Sweden and sustainability
The key to the green transition lies in long‑term thinking. Find out how Sweden does it.
What does it take to combine economic growth with lower emissions?
The Swedish green model means integrating business and sustainability. Together with its Nordic neighbours, Sweden has emphasised that green growth can drive the transition to a more sustainable society.
Known for planning for the long term, analysing possible future scenarios and thinking ahead, Sweden has managed to grow its economy substantially while reducing emissions. Today, around 80 per cent of the country’s energy supply is fossil fuel-free (official figures from 2023, collected in 2026), with nuclear power being a growing source.
Top 10 in the Environmental Performance Index
For more than a decade, Sweden has been in the top ten of the respected Environmental Performance Index produced by Columbia and Yale universities, with excellent air quality and waste management alongside its low emissions.
Sweden’s track record of tackling everything from acid rain to recycling shows that sustainability and development can go hand in hand.
The sharing economy has given birth to initatives like the Toy library in Gothenburg, where families can borrow rather than buy toys. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
Swedes recycle about 90 per cent of their aluminium cans and 80 per cent of used plastic drink bottles. Everyone who buys a can or plastic bottle has to pay a minor deposit, pant, a deposit the consumers get back when they recycle the empty bottles and cans. Photo: Crelle Fotograf
Land-based fish farms are popping up in many parts of Sweden. In a time when our oceans face challenges such as overfishing and overfertilisation, farming fish in tanks offers a greener way to get fish on your plate. One advantage of farming fish this way is that the farmers can reuse the water the fish swim in to water the fields. And the fish feces can be turned into fertiliser. Here, the King and Queen of Sweden on a study visit to Gårdsfisk. Photo: Gårdsfisk
District heating – first introduced in Sweden in 1948 – both saves costs and lowers carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Today, district heating is the most common source of heating in Sweden. In Gothenburg, it is a waste-to-energy solution that uses local resources such as burnt rubbish or captured excess heat from industrial production or data centres to heat up water and distribute it to everyone connected to the system. Photo: Göteborg Energi CC
The sharing economy has given birth to initatives like the Toy library in Gothenburg, where families can borrow rather than buy toys. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
Swedes recycle about 90 per cent of their aluminium cans and 80 per cent of used plastic drink bottles. Everyone who buys a can or plastic bottle has to pay a minor deposit, pant, a deposit the consumers get back when they recycle the empty bottles and cans. Photo: Crelle Fotograf
Land-based fish farms are popping up in many parts of Sweden. In a time when our oceans face challenges such as overfishing and overfertilisation, farming fish in tanks offers a greener way to get fish on your plate. One advantage of farming fish this way is that the farmers can reuse the water the fish swim in to water the fields. And the fish feces can be turned into fertiliser. Here, the King and Queen of Sweden on a study visit to Gårdsfisk. Photo: Gårdsfisk
District heating – first introduced in Sweden in 1948 – both saves costs and lowers carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Today, district heating is the most common source of heating in Sweden. In Gothenburg, it is a waste-to-energy solution that uses local resources such as burnt rubbish or captured excess heat from industrial production or data centres to heat up water and distribute it to everyone connected to the system. Photo: Göteborg Energi CC
The sharing economy has given birth to initatives like the Toy library in Gothenburg, where families can borrow rather than buy toys. Photo: Sofia Sabel/imagebank.sweden.se
Swedes recycle about 90 per cent of their aluminium cans and 80 per cent of used plastic drink bottles. Everyone who buys a can or plastic bottle has to pay a minor deposit, pant, a deposit the consumers get back when they recycle the empty bottles and cans. Photo: Crelle Fotograf
Land-based fish farms are popping up in many parts of Sweden. In a time when our oceans face challenges such as overfishing and overfertilisation, farming fish in tanks offers a greener way to get fish on your plate. One advantage of farming fish this way is that the farmers can reuse the water the fish swim in to water the fields. And the fish feces can be turned into fertiliser. Here, the King and Queen of Sweden on a study visit to Gårdsfisk. Photo: Gårdsfisk
District heating – first introduced in Sweden in 1948 – both saves costs and lowers carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Today, district heating is the most common source of heating in Sweden. In Gothenburg, it is a waste-to-energy solution that uses local resources such as burnt rubbish or captured excess heat from industrial production or data centres to heat up water and distribute it to everyone connected to the system. Photo: Göteborg Energi CC
Ambitious goals for sustainability in Sweden
Going forward, the Swedish government has set ambitious goals for sustainability, including fossil fuel-free electricity production by 2040 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2045. The Swedish Energy Agency expects Sweden’s electricity production to be 99 per cent fossil fuel-free by 2028.
Statistics Sweden offers a breakdown of emissions of air pollutants in Sweden over time.
How did Sweden become an environmental pioneer?
Sweden is known for its undeveloped wilderness and archipelagoes, stretching from the European mainland to the Arctic. Meeting the environmental challenges is both about protecting nature and taking measures to safeguard the environment for the future.
In 1967, Sweden established an Environmental Protection Agency, the first of its kind in the world, and the country was one of the first in the world to pass an environmental protection act in 1969.
In 1972, Sweden hosted the first UN conference on the global environment. And in 1991, Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to introduce a carbon dioxide tax.
Electrifying transport
The number of electric cars on Swedish roads is growing, and Swedish cities are rolling out electrified public transport, with numerous electrification initiatives underway.
ElectriCity is a Gothenburg-based arena for collaboration, which has been used as a testbed for electrified buses and other means of transport since 2015.
Here, industry, research and society work together. Solutions like geofencing have been tested, developed and evaluated in real traffic environments, together with national and international actors. Geofencing is a virtual fence that can be used to digitally control a vehicle’s movements within a particular geographical area. For example, speed can be lowered outside schools to improve traffic safety, emissions can be reduced and better traffic flows created.
In Stockholm, buses have been running on renewable fuels since 2018 and the metro and other trains run on electricity from renewable sources.
Malmö’s model for urban development
Two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to live in cities by 2050, according to the UN. Sweden has one of the fastest rates of urbanisation in Europe.
Sege Park in the southern city of Malmö is a model for urban development. This area combines affordable housing with a local sharing economy. The idea is to make it easier for residents to share goods and services, so that they own less but at the same time have access to more.
A wooden multifunctional parking garage is another feature (see video). Apart from parking spaces for cars, it includes a bicycle parking; a ‘bicycle kitchen‘, where residents can go to fix their bikes; and a ‘mobility pool’, where residents can rent cars and bikes from a shared pool. The building also includes solar panels, plant-covered façades, stormwater recycling, charging points for electric vehicles and energy flow optimisation.
A hub for environmental research
Sweden is home to leading environmental research. Stockholm boasts the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at the Stockholm University. And IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute has offices in different parts of Sweden, as well as in other countries.
Professor Johan Rockström, co-founder of Stockholm Resilience Centre, thinks that Sweden could be a model for other countries to follow.
'Sweden has a disproportionate influence in this field and therefore also a large responsibility,' Rockström has said. 'Sweden, both in science and in action, should be able to show that combining sustainability with human well-being is a path for success and development.'
Milestones of sustainability in Sweden
Sweden’s reputation as an environmental pioneer began more than half a century ago. Here are some milestones of sustainability in Sweden, past and future.
1967
Sweden established an environmental protection agency, Naturvårdsverket, the first of its kind in the world.
1972
Sweden hosted the first UN conference on the environment, which led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the leading global environmental authority to this day.
1995
Sweden was one of the first countries to introduce a carbon tax, which has helped reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
1998 and 2002
Sweden was one of the first nations to sign and ratify the international climate change treaty Kyoto Protocol.
2001
The Stockholm Convention, largely a Swedish initiative, was a global treaty aimed at phasing out the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.
2017
Sweden ranked third in the Global Cleantech Innovation Index.
2020
Sweden ranked second in the Global Innovation Index and topped the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index.
2021
Sweden ranked second in the UN Sustainable Development Report and the Global Innovation Index.
2022
More than 60 per cent of Sweden's electricity comes from renewable sources.
2024
Sweden topped the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI).
2025
Sweden ranked second in the Global Innovation Index – for the third year in a row.
2028
Goal: Swedish electricity production is 99 per cent fossil fuel-free.
2030
Goal: The Swedish transport sector is fossil fuel-free.
2045
Goal: Sweden is fossil fuel-free.
