Swedish Mining: Sustainable Futures

A collaborative project between Svemin and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) used exploratory scenarios to develop a sustainability roadmap for the Swedish mining sector, identifying 31 key action points to navigate the sector toward a sustainable future by 2050.

• The project identified a fundamental dilemma for the mining sector: while the transition to zero- or low-carbon energy systems and the UN 2030 Agenda require significant material resources, mining operations cause greenhouse gas emissions, socioeconomic tensions, and negative local environmental impacts.
• Through stakeholder workshops and exploratory scenarios projecting to 2050, the project generated over 200 action points, which were screened down to 31 robust points intended to serve as a draft sustainability roadmap for the Swedish mining sector.
• SEI's analysis of the action points highlighted strengths in climate mitigation, supply chain transparency, and local dialogue, but emphasized that the Swedish mining industry must take more responsibility regarding land use conflicts, specifically concerning human rights and Indigenous Sami rights, to avoid regulatory uncertainty and reputational damage.
• To mitigate long-term land use conflicts, SEI recommends that the Swedish mining sector further develop the concept of "zero-impact mining," which aims for a radical reduction in the surface impacts of new projects.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2019). Swedish Mining: Sustainable Futures. https://www.sei.org/publications/swedish-mining-sustainable-futures/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Swedish Mining: Sustainable Futures. 2019. https://www.sei.org/publications/swedish-mining-sustainable-futures/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Swedish Mining: Sustainable Futures |date=28 May 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/swedish-mining-sustainable-futures/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2019swedish, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Swedish Mining: Sustainable Futures}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/swedish-mining-sustainable-futures/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }