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Bregje van Veelen

Docent, Associate senior lecturer

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Do not steel our identities! The role of identity in shaping workers’ perceptions of “green” steel transitions

Author

  • Sanne Malmberg
  • Bregje van Veelen

Summary, in English

There has been a growing interest in how workers in high-carbon industries are impacted by low-carbon transitions and how such transitions can be implemented in a way that is just. This study explores the socio-cultural dimensions of these processes, focusing on the role of identity in shaping workers’ perceptions of low-carbon transitions and their ability to navigate change. It does so through a focus on the decarbonisation of Sweden’s steel industry, using qualitative interviews with workers and ex-workers in the steel town of Oxelösund to unpack the relation between work, identity, and industrial change. The findings show the importance of unpacking the notion of identity, with different aspects of social identity either potentially helping workers to adapt to changes brought by the transition, or acting as a source of resistance, where attachment to the industry and industrial work could lead to opposition, particularly among blue collar-workers. It also demonstrates the value of adopting a historically-informed perspective to better understand how previous rounds of industrial restructuring shape current-day identities, and thus perceptions of the transition. Combined, these findings thus highlight the importance of considering not only immediate economic impacts, but also social identity and broader socio-cultural effects of industrial change in order to understand how workers perceive and navigate change, and how a Just Transition can be achieved.

Department/s

  • LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)

Publishing year

2025-10-10

Language

English

Publication/Series

Local Environment

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Environmental Studies in Social Sciences

Keywords

  • decarbonisation
  • industrial restructuring
  • just transition
  • Social identity
  • steel industry

Status

Epub

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1354-9839