Sweden

Basic information

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Mechanisms of Vertical Integration

National — sub-national linkages

For the 2002 NSDS, ‘reference groups’ were established. These groups – which involved a number of different stakeholders, including sub-national representatives – discussed the NSDS and made suggestions. Both the 2004 NSDS revision and the further NSDS elaboration in 2006 did not apply a broad stakeholder consultation process, but were mainly developed as cooperation between the Government ministries. The strategy from 2006 was developed by four different working groups with participation from different ministries. A Coordination unit for sustainable development, with staff from five ministries led and coordinated the work of SD in the government offices. Indicators to the strategy were developed by Statistics Sweden and a working group with stakeholder involvement.

Regarding implementation, there is currently no formalised coordination mechanism between the national and the sub-national levels. The Council for SD, which existed between 2005-2007, was  a platform for the link between the different political levels. The Council ceased to exist in early 2007. It had about 12 members, including one representative of the sub-national levels. The Council organised seminars and regular exchange between the different political levels. The Commission on SD replaced the Council in 2007.  

National conferences, the so-called ‘Envision’ conferences, take place biannually. They have been organised by the City of Västerås, The County Council and the Regional Administrative Board of Västmanland in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, the Association of Municipalities and other sub-national stakeholders. This is an exchange platform and a possibility for cooperation between the political levels.

There was some coordination and cooperation between the political levels in the development of the SD indicators set. A ‘reference group’ was established with important stakeholders to define meaningful indicators. The main objective is that the indicators can be used on the local level, i.e. SD indicators measure the SD activities of local authorities in order to compare them (benchmarking).

Sweden has set objectives for the future state of its environment. These goals – adopted by the Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag – are intended to ensure that, by 2020, the country’s major environmental problems have been solved. Sweden’s 16 environmental quality objectives describe a state of the environment that is sustainable in the long term. They are a promise to future generations of clean air, healthy living environments and rich contact with nature. Efforts to achieve the objectives are guided by a fixed structure of regular monitoring, evaluations and proposals for changes. The evaluations provide important information on the environmental situation in the country and the measures and priorities needed to improve it. The objectives have now served as signposts for environmental action in Sweden for almost ten years. The Environmental Objectives Council is a body set up within the Swedish EPA for the purpose of consultation and collaboration on the sixteen environmental quality objectives. The Council Secretariat co-ordinates the work of all the agencies and other stakeholders concerned with these objectives. The Swedish EPA also co-ordinates the three action strategies and is the agency with primary responsibility for ten of the sixteen national environmental quality objectives.

A National Committee for LA 21 existed, but it ceased its operation in 2004. This committee guaranteed a link between LA 21 and the NSDS. Currently, there are still municipalities that work on LA 21 initiatives. Many, however, develop more comprehensive SD strategies.

EU linkages

The renewed EU Strategy for Sustainable Development (EU SDS) that was adopted in June 2006 foresees that Member States bi-annually report about how they address the priorities of the EU SDS. Sweden has published its first national report on implementing the EU SDS in June 2007.

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Mechanisms of Horizontal Integration

In December 2003, the Coordination Unit for SD was established. This Coordination Unit ceased to exist in early 2007. Its task was to coordinate SD within the Government Offices, function as a think-tank and promote the further development of the NSDS. The revised NSDS was prepared by the Coordination Unit for SD in cooperation with a cross-departmental working group. Generally, all ministries are involved in the implementation of the NSDS.

Currently the Ministry of Environment is mainly responsible for coordinating SD issues within the Government. However the EU SDS is coordinated by the Prime Ministers Office. The Ministry of Social Affairs with support of the Ministry of the Environment is responsible for  coordination of the Nordic SD cooperation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of the Environment are responsible for coordination of UN and global SD work.

In March 2007, the Swedish Government has set up an advisory Commission on SD which replaced the Swedish Council for SD. The Commission is chaired by the Swedish Prime Minister and members are representatives from business sector, NGOs and the research community. Vice chairs of the Commission are the Minister of Finance and the Minister for the Environment. The Commission on SD is a forum for discussion, analysis and dialogue and should, therefore, stimulate broader discussion in the society on SD. It aims to analyse SD issues and develop cross-sectoral action strategies. The focus of the work of the Commission have so far been on climate change.

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Evaluation and Review

The first revision of the NSDS from 2002 took place between October 2003 and April 2004. The revised 2004 NSDS is, however, not a review in the ‘normal’ sense, but more an update that prioritizes objectives. In March 2006, the Government presented an elaboration of the 2004 NSDS. This revised strategy also presents a series of indicators for SD, including 12 headline indicators.

Sweden was a peer country in the peer review process of the Norwegian NSDS that took part between October 2006 and March 2007.

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Indicators and Monitoring

The 2006 NSDS formulates a set of 91 indicators for sustainable development. The indicator set, which comprises 12 headline indicators, is structured around 6 thematic areas and has been developed on the basis of work by Statistics Sweden.

The measures announced as part of the NSDS will be regularly monitored and reported on. For instance, the Government plans to conduct a follow-up halfway through the initiative. The set of indicators presented in this communication will serve as a tool for the follow-up.

The full list(s) of indicators as identified by a study commissioned by Eurostat can be downloaded here:

• NSDS indicators (2006)

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Participation

In March 2007, the Swedish Government has set up an advisory Commission on SD which replaced the Swedish Council for SD. The Commission is chaired by the Swedish Prime Minister and members are representatives from national ministries, business sector, NGOs and the research community. Vice chairs of the Commission are the Minister of Finance and the Minister for the Environment. The Commission on SD is a forum for discussion, analysis and dialogue and should, therefore, stimulate broader discussion in the society on SD. It aims to analyse SD issues and develop cross-sectoral action strategies. Climate change is the major focus of the Commission in 2008. Generally, the Commission will contribute to the NSDS, the EU SDS, international cooperation on SD and to the preparation of Sweden's Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2009. More information can be found at: http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/2164/a/79153.

For a detailed documentation of all advisory and participatory councils (for SD and/or the environment) in this country, please go to the EEAC website at http://www.eeac-net.org/bodies/sweden/sw_frame.htm and click on one of the listed institutions.

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Sub-national activities

The Swedish Energy Agency is responsible for the national energy restructuring process in Sweden. The objective of this restructuring is to build a sustainable and effective energy system. The Sustainable Municipality programme is one of the efforts in order to achieve this objective. It was launched in 2003. The current programme 2008-2011 involves more than 20% of the Swedish municipalities.

There is also a climate network of 20 municipalities and one County Council. These municipalities commit themselves to lower greenhouse gas emissions, learn from each other and support others and cooperate internationally.

The Swedish Association of Municipalities and Regions occasionally arrange seminars, activities or publications on SD. Many municipalities take part in international cooperation projects and networks such as Aalborg committments, ICLEI, CEMR and The European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign.

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This Country Profile has been last updated on: Friday, 05 December 2008

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