local investments by creating job opportunities. Moreover, MKB is striving to become more ecologically sustainable both within project investments as with the organisation. Their work towards an ecological sustainability is an on-going process which means that MKB continuously identifies its short-comings and successively aims to improve their ecological approaches. Since they are a well-established actor with financial possibilities, MKB have all opportunities to achieve and promote a sustainable urban development.