Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion

This SEI report analyzes the efforts of Swedish municipalities to promote sustainable consumption based on a 2018 survey of 119 municipalities. It finds that while over 50% work systematically on sustainable consumption within their own operations, only 30% target households and even fewer target businesses. Key barriers include a lack of political support, financial resources, and tools for monitoring consumption-based environmental impacts. Economic motives are the primary driver, and the report recommends that the government task county administrative boards (länsstyrelserna) with coordinating municipal efforts to improve knowledge exchange.

• A majority of surveyed Swedish municipalities work with sustainable consumption within their own operations, but far fewer target other local actors. More than 50% of participating municipalities have integrated sustainable consumption into strategies, action plans, or environmental programs, whereas only about 30% work to promote it among residents, and an even smaller proportion target local businesses and organizations.
• There is a significant deficiency in how municipalities monitor the environmental and climate impact of their procurement. Less than half of the municipalities assessed the environmental or climate impact of their own purchases during the previous year, and a majority do not track the environmental impact of their own operations and procurement.
• Municipalities identify a critical need for increased support to advance sustainable consumption. Over half of the municipalities requested more competence development and supportive legislation. Political support and financial resources are cited as the most important factors for the ability to start or continue developing work in this area.
• Economic incentives are the primary driver for municipal work on sustainable consumption, followed by national guidelines and policy instruments. The most influential actors for driving this work forward are considered to be the municipalities' own civil servants and local politicians.
• There is a demand for improved technical capacity to manage consumption data. Municipalities have expressed a need for tools and methods to better collect and process data regarding their operations and consumption, as well as to follow up on established goals.
• Approximately 40% of the municipalities have either already established or are in the process of establishing a consumption-based sustainability goal.

APA

Axelsson, K., André, K., & Dawkins, E. (2019). Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/axelsson-unlock-report-2019.pdf

Chicago

Axelsson, Katarina, Karin André, and Elena Dawkins. Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2019. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/axelsson-unlock-report-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Axelsson |first1=Katarina |last2=André |first2=Karin |last3=Dawkins |first3=Elena |title=Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/axelsson-unlock-report-2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{axelsson2019utmaningar, author = {Axelsson, Katarina and André, Karin and Dawkins, Elena}, title = {{Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/axelsson-unlock-report-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }