Processes

Local Investment Program

As part of the national commitment to sustainable development, many of the sustainability initiatives in Sweden are realized through the Local Investment Program. This national grants program seeks to speed up the changeover process to ecologically sustainable development. Municipalities, federations of local authorities, county councils, non-profit and companies can apply for up to 30% of their costs associated with a project. Early results of LIP show that the program has had success, especially in the area of climate change. In addition, LIP’s have contributed towards increased awareness in the business community, public sector and NGOs on how consumption and production patterns affect sustainable development and why we must act. Launched in 2003 as a more focused adaptation of LIP, the Climate Investment Program (KLIMP) was designed to support climate change related programs.

Eco-Municipalities

Perhaps the most important factor in the transition toward sustainable development has been the shift of control and awareness at the municipal level over the past 20 years. These eco-municipalities, some 70 communities of the 289 total municipalities in Sweden, have combined to form a national network with the common goal of achieving a sustainable society. Each participating eco-municipality perceives themselves as future model area for sustainability.

The prefix "eco", which is an abbreviation of ecology, also stands for economy. The basic idea is that financial development and ecological balance can be united in a common development strategy based on the area’s natural resources and environmental values, the local commercial and industrial structure and the local lifestyles.

Through an "ecocycle” approach "from below” perspective and "cross-sector, holistic” view these eco-municipalities have made a proactive and responsible effort to understand their interdependence and their role in regional development. At the same time, eco-municipalities are creating on-the-ground scenarios in which their communities assume as much local responsibility for public goods such as energy, transportation and waste. In the private sector, municipalities support those local businesses that provide economic development which produces products and services that meet the needs of the community and its people.

Beginning in 1983, a mobilization effort was undertaken by motivated citizens to concentrate efforts on local development using local supplies and suppliers. As second generation of eco-municipalities in the early 1990’s, catalyzed from an upsurge in interest resulting from the 1993 Rio Summit, eco-municipalities took a much more bottom-up approach to their work in tandem with a concerted effort to build networks for information sharing. Within the past 10-15 years, there has also been a movement to merge municipalities and county councils to more effectively make regional land use and economic development decisions.

The third generation of eco-municipalities took a much more systemic-view to community issues and focused on creating educational opportunities for municipality employees, local organizations as well as citizens. SEKOM has since become the formal network of Swedish eco-municipalities serving as the collaborating entity that is advocating for a more systemic work approach amongst eco-municipalities when possible.

The Natural Step

Founded by a Sweden cancer doctor, Karl Hendrick Robert, The Natural Step is a framework of four principles which can be used for as a blueprint by any community, organization or individual looking to achieve sustainability. The Natural Step framework consists of four scientific principles based upon laws of physics that provide the outer constraints of sustainability.  Companies such as Nike, Starbucks and Bank of America and communities such as Whistler, Canada, Portland, Oregon and several municipalities throughout Sweden have received extensive trainings about The Natural Step framework and are actively applying it’s principles into their decision-making processes. 

ISO 14001

An environmental management system is a critical component of any business that wants to benefit from sustainable practices. Typically, developing business targets and environmental goals is the first steps for companies wanting to move in a sustainable direction.

In Sweden over 36% business of with 50 or fewer employers are using ISO 14001 to develop their environmental management systems. ISO 14001 is the international standards certification that is designed to assist organizations wanting to develop a sustainability policy and objectives while taking into account legislative requirements.

In many instances, larger companies are now starting to demand that their suppliers have ISO 14001 certification.

For those smaller sized businesses (5-10 employees) that don’t have the resources to go thru the ISO certification process along, a Swedish company ESAM has developed a group certification process that requires each participating company send just one employee to meet with the group once a month for 13-15 months. (Although each company is must require that each staff member participate in 9 to 30 hours of environmental management education). Another benefit to the group certification process is that it reduces the participating businesses costs to approximately 1/3 the normal expenses associated with the ISO 14001 certification. In some cases, participates in the group certification continue their relationships beyond the certification process. For instances some businesses participate in joint procurement to offset some of the expenses with the purchase of more sustainable supplies.

The companies that have received ISO 14001 certification are seeing continual improvements in terms of environmental impact and have moved beyond reduction activities to prevention strategies. Remarkably, those in the business community with ISO 14001 certification have had the foresight to begin demanding that the local and national governments put in place even more stringent environmental regulations to strengthen their competitive advantage.

Environmental Code

The Environmental Code is Sweden's first coordinated body of environmental legislation and is the main legal instrument for achieving a sustainable society. In 1999, this national legislation reform effort brought together 15 environmental laws under 1 umbrella and included sustainable development as a key component to the reform.

The Code is applicable to all activities or measures that are of significance regardless of whether they are part of a private individual’s daily life or are some form of business activity. Above all, it decides what type of environmental issues can be examined in a court of law.

The Environmental Code contains a number of general rules of application that assert, for example, the precautionary principle, polluter pays principle, product choice principle and principles regarding resource management, the eco-cycle and suitable localization of activities and measures. In Sweden, legislation acts as a preventive tool because it places binding demands on someone running a business or operation and applies the principle that the risks of environmental impact should be born by the polluter and not by the environment.

The Environmental Code puts more emphasis on goal and result management than the previous legislation. This means that the licensing and supervision of activities and measures must in the future take the goals of environmental policy into consideration. Government ordinances and the regulations laid down by authorities in the environmental field will be governed not just by the overall aims of the Code and general rules of consideration, but also by other goals that have not been included in the wording of the Code.