Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion

The document highlights a gap in Swedish municipalities' ability to track and reduce the environmental impact of their consumption. While many work systematically on internal operations, few address consumption among households and businesses. Key barriers include a lack of political support, financial and competency resources, and a lack of systematic monitoring of purchases and investments. The brief recommends that municipalities implement systematic tracking of all procurement, that local politicians prioritize sustainable consumption, and that the Swedish government task county administrative boards (länsstyrelsen) with coordinating municipal efforts to improve knowledge exchange.

• There is a significant disparity between how municipalities address sustainable consumption internally versus externally; nearly 60% work systematically on their own operations, but only about 30% work to promote sustainable consumption among households, and an even smaller proportion target businesses and organizations.
• Municipalities generally lack the data and tools necessary to understand the environmental impact of their procurement, with a majority not monitoring consumption within their own operations at all and less than half having assessed the climate or environmental impact of their purchases.
• The primary obstacles preventing municipalities from advancing their sustainable consumption work are a lack of political support and insufficient resources, specifically financial and competency-based needs, as well as a desire for more supportive legislation.
• Economic motives are identified as the most significant driver for municipal sustainable consumption efforts, followed by national guidelines and policy instruments.

APA

Axelsson, K., André, K., Dawkins, E., & Eriksson, A. V. B. (2020). Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/unlock-policy-brief-swe.pdf

Chicago

Axelsson, Katarina, Karin André, Elena Dawkins, and Aina Virginia Bituin Eriksson. Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2020. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/unlock-policy-brief-swe.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Axelsson |first1=Katarina |last2=André |first2=Karin |last3=Dawkins |first3=Elena |last4=Eriksson |first4=Aina Virginia Bituin |title=Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=March 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/unlock-policy-brief-swe.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{axelsson2020utmaningar, author = {Axelsson, Katarina and André, Karin and Dawkins, Elena and Eriksson, Aina Virginia Bituin}, title = {{Utmaningar och möjligheter i kommunernas arbete med hållbar konsumtion}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/unlock-policy-brief-swe.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }