Swedish Environmental Policy

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007
Swedish Environmental Policies

History and present regulations
Baltic
Environment
and Energy
Table of Contents
Page
1. Historical background
1.1 The Awakening
1.2 International Conferences
1.3 The Power of the Consumer some examples
1.4 Important Environmental Campaigns
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2. The Environmental Legislation in Sweden

2.1 The Swedish Environmental Code aims and general rules
2.2 Relations between the EU and the Swedish Environmental Regulations
2.3 Milestones in the EU Work for Sustainable Environmental Development
2.4 Some Important Parts of the EU Environmental Legislation
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3. The Swedish Environmental Administrative Organisation Supervision and Authorisation

3.1 Environmental Protection and Public Health
3.2 Animal Protection and Environmental Impact of Agriculture
3.3 Food Control
3.4 Financing of Monitoring, Control and Supervision
3.5 Working Conditions for the Environmental Inspectors
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4. National Objectives for the present Swedish Environmental Policies

4.1 National Level
4.2 Regional Level Skne Region
4.3 Local Level Burlv Municipality
4.4 An Example from the Practice SYSAV
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5. Checklist for Creating Environmental Objectives and Programmes
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Some references
Appendix 1: Ljungby Municipality some facts and other information
Appendix 2: Policy for Sustainable Development, Ljungby Municipality
Appendix 3: A flow diagram of a standard sewage treatment plant
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Preface
The BEE project is a very special or unusual Interreg III B project since it is a bilateral cooperation
project between Russian (Kaliningrad Region) and Swedish (South Sweden) partners in an Interreg
III B programme context of supporting multilateral cooperation projects. It is implemented under the
programme measure 3:2 Bilateral maritime cooperation across the Baltic Sea, which was added as a
new measure to the programme as late as 2005.
A main idea behind the project is to further develop the fruitful bilateral cooperation since the early
1990th between public parties of the Kaliningrad Region and South Sweden, but now developing
the support approach into cooperation on more equal conditions, with the aim of creating win-win
conditions for all involved parties.
Important problems that have been tackled within the project are the lack or deficit of practice
oriented, sustainable education methods and practises of friendly environmental attitudes in both
countries, as well as how to develop methods for good management and capacity building for handling
mainly environmental issues.
This report contains a brief summary of the development of Swedish environmental policies during
the last 40-50 years and some of the present central pillars of the policies, including relations to the
EU environmental policies. The content has been closely discussed between the Russian and Swedish
parties of the BEE project in order to in the first hand be of interest for Russian readers to understand
how central cornerstones of environmental policies could be developed.
The main contributor of the report is Mr Niklas Hansson, the Regional Council of Southern
Smland, in close cooperation with Mr Ingemar Frejdh, the Municipality of Eksj, Mrs Linda Hellberg,
the Municipality of Burlv, and Mr Rolf A Karlson, Project Coordinator of the BEE project. The main
Russian project partner AMOKO has been actively contributing with comments on what is of
special value to describe to be of interest for Russian readers.
The report has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union and Sida. The
content of the report is though the sole responsibility of the lead partner of the project - The Regional
Council in Kalmar County, Sweden - and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the
position of the European Union or Sida.
Kalmar and Kaliningrad in December 2007
Rolf A Karlson
Project Coordinator
of the BEE project
Anastassia Kuznetsova
Russian Co-coordinator
of the BEE project
1. Historical background
In todays Sweden the environmental problems are discussed in media on a daily basis. The same
situation is prevailing in most other EU member countries, in the USA and in many other post-industrial
countries, but also in many other countries around the world in different stages of development. The
news often include alarming reports about the not so welcome changes in the weather that scientists
have found to be caused by global warming.
The Swedish national environmental objectives are important guidelines and goals for authorities
and politicians to reach. But also in principle every Swedish company is working with environmental
issues in different forms. In schools the environment is an important subject. Public knowledge and
consciousness in Sweden concerning different environmental problems are therefore generally at a very
high level in an international context. However, this has naturally not always been the case.
It was not until the early 1960th that the environmental awareness in Sweden started to shift from
preservation of nature towards a focus on the negative impact of the industrial development. The
American debate book Silent Spring (that among other things highlighted the issue of birds dying
in large numbers due to the increasing use of pesticides) functioned as an alarm-clock. The use of toxic
substances, such as DDT, and pollution from the industries started to seriously affect the nature and
the human health. The political debate that followed in Sweden resulted in the establishment of the
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in 1967. The first Environmental protection Act came into
force 1969 and remained intact until early 1990th. According to this Act a permit was required to start
an industrial plant and the Act also regulated levels of emission for different kinds of industries, as well
as demands on physical localisations of them.
In 1976 there was a big environmental scandal in Sweden when it was discovered that the chemical
factory BT Kemi had dumped and buried some 800 barrels with toxic chemical waste into the ground
in Skne in southern Sweden. People living nearby were scared and environmentalists and politicians
were furious.
Other environmental disasters that got a lot of attention in the newspapers and TV, and affecting
peoples opinions, were the large toxic chemical accident in the Italian town Seveso in 1976, the nuclear
accident in Harrisburg in the USA 1979, the extraordinary toxic chemical gas release catastrophe in
Bhopal in India in 1984, and the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in the former USSR in April 1986. The
nuclear disaster at Chernobyl gave huge headlines in Sweden since it affected (and still do) rather large
areas in the middle and northern parts of Sweden.
In the 1980th a number of other kinds of severe environmental problems were to be recognised. The
use of fossil fuels for heating and in the transportation sector led to huge emissions of nitrogen and
phosphorous oxides into the air. The result was to become known as acid rain that in the end destroyed
e.g. many lakes and damaged a large number of buildings.
The discharge of untreated sewage from urban areas and the additional leakage of fertilizers from
the farming sector led to eutrophication of the waters. The fishermen complained that the fish and
crabs were disappearing in certain areas. The eutrophication resulted in overgrowth of plankton and
the following decay of the dead plankton ended with lack of oxygen that gave us dead bottoms of the
sea. The process of chlorine bleached paper generated toxic dioxin and the diffuse distribution of PCB
should also be mentioned as very important problems.
In the 1990th two new environmental threats became widely known to the public. The ozone layer
that protects the surface of the earth from dangerous UV radiation showed signs of damage. Scientists
explained that chlorinated substances used as refrigerants, such as Freon, depleted the ozone layer.
The total use of fossil fuels in the world gave away huge emissions of CO2 into the air. The atmosphere
is transparent to the visible solar radiation that heats the surface of the earth. Part of the solar radiation is
reflected back as infra-red heat radiation from the surface into the atmosphere, and CO2 helps to absorb
the outgoing heat radiation and functions as a heat trap. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse
effect. Scientists warns that in the long run the gradual increase of the global temperature will melt
the ice masses of the two poles which will raise the level of the sea and flood lowland coastal areas. A
warmer climate also causes dramatic changes of our weather conditions harder storms and rainfalls in
some areas, dryer climate and spread of deserts in others.
1.1 The Awakening

The general awareness in Western Europe and Sweden grew fast during the 1970th, 80th and 90th as
the environmental problems resulted in alarming headlines and news in the mass media. Science and
monitoring showed that these problems were to be taken seriously otherwise the environment and our
whole existence would be at risk in the long run.
Ordinary people demanded that the political parties should work for a better environment and
acceptable conditions for human health. It became necessary for politicians in Sweden to include
environmentally friendly arguments in their political agendas in order to win votes. Environmentally
friendly words were to be used as weapons in the political discussions.
Acid rain killed many lakes in Sweden and scientists begun to search for the reasons why. The large
and sparsely populated country of Sweden with relatively few cities and industries could hardly produce
all these pollutions. It was soon to be realised that emissions and pollution did not stop at any national
border and instead travelled long distances with air and water and even across the whole globe. The
spread of radioactive pollution from Chernobyl is one example of this.
For many countries around the world it was obvious that most environmental problems could not be
solved at a national level and therefore international cooperation and agreements were the only way to
tackle these problems.
1.2 International Conferences

The first United Nation (UN) environment and development conference was held in Stockholm 1972,
and it was to become an important milestone in international cooperation within the environmental
field. The Conference in Stockholm was the first occasion when attention was drawn to the need of
preserving natural habitats to produce a sustained improvement in living conditions for all, and the need
for international cooperation to achieve this.
Another important milestone was the Brundtland Commissions report from 1987 that defined
sustainability to be a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The report also took economical and social
aspects into consideration.
The Earth Summit conference in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro a follow up of the Stockholm conference
20 years earlier was another milestone in the international cooperation about environmental issues.
Twenty years after the first global environment conference, the UN sought to help Governments
rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources
and pollution of the planet. A central result of the conference was the adoption of Agenda 21, a wideranging blueprint for actions to achieve sustainable development worldwide through actions on
international, national, regional and local levels.
During 1997 another environmental milestone was reached when the much needed Kyoto Protocol
was negotiated and later signed by nearly every country on earth. Finally an agreement had been reached
that could reduce the CO2 emissions to stop the process of global warming caused by the greenhouse
effect. Russia signed and ratified the protocol in 2004, but sadly the worlds largest CO2 producer USA,
has not ratified the treaty.
In December 2007, at the climate conference in Bali, a time table was set for the negotiating process
of reducing the greenhouse gases after the Kyoto protocol ends in 2012. A compromise was reached
about the need of deep cuts in global emissions to avoid dangerous climate changes - an agreement that
even the USA accepted.
If international agreements are to be effective at all, every country that has signed a treaty must ratify
it into its own national legislation and environmental policies. In the end there is of course the huge task
of making practice out of theory for the politicians and other decision makers. Without competition
the last step is the hardest!
1.3 The Power of the Consumer some examples

In the 1980th it became fashionable for ordinary people to buy chlorine free paper. For a conscious
and modern family, or company, it was natural to buy such paper. Soon this movement started to steer
the paper mills into changing their methods of production into chlorine free bleaching processes and
thereby meeting the demands of the modern consumers. It started to be a competitive advantage to
produce environmentally friendly products and the advertising companies were soon to follow.
The Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) named the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
(SSNC) played an important role in this positive development. Its number of members continued to
grew each year as a result of the environmental awareness. SSNC also started its own independent
system of labelling environmentally friendly products to make it easier for the consumers to make the
environmentally correct choices. Again, this labelling system played an important role in steering the
industrial production towards phosphate-free detergents.

Svanen
Bra Miljval
The symbol Svanen (The Swan) is used as an indicator to help the consumer to choose an environmentally friendly product.
The other symbol, Bra Miljval (A good environmental choice) is in the shape of a falcon. The NGO SSNC has developed this
symbol to help consumers to choose a product that is friendly for the environment in a broader perspective than the Swan.
Another environmental occurrence that really got started in the 1990s was the recycling and saving
of materials and energy. What was previously considered garbage, now turned into possible valuable
resources. In short terms, the development of recycling follows the same pattern as the one for chlorine
free paper. Children were taught in schools that recycling was very good for the environment. The
younger generation adopts new habits and ideas easier than older ones, and there are many stories to be
told about children having taught their parents how to recycle. Recycling, for instance of glass bottles,
metal cans and paper soon became a part of normal life in the Swedish households.
The most environmentally friendly product is the one that do not have to be produced at all. Saving
on energy became more and more important. The less energy and electricity that is used, the less CO2
emissions. The idea of saving energy and materials also helped many companies to reduce their costs
and increase their profit. These are further examples of some important ways to reduce the impact on
the environment.
1.4 Important environmental campaigns

Already in 1938 the Swedish author and journalist Ludvig Nordstrm released a number of reports in
the Swedish national public radio called Dirty Sweden, documenting the very low standard of living
conditions and housing on the Swedish countryside. These reports were used to make authorities and
people understand that something had to be done to better the situation. This was the start to better
knowledge about good quality drinking water, good living conditions, need of waste water and garbage
treatment and how in general to get a healthy life for the population.
In 1962 the campaign Keep Nature Clean started. The campaign was an initiative from the Swedish
Society for Nature Conservation and the aim for the campaign was to change the populations attitude
towards littering. The idea of the campaign was that if we early on in life learn to take care of our
neighbourhood and not litter, there is a big chance that we develop a sustainable lifestyle and takes care
of the environment later on in life. Around the same time it was made compulsory by law to collect
garbage from permanent and summer houses.
Another important campaign in Sweden tackling the same subject is the 19701974 campaign A
Cleaner Society organized by the national committee Keep Sweden Clean together with county
committees in all counties. In 1983 the same committee was established as a foundation by the Swedish
National Environment Protection Board and Swedish Recycling (a company responsible for recycling
of aluminium and plastic bottles used for soda and beer). The foundation at this point gets money
for every recycled aluminium can. Between 1983 and 1990 the foundation runs two other successful
campaigns Clean Roadsides and The Year of clean beaches and it also starts education for teachers
in schools and kindergartens.
After the Agenda 21 meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 Swedish communities became very active
and started all kinds of environmental projects. Some examples are ecological schools, environmental
teams of households and biological cleaning systems for waste water.
One of these campaigns is the Old-used-up cars campaign, also called dilapidated cars, that was
run by Keep Sweden Clean between 2001 and 2007. The campaign was run in cooperation between
Keep Sweden Clean and the insurance company Folksam and Swedish municipalities. The idea of the
campaign was to make it easier for the public to get rid off old-used-up cars that was dumped in nature.
The public could call the campaign and report an old-used-up car that would then be picked up free of
charge. In total 130,000 cars were collected with big environmental benefits as a result.
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2. The Environmental Legislation in Sweden
2.1 The Swedish Environmental Code aims and general rules

The new Environmental Code replaced in 1999 a number of previous different environmental acts into
a new, coordinated and more powerful legal tool. The aim of the Environmental Code is to promote
sustainable development that ensures a healthy environmental impact on both the current and future
generations. To achieve this aim, there are a number of general rules of consideration:
The company in question must prove not to generate a harmful environmental impact not the
authority!
The rule of knowledge the management of a company must have enough knowledge to run the
business in an environmentally friendly way.
The precautionary rule it is the risk of future environmental impact that matters and not only the
actual environmental impact.
BAT one has to use the Best Available Technology.
The localisation principle the localisation that causes the lowest impact on the environment and
other physical resources should be chosen.
The Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) is applied, which means that you pay for the damage your
environmental impact causes.
The principle regarding resource management you should use the natures resources in the most
efficient way including saving on water, energy and produce less waste materials.
The product choice principle you must choose environmentally friendly products before those with
greater impact on the environment.
All these general principles should be used in a reasonable way the costs to improve the environment
must be corresponding to the significance of the impact.
There are also binding environmental quality standards that each municipality is obliged to both
monitor and follow. These are specified for both water and air and will set a standard for the lowest
quality of the environment that is acceptable. To make sure no infringements will happen, all who
operate environmentally hazardous activities must show that they can meet the environmental quality
standards.
Another major aim of the Environmental Code is to make those who run environmentally hazardous
activities responsible for controlling their own activities enough to avoid any negative impact on the
environment.
Regulations concerning different types of area protection, such as national parks, nature reserves,
biotope protection and shoreline protection, have been brought together in the Environmental Code.
Together with regulations regarding protection of species, the purpose is to preserve biological diversity.
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2.2 Relations between the EU and the Swedish Environmental Regulations

When Sweden joined the European Union (EU) on 1 January 1995, it was the culmination of a long
period of integration and co-operation with the European Union countries. Important milestones along
the road to membership included the 1972 Free Trade Agreement between Sweden and the European
Community (EC) and the 1992 treaty establishing a European Economic Area.
Therefore, in 1995 when Sweden became member of the European Union, an adoption to the
European Union legislation had already begun. The more practical work however, to create a new
national Swedish environmental legislation begun a few years after Sweden became a full member of the
EU. It is important to understand the global and European environmental history, such as international
conventions and agreements along with the close bonds to the European Community, to comprehend
the road to the new Swedish environmental legislation, The Environmental code.
The previous fifteen Swedish environmental acts were amalgamated into the new Environmental
Code which became effective on 1 January 1999. All EC-Directives listed by the EC-Commission
as applicable to the recommendation have been amalgamated into the Environmental Code and the
Act on Measures to Prevent and Limit the Consequences of Major accidents (the Seveso Act). The
above mentioned recommendation was established in 1997 and aims at setting up minimum criteria for
organising, performing, following-up and publishing environmental inspections. It covers environmental
inspections of all industrial installations, companies and facilities subject to authorisation, permit
or licensing requirements under current EU environmental legislation. Swedens implementation is
also fulfilled by the regulations in the Ordinance on Inspections and Enforcement according to the
Environmental code.
Permit requirements in Sweden, however, also apply to a great number of activities not covered
under the current EU legislation.
Environmental inspections and enforcement form an integrated part of Swedish environmental
protection activities together with the application of the law which in turn aims at reaching sustainable
development in accordance with the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty.
Sweden has also been proactive in integrating environmental considerations and the concept of
sustainable development into the EU frameworks a task that was strengthened in the 1997 Amsterdam
Treaty. At the meeting of the European Council in Cardiff in 1998 the transport, energy and agriculture
sectors were charged with drafting strategies to integrate sustainable development into their respective
fields. These were followed by the inner market, industry and development assistance at the Vienna
conference in 1998, and the economic and financial, fisheries general affairs sectors in Cologne in 1999.
2.3 Milestones in the EU Work for Sustainable Environmental Development

Rio de Janeiro 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Sustainable development.
Amsterdam 1997 Sustainable development is made one of EUs fundamental goals in the Treaty of
Amsterdam. Prominence is given to the requirement of integration environmental considerations into
other sectors.
Cardiff 1998 The European Council urges the various constellations of the Council of Ministers to
initiate efforts to integrate environmental considerations into their respective fields.
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Helsinki 1999 The transition to sustainable development is reviewed and evaluated. The European
Council decides that a cohesive strategy will be dealt with in Gteborg.
Gteborg 2001 An agreement was reached adopting a strategy for sustainable development about
four environmentally related objects; Climate change, sustainable transports, public health and the
managing of natural resources.
Barcelona 2002 An international dimension of the strategy of sustainable development was reached.
Johannesburg 2002 a follow up from 1992 in Rio. EU and member states of UN commitment to a
plan of implementation for sustainable development.
2005 The start of EUs new greenhouse gas emission trading scheme. In 2005 the Kyoto protocol
entered into force and the new European climate change programme was launched.
2.4 Some important parts of the EU environmental legislation

The Water Frame Directive According to the European Water Frame Directive it is a requirement
that surface and ground water in EU should be brought to good ecological and good chemical status by
2015. The Water Framework Directive is the most significant piece of European water legislation to be
produced over the last thirty years. Starting in 2004 it was to be effective in all member states including
Sweden by 2005.
REACH Is a new regulatory framework for chemicals that was proposed in 2003 (Registration,
Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemical substances). The aim of REACH is to improve
the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the
intrinsic properties of chemical substances. At the same time, innovative capability and competitiveness
of the EU chemicals industry should be enhanced. The benefits of the REACH system will come
gradually, as more and more substances are phased into REACH.
Recent examples of other EU Directives that has been transposed into the Swedish legislation are the
Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Directive on the Restriction of
the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS). Both the RoHS
and WEEE legislation was transposed into Swedish law by the Ministry of Sustainable Development.
The enforcement body for the RoHS legislation is the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate, KEMI, and for
the WEEE legislation it is the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
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3. The Swedish Environmental

Administrative Organisation
Supervising and Authorisation
The role of the Environment Committee of the municipality (and its environment department), or at
regional level the County Administrative Board (a regional state authority lead by a Governor), is to act
both as a supervisory and decisive authority. Three main fields of work can be distinguished as the most
important ones:
Protection of the environment and public health,
Animal protection and Environmental Impact of Agriculture, and
Food control.
The supervising has its base in the legislation, the Environmental Code. However, apart from being an
authority, the supervisory authority also has an informative role.
3.1 Environmental Protection and Public Health

Activities with great environmental impact are classified into A and B and must have licenses to operate.
The class A environmentally hazardous activities (for instance steel works and large ports) have greater
impact than the class B and must have a licence from the Environmental Court of Law. The County
Administrative Board is the issuing authority for the B licenses. Before starting an environmentally
hazardous activity, one must make an application and prove that one meets the requirements of the
general rules of considerations. The company must also prove that it will not risk any infringements of
the environmental quality standards.
Simulations created by special computer programmes help to predict the future impact of environment
of the activity. This information and other predictions based on known facts will serve as proof that the
activity has an acceptable impact.
Licensing and supervision work is also to be steered by the national environmental objectives, specified
in the form of regional and sector goals. This means that the licensing and supervision of activities and
measures must take the goals of the environmental policies into consideration. Before authorisation by
the County Administrative Board, the case of licensing must be sent as information to neighbours, the
municipality and other organisations that might be concerned. They all have the right to comment. The
right to comment and to make an appeal against the planned activity is quite strong in Sweden.
Those who intend to start any environmentally hazardous activity with less environmental impact,
classified as C, is obligated by law to make a notification to the Environment Committee of the
municipality before starting up. The Environment Committee will then authorise the company. In order
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to make the authorisation process faster and smoother, the right of authorisation is often delegated by
the Environment Committee to specific inspectors with defined expert competence.
Often the task of supervising environmentally hazardous activities, which requires a license by the
County Administrative Board, is delegated to the municipality. However the municipality must meet
some important requirements to get this delegation, such as competence and the correct organisation.
Another task for the County Administrative Board is to be advisory to the supervision that the
municipalities perform.
Most of the supervising is addressed toward companies with greater impact on the environment.
Supervising is performed both by inspections on site and through evaluation of reports made by the
companies. Companies with great environmental impact that require licences must send an annual
environmental report to the supervisory authority. This report consists of a description of how the company
meets the requirements in the licence, such as the precise regulations for outlet into air and water.
The Environmental Code puts the companies as responsible of control and monitoring of the impact
on the environment or human health that they cause. All companies with environmentally hazardous
activities must run a sufficient control of themselves. For companies with greater environmental impact,
such as class B activity, there is an obligation to follow a control programme. This programme must
get acceptance by the supervisory authority as sufficient when it comes to testing and monitoring of
the environmental impact. The result of the monitoring is of course used to ensure the enforcement of
the license and the Environmental Code in broad terms. In Sweden measuring and analyses are done
by private enterprises. These private enterprises must have the necessary accreditation issued by the
governmental authority Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC)
as a proof of their competence in the field. The accreditation obliges the enterprise to follow certain
standards, like CEN (standards used within the European Union) and ISO (International Organisation
for Standardisation), and thereby ensuring that the results are accurate.
Complaints made by citizens may also result in an inspection on site. The outcome of the inspection
may result in legal actions against the company or a private citizen. The County Administrative Board or
the Environment Committee of the municipality has the right by law to decide about legal actions, such
as injunctions or prohibitions, against companies or private citizens who are responsible for infringements
of the Environmental Code. One of the most effective ways of law enforcement is to address an injunction
towards a company or a private citizen about fines if they fail to meet the requirements. For some defined
infringements there are predetermined fines named environmental sanction charges. Suspected environmental
crimes must without exception, according to the Environmental Code, be reported to the attorney.
Another task for the Environment Committee of the municipality is to authorise small applications
for treatment of the household sewage. It has been proven that the leakage of nitrogen and phosphorous
from private households located on the countryside also contributes to the eutrophication of the lakes
and of the Baltic Sea.
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3.2 Animal Protection and Environmental Impact of Agriculture

The Environment Committee in the municipality is responsible for the supervising in the field of
animal protection. A special environmental and animal inspector performs the task of inspections and
law enforcement of cattle and also of domestic animals, including pets. When medical examination of
the animals is needed, a veterinarian is contacted. The County Administrative Board may after several
reports about bad treatment of cattle or pets, address a prohibition to the owner from keeping animals
in the future. To treat an animal bad is also a criminal act according to the Swedish legislation
Another important field of supervising is the environmental impact of agriculture. The main goal to
be achieved by the supervision is to reduce the leakage of nutrients into groundwater, creeks and rivers.
In practice these inspections are executed on site to ensure that the storing of manure is done in a proper
way and that the spreading of manure on the fields is done during the right season of the year.
However it is also in the interest of the Environment Committee to prevent problems with
infringements of the laws. The best way is to have good relations and frequent contacts with the
farmers associations. Together with information about new laws and other adequate information this is
most important. There can be a win-win situation between the authority and the farmers if successful
cooperation and mutual understanding are created. The same of course goes for the environmentally
hazardous activities and industries in general.
3.3 Food Control

Food control is another task performed by the municipalities on basis of national legislation. Before
opening a restaurant, or a place of food production, one must file an application to the Environment
Committee of the municipality which then authorise the company. To get a permission to run a
restaurant, you must present the supervisory authority with a programme of control. This programme
describes how the hygienic standards are ensured and how to meet the required frequency of analyses.
The control programme must get acceptance by the supervisory authority.
Production of drinking water is also considered to be a production of food and must therefore
meet the necessary requirements of hygiene, monitoring and control. To guarantee production and
distribution of water within cities is the responsibility of the municipality. The body for the production
and distribution could though differ from municipal departments to municipal owned companies. The
Environment Committee is responsible for the supervising of the water plants and the distribution nets
when it comes to hygiene and water quality.
Water production at a large scale is also considered an environmentally hazardous activity, meaning
that the Environmental Code is applicable.
3.4 Financing of Monitoring, Control and Supervision

All companies and other activities that require a license, notification, authorisation or supervision must
pay for the time and work done by the environmental authority. Companies with great environmental
impact require much supervision and pay a fixed annual fee to the authorities. Smaller companies
usually pay for the actual hours of the supervision. The same principle applies within the field of animal
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protection and food control. This system of financing is in accordance with the Polluter Pays Principle
(PPP). Even private citizens pay for the work done by the supervisory authority, such as permits for
small applications for the treatment of household sewage.
In short; companies pay both for their own control and monitoring, and for the cost of the supervision
done by the supervisory authority.
3.5 Working Conditions for the Environmental Inspectors

The job as an environmental inspector is a delicate balance between the role of being an authority, with
all the obligations followed by this, and at the same time achieve good communication and relations
with both companies, farmers and private citizens. What makes it easier though is that corruption, in
general terms, is unusual in Sweden.
There is an ongoing discussion in Sweden concerning the appropriateness of letting the municipalities
execute the supervision. The Environment Committees consist of politicians representing their political
parties in relation to the outcome of the last elections. There have been cases of improper actions taken
by Environment Committees, e.g. avoiding the obligation of reporting some criminal behaviour to the
attorney and thereby favouring a company or a private citizen. It is obvious that any system could have
disadvantages to some extent.
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4. National objectives for the present

Swedish Environmental Policies
4.1 National Level

Sweden has often been a frontrunner in the work of improving the environment and bringing new
topics up for discussion. One can say that the environment served as a political beacon during the
1980th and 1990th; casting its light on many topics and discussions.
With the previously described brief historical background and the broad international agreements,
the Swedish Government realised in the early 1990th that a clean environment never could be reached
without methodical work.
The need to set an action plan with fixed and feasible goals was obvious if the tremendous task of saving
our environment and creating conditions for a sustainable development should be achieved. The Swedish
Government decided to create a comprehensive environmental policy with the aim of solving all major
environmental problems within one generation, which was set to be in 2020. The process of defining all
areas important to the environment and the human health started in the beginning of the 1990th.
The environmental policy is based on five fundamental principles, and focuses mainly on the
ecological aspects of the environment:
Promotion of human health
Preservation of biological diversity
Preservation of cultural heritage assets
Preservation of the long-term production of capacity of ecosystems
Wise management of natural resources.
The process resulted in the proposal of fifteen environmental objectives in 1995 with interim targets. The
environmental objectives were adopted in 1999 by the Parliament. Later, in 2005, an additional sixteenth
objective was adopted. These objectives are formulated as direct goals which are easy to understand. The
environmental objectives function as guidelines for all environment-related development in Sweden.
They also function as guidelines when applying the Environmental Code.
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The sixteen environmental objectives are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Reduced Climate Impact

Clean air
Natural Acidification only
A Non-Toxic Environment
A Protective Ozone layer
A Safe Radiation Environment
Zero Eutrophication
Flourishing Lakes and Streams
Good Quality Ground water
10. A Balanced Marine Environment,

Flourishing Coastal Areas and
Archipelagos
11. Thriving Wetlands
12. Sustainable Wetlands
13. A varied Agricultural Landscape
14. A Magnificent Mountain Landscape
15. A Good Built Environment
16. A Rich Diversity of Plant and Animal Life.
The environmental objectives were formulated in course of a fruitful cooperation between elected
representatives, public authorities, industry and environmental NGOs. This cooperation process is of
great importance from a democratic and transparency point of view. It is really fundamental to ask all
affected parties and take their arguments into consideration, before adopting important political issues
or new legislation. Such a process gives guarantees for acceptance of the proposed new regulations
from different interests in society, and thereby that the new guidelines or regulation will be respected
in practice.
After establishing the objectives in 1999, an intense work on developing and implementing the
objectives started. Governmental agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and The
National Board of Housing, Building and Planning played important roles in this work.
Although the objectives are not forcing anyone to act (they are not legislation rules), they have been
very successful at all levels in the society, giving an overall picture of our environmental problems and
giving us a defined frame to work within. The objectives that are considered to be the most important
to work with today, and that are the hardest to reach, is Reduced Climate Impact, A Non Toxic
Environment and Zero Eutrophication.
Environmental objectives have to be reachable and realistic, also from an economic point of view, if
we are going to have a chance to achieve them. Otherwise they might just become paper products for
the book-shelves! They must of course also meet international agreements like the Kyoto Protocol.
4.1.1 Interim targets

Between 2001 and 2005, in a series of decisions, the Swedish Parliament laid down 72 interim targets
to be reached in the near future, mainly before the end of 2010. These make the objectives more
concrete, more powerful and easier to follow up. Examples of some interim targets of the objectives
Zero Eutrophication and Reduced Climate Impact are given below:
19
Zero Eutrophication:
Reduced Climate Impact:
Interim target 1, 2010

By 2010 Swedish waterborne anthropogenic
emissions of phosphorus compounds into
lakes, streams and coastal waters will have
decreased by at least 20% from 1995 levels.
The largest reductions will be achieved in the
most sensitive areas.
Interim target, 20082012

As an average for the period 20082012,
Swedish emissions of greenhouse gases will
be at least 4% lower than in 1990. Emissions
are to be calculated as carbon dioxide equivalents and are to include the six greenhouse
gases listed in the Kyoto Protocol and defined
by the IPCC. In assessing progress towards
the target, no allowance is to be made for
uptake by carbon sinks or for flexible mechanisms.

By 2010 Swedish waterborne anthropogenic
emissions of nitrogen compounds into sea
areas south of the land Sea of the Baltic
Sea will have been reduced by at least 30%
compared with 1995 levels.
By 2010 emissions of ammonia in Sweden
will have been reduced by at least 15% compared with 1995 levels.
By 2010 emissions of nitrogen oxides to air
in Sweden will have been reduced to 148,000
tonnes.
4.1.2 Progress and follow-up

Every year the Environmental Protection Agency follows up the work with the objectives. This is
reported in a way which is very easy to understand and overview with so called smilies:
Current conditions, provided that they are maintained and the decisions taken are
implemented in all essential respects, are sufficient to achieve the environmental
quality objective/interim target within the defined time-frame.
The environmental quality objective/interim target can be achieved to a sufficient
degree/on a sufficient scale within the defined time-frame, but further changes/
measures will be required.
The environmental quality objective/interim target will be very difficult to achieve
to a sufficient degree/on a sufficient scale within the defined time-frame.
20
4.1.3 Economy
The objectives are economically motivated by the fact that not doing anything will in the long run
cost more for the society due to health effects, poorer crops, smaller catches in the fishery industry,
floods, decomposing of buildings, etc. The committee forming the objectives calculated that the present
pollution costs are over 20 billion SEK (2.2 billion EUR) every year, not taking the health effects into
account. The costs for carrying out the objectives are approximated to 45 billions SEK for the whole
period 20012010.
4.2 Regional Level Skne Region

4.2.1 Regional Objectives
The regional authorities have developed regional objectives, based on the national ones. The County
Administrative Board in cooperation with the Regional Council, the Association of Local Authorities
and the Forest Agency in Skne established Sknes Environmental Objectives and Environmental
Action Programme in the year 2003.
The regional objectives are used;
as guidelines in spatial planning,
in supervising/control according to the Environmental Code,
to support the environmental authorities to prioritise their work,
to strengthen the publics and industrys knowledge and work, and
to give the overall environmental work a general structure.
4.2.2 The process

The Action programme took three years to establish and was created in a close and broad dialogue
between working teams and experts from several different sectors of the society representing both
the national, regional, municipal and private spheres. Sector committees were created with branch
representatives from the sectors of transports and provisions. Before the programme was politically
approved, it was referred for consideration to all the municipalities in the region, to several companies
and to other stakeholders.
4.2.3 Measures
The regional objectives are mainly more concrete formulations of the national ones, but some interim
targets differ, making them better adjusted to the conditions in the region. To fulfil the objectives a
number of measures are added to the programme. The programme contains as many as 300 measures.
These measures were carefully chosen, taken into consideration that they affect a big part of Skne, and
cause great damage to the environment and peoples health. Every measure has a time limit aligned to
it and also points out the responsible party performing the task in question.
21
One example of a measure belonging to the objective A Non-toxic environment (totally 34 measures) is:
Information about production, use, discharges to and occurrence in the environment is gathered for
particularly dangerous substances. Performed by: the County Administrative Board, the municipalities
and the industry, beginning in the year of 2004.
Two examples of measures belonging to the objective Reduced Climate Impact (totally 24 measures) are:
At least half of the employees driving regularly at work should be educated in eco-driving (sparse
fuel consumption). Performed by employers with more than 100 employees from the year 2004.
A climate and energy strategy is established, containing a programme for environmental adapted
transports. Performed by the municipalities before 2008.
4.3 Local Level Burlv Municipality

Almost nine out of ten Swedish municipalities are working with environmental objectives. Over a third
of them have produced and adopted their own local environmental objectives based on the national and
regional ones. In order to support the municipalities, the County Administrative Board has published
guidelines and is advising the municipalities in their work.
4.3.1 Creating Local Objectives and an Environmental Programme for Burlv

Burlvs Environmental Programme 20032008 was established in the year 2003, after more than a
year of intense work. Several reports and investigations were used as background material. The overall
aim with the programme is to set new goals and strategies for the municipality and its personnel within
the area of environment, health and sustainable development.
When the programme was formed, mixed groups of representatives from different departments of the
municipality participated and contributed with knowledge and their views. This made the programme
deeply rooted in the organisation. The environmental strategist is responsible for the programme and
its implementation. Parallel to this work an Agenda 21-education for the municipal politicians and
personnel was performed, using the national environmental objectives as a base. The result from this
education was taken into account when forming the programme. A questionnaire was also distributed
to a selection of citizens of the municipality. Before any political decision concerning the programme
was taken, it was communicated broadly within the municipal organisation, as well as with external
parties. All viewpoints were considered, and some of them led to changes in the planned programme.
4.3.2 Local Objectives, Interim Targets and Measures

In Burlvs environmental programme local objectives, interim targets and measures have been
established. The starting point has been the national and regional objectives and interim targets. To
fulfil these targets a number of measures are included in the programme. For each measure a responsible
committee/board is appointed together with a time limit of performance. Almost all departments
within the municipal organisation are involved; the environment department, the department of spatial
22
planning, the department of education, etc. Even the social department has measures to perform within
the programme.
The programme is divided into 16 chapters, one for each objective. To every objective a background
is given. The situation in Burlv is described, for example how the air quality is today, where the
pollutants come from, the effects on the environment and peoples health, how to make the situation
better, etc. After giving this background the interim targets and measures are presented.
Although all of the national objectives are included in the programme (excluding A magnificent
mountain Landscape, since Burlv does not have any mountains), some objectives are more important
than others. Burlv is situated in a very expansive part of Sweden, where almost every square meter is
built on or used for highly productive agriculture. Therefore there are very little nature and parks left for
recreation for citizens. The municipality is also crossed by two major highways and densely trafficked
railways. This leads to problems with the air quality, noise and creates barrier effects. The objectives
coping with these problems (Clean Air and A Good Built Environment) are therefore of special
importance for Burlv, and big efforts are put to coop with these two objectives. Examples of measures
in these areas are:
Monitoring the air quality.
Decrease the traffic in the inner part of the main settlements by traffic planning, leading the traffic
to the bigger roads outside the settlements.
Improving the public communications.
Establishing an energy plan.
Guidance for the citizens and companies on how to save energy.
Changing all old vehicles used in the municipal organisation to vehicles using alternative fuels.
Construction of two smaller wetlands used for recreation and natural cleaning of small river waters.
Survey of noise and propositions of measures.
4.3.3 Economy
An economic calculation was made for each measure in the programme and presented in the programme
draft. When it was established in 2003, and the politicians in the municipal council agreed on the
programme, they also agreed on financing the measures, knowing the approximate cost for realizing
each of them. Every year the departments responsible for the different measures have to apply for
financing in the yearly budget. This far, most measures have got the financial resources needed for them
to be realized.
4.3.4 Progress and follow up

Every year a rapport is produced, following up the programme. Of the 67 measures in total, 51 have
been initiated or even realized in the end of year 2006.
23
4.4 An Example from the Practice - SYSAV

SYSAV the Waste Management Company for southern Skne is owned by 14 municipalities
concerned. One if them is Burlv. The company was established in 1974 and its business concept is To
offer municipalities and companies environmentally friendly waste management and recycling, with the
optimum utilisation of the wastes material and energy resources.
This means that protecting the eco-system through optimal waste management is at the very core of
everything SYSAV does. The aim for all SYSAV actions is to ensure that as much waste as possible will
be re-used. To ensure that this is the case, SYSAV uses many different methods. This broad, versatile
approach enables the company to direct the right waste to the right form of treatment. From waste with
high energy content heat and electricity are extracted. Garden and park waste becomes nutrient-rich
compost and pre-packed soil. Construction and demolition materials are sorted and re-sold. Wood is
shredded into chips and sold as pellet fuel. Only a smaller part of all waste is land filled.
Landfill gas is recovered from the bio gradable waste. SYSAV also deals with the municipalities
hazardous waste for recycling, pre-treatment or further transport to another treatment company.
Scrapped electric and electronic equipment is treated and the materials recycled at SYSAVs own unit.
Through part-ownership SYSAV is also involved in paper and board recycling via the company AB
Sydtervinning, and through GAB Syd AB in recycling of gravel, asphalt and concrete.
In 2006 the SYSAV Eco-cycle Plan 20062010 was adopted. The plan contains common targets
for all owner municipalities. A working group for inter-municipality communication has also been
established.
24
25
5. Checklist for Creating Environmental

Objectives and Programmes
Things to think about when creating environmental objectives and programmes:

The starting point of creating an environmental programme is to point out which the major local
environmental problems are. These problems are naturally the most important ones to solve.
What kind of values does the organisation (municipality, council, company, etc.) want to take care of
and develop?
Consider in what way the organisation can make a change and provide improvements for the
environment. What kind of measures can be taken?
Which actors/operators should participate in the programme activities? Identify key persons within
the different organisations.
There must be a broad acceptance of the programme within the participating organisations. The
objectives and measures should not be forced upon any stakeholder. A successful and well implemented
programme is formed in consensus with the participating parts. Persons responsible for financing the
measures (politicians, directors, etc.) must agree on performing the measures within the set timetable
for implementation.
The assignments must be clear and evident, leaving no risks for misunderstandings.
Before a political decision is taken, it must be broadly communicated with the citizens, organisations,
companies and departments and administrations involved.
The objectives should be formulated in a way that is easily understandable to everyone, for example:
Clean air and Reduced climate impact.
The objectives and interim targets must also be easy to follow up, preferably with data or percentages,
for example A maximum level of nitrogen dioxide of 60 g/m as an hourly mean and of 20 g/m as
an annual mean will not be exceeded by 2010.
The objectives should be followed up every year.
When choosing measures, it should be taken into account which measures are the easiest to realize,
which can bring most benefits to the environment and which measures are most cost-effective.
The programme must be kept alive through continuous work. One should not settle when the
programme is established and think - great, now we have a programme, let us move on to another
task. There has to be action to fulfil the programme within the whole programme period, making the
measures into reality. One person (or many persons in a bigger organisation) within the organisation
should be responsible for the programme, reminding the different departments to fulfil the measures,
and coordinating and doing follow-ups.
26
Some references:
Miljprogram 20032008, Burlvs kommun, 2003
Sknes miljml och miljhandlingsprogram, Lnsstyrelsen I Skne ln, 2003
SYSAV At the heart of the eco-cycle & Annual report 2006
www.ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm
www.eea.europa.eu
www.internat.naturvardsverket.se/
www.miljomal.nu/english/obj7.php
www.miljomal.nu/
www.sweden.gov.se
27
Appendix 1
Ljungby Municipality some facts and other information
General Facts
Inhabitants:
28,000 inhabitants in the municipality of which 15,000 in the town of Ljungby
Area:
2003 km2
2
Inhabitants/km :
14.0
Labour market:
A large percentage of the jobs are in the industrial sector
Unemployment rate: 2 % (one of the lowest in Sweden)
Responsibilities of the municipality environment and energy
The Environment, Building and Planning Office is responsible for:
Supervision and authorisation of industries and environmentally hazardous activities
Environmental monitoring and supervising the use of chemicals
Animal protection and supervising the agriculture
Food control
Health protection
Urban and rural planning (residential and industrial areas)
General plans for the whole municipality concerning land use, water management etc.
Building permits (private houses, industries etc.).
The Technical Office is responsible for e.g.:
Collecting and cleaning the sewage water from urban areas1
Collecting all domestic waste (not from industries)2
Supply of drinking-water
Managing of streets and parks.
Ljungby Energy is a heating and energy company owned by the municipality (although it is not the
responsibility by law for the municipality to supply its citizens with district heating it is an important
task for many municipalities) with the task to:
Provide district heating for private homes, different institutions and industries in the town of Ljungby.
Organisation of the Ljungby Environment Department within the Environment,
Building and Planning Office
1 person is head of the department
4 persons work with issues regarding environmentally hazardous activities, permits, supervision,
guidance and chemicals
1.5 persons work with food control (shops, restaurants, drinking water)
1
2
See Appendix 3 for a diagram of a sewage treatment plant flow diagram and the basic function of a standard sewage treatment plant in Sweden.
See the text about Bredemad recycling station and Ljungsjverket below in Appendix 1
28
1 person work with animal protection and agriculture

0.5 person work with health protection
1 person function as administrative support to the others
Examples of activities that the Environment Office supervises
21 large environmentally hazardous enterprises (industries, sewage treatment works, etc.)
250 small environmentally hazardous enterprises (repair shops, garages, plastics industries, lacquering)
Permits for cleaning facilities of domestic sewage
Environmental monitoring (measuring of air particles, etc.)
Food control (38 food stores, 120 restaurants, 17 water purification plants)
500 farms, of which 400 have animals
Health protection and indoor environment (for example 50 schools and 60 hairdressers).
A study visit in Ljungby municipality within the BEE project
A short summary of a guided study visit in the municipality of Ljungby on the 9th of May 2007 in connection
to one of the bilateral conferences within the BEE project.
The best way to learn about the responsibilities and work in the municipality, as well as how the Swedish
environmental legislation works, is to make a study visit on site.
The Russian participants started with a visit to the Town Hall in Ljungby. The municipality of Ljungby
is situated in the county of Kronoberg and has a very big area for being a single municipality.
Kronoberg is a region with dense forests and many big lakes. The industrial sector is very large and a
large percentage of the jobs are in this sector.
The municipality of Ljungby has a lot of responsibilities when it comes to the environmental field.
The environmental office consists of 9 employees. It might seem like a huge staff for a municipality
with less than 30,000 inhabitants but the size is necessary to monitor and supervise all of the companies,
farms and restaurants.
One environmentally hazardous activity the environmental office is supervising is the municipal
sewage treatment plant. The technical office in the municipality is the responsible office in charge of
operating the plant. The sewage treatment plant serves the town of Ljungby and some smaller urban
areas that are connected by pipes. By law the municipality has to collect and clean the sewage from the
inhabitants but not from the industries. However in many cases, the industrial waste water is connected
to the sewage treatment plant but to an additional cost for the concerned company. Every municipality
in Sweden has to provide this kind of service. During the period 19601980 a lot of plants were built all
over Sweden thanks to very generous subsidies from the Swedish Government. The Russian participants
appreciated the study visit to the sewage treatment plant.
The Bredemad recycling station is situated nearby the Bredemad land fill. According to the
environmental legislation it is an obligation for the municipalities to collect the household waste
and arrange facilities for the inhabitants to leave both conventional waste and dangerous waste for
disposal.
29
Influx into Ljungby sewage treatment plant coarse material removal and primary sedimentation
Secondary treatment in Ljungby sewage treatment plant Bio active basin and sludge sedimentation and
removal
30
The newly built Bredemad recycling station is constructed to support easy recycling of different
materials at stations with clear signs. It is built in a spacious way to make the procedure smooth and
practical. The recycling station is built with a roof that serves two purposes. The roof protects the
citizens that leave items for recycling and the collected materials from getting wet. During the process
of construction, measures were taken to make it attractive and easy to recycle for the inhabitants. It is
also free of charge for the citizens to dispose items for recycling.
The environmental legislation makes it nowadays very hard to dump materials at the land fill. In
average 87 % of all waste in todays Sweden is recycled. The recycling starts in the domestic area where
different materials are placed in different bags and bins. The fraction called domestic waste is used for
heat and energy recycling in the waste incineration plant Ljungsjverket.
Welcoming personnel at Bredemad recycling station. Notice how spacious the area is and the roof. It is important
to make it easy and attractive to recycle in order to motivate the inhabitants to recycle even more.
31
After the visits to the sewage treatment plant and the land fill with the connected recycling station, it
was time to visit Ljungby Energy and Ljungsjverket. Ljungsjverket is the district heating and energy
plant in the municipality of Ljungby. Ljungby Energy is a company owned by the municipality. The
household waste from the inhabitants in the municipality, including the household waste from four
nearby municipalities, is collected and incinerated at Ljungsjverket. The produced hot water is initially
stored in an insulated tank. The hot water will later be distributed to the district heating pipe net. The
heating plant produces heat from incinerating household waste mainly during the cold season. In the
summer months ordinary wood fuel is used. In order to use household waste as fuel, the plant has to be
equipped with a first class filter to remove the fly ash and all its harmful components such as dioxin and
heavy metals. For this purpose, a mixture of active carbon and semi-dry lime is used. This mix is sprayed
into the smoke tubes and separated in an advanced filter. Instruments are used to monitor the emissions
continuously to ensure that the legal environmental permit is followed. The accepted level of emissions
is very low, and the process must be run in the optimum way to meet the requirements in the permit.
Ljungsjverket, the district heating plant in Ljungby seen from distance.
32
Appendix 2
Policy for Sustainable Development, Ljungby Municipality
Ljungby municipality also has a local environmental programme and it is a bit different from the one of
Burlv. Ljungbys policy concerns sustainable development, which includes environmental objectives
but also other aspects.
The Policy for Sustainable Development was decided by the municipal council 29 March 2007. The
policy is supposed to function as a guide for the municipality so that it supports a development that is
ecologically, economically and socially durable. The ecological system sets the frames for what can be
done, the economy is the means to achieve what the political leadership wants and social durability a
good life is the goal.
The policy is divided into two parts: what should be done and how?
Ljungby municipality will:
work for a sustainable and positive development with creativity, diversity and security for
inhabitants and businesses,
strive for a good and healthy environment for the citizens, animals and plants today and in the future,
create a resource-efficient eco cycle and increase the usage of renewable energy sources,
protect and preserve valuable nature and cultural heritage areas,
work to achieve the national environmental objectives,
work to achieve the national public health objectives, and
be a good example and a credible participant in the work for a sustainable development.
Ljungby municipality will achieve the objectives by;
municipal objectives for sustainable development that are in line with the national public health
objectives and the national and regional environmental objectives,
a municipal plan for sustainable development,
step by step improve the municipal activities from a sustainable development perspective,
directives to every municipal department to include sustainable development in their every day work,
a strategy for sustainable consumption/purchases,
follow up and evaluation of the work to achieve sustainable development,
investment decisions based on a lifecycle cost1
giving space for added costs due to environmental qualities and social added value when buying
offer education in sustainable development.
Lifecycle cost includes the total cost for the investment during the expected length of life, including repayments by instalments,
interest costs and costs for use and management.
1
33
To make the policy more concrete a matrix2 with issues, key figures and objectives has been created.
Economically
sustainable
Socially
sustainable
Ecologically
sustainable
Issue
Key figure
Objective
2010
Recent/last
known value
Municipal
finances
Net costs share of

revenues
99 %
98.6 % (2005)
Protect own capital

against inflation
Consumer price index

0.6 %
2.2 % (2005)
Homes on social allowance should be down

to 2003 years level
2%
2.6 % (2004)
Children in homes on
social allowance
4%
4.4 % (2004)
Unemployment rate
down to 2002 years
level
2%
2.4 % (2005)
Good and secure

conditions for a good
childhood
Children that never

perceive themselves as
being bullied in school
91 %
88 % (2005)
Increased health in the

workplace
Sick leave (average

days for men and
women)
34
45 (2003)
Reduced usage of
tobacco and alcohol
Youth in 8th grade that

dont use tobacco
95 %
91 % smoking,
93 % snuff (2006)
Youth in 8th grade that

never been drunk
90 %
69 % (2006)
Particle discharge in
the town of Ljungby
15 g per m3 of air as a
yearly average.
No known value
Economic and social

security
Good air
30 g as a daily
average
Toxic free environment
Limited climate impact
34
Purchased food should

be ecological and/or
fair-trade products
10 %
<2%
Contaminated areas
4 areas should be
taken care of
Drarp crome & nickel

and the sawmills of
Bolmen, Lidhult and
Ljungby (2006)
Marginal value for

cadmium, lead, and
mercury in sludge from
the municipal sewage
treatment works
< 25 %
41 %
Purchase of provisions
from local farmers
50%
Fossil carbon dioxide

outlet (excluding peat
and waste)
3.5 ton/capita
4.0 ton/capita
(2004)
Here are some examples from the matrix presented. The whole matrix includes more issues and objectives.
Issue
Ecologically
sustainable
Key figure
Objective
2010
Recent/last
known value
Consumption of
electricity should be
reduced by 10% compared to 1995
11 MWh/capita
13 MWh/capita (2000)
Renewable electricity
in municipal organisations
100 %
4050 % (2006)
Only natural
acidification
pH-value in the
watersystems of
Krokn, Skrsjn and
Agunnarydssjn
pH>=6.0
pH<6
No eutrophication
Phosphorus content
in lakes
<25 g /l in 4 lakes
>25g/l
Well build environment
Domestic waste that

gets burned should be
reduced to 2001 years
level
220 kg/capita
233 kg/capita (2005)

Recycled packages
100 kg/capita
92 kg (2005)
Collected hazardous
waste
3 kg/capita
2,5 kg (2005)
35
36
Appendix 3
A flow diagram of a standard sewage treatment plant
- as in the municipality of Ljungby
Explanations to the flow diagram:

1.
2.
3.

4.

5.

6.

Raw sewage incoming pipe with raw sewage from households and industries.
Pump stations.
Fine bar screens a screen that removes large floating objects, such as rags, cans, bottles paper,
plastics and sticks that may clog pumps, small pipes, and downstream processes. The screens vary
from coarse to fine. The coarse materials are usually removed by an automatic system.
Collection of coarse materials in a container the separated coarse materials will later be sorted or
deposited at a landfill.
Sand and grit removal after the waste water has been screened it may flow into a grit chamber
where sand, grit, cinders and small stones settle to the bottom. Large amounts of grit and sand
entering a treatment plant can case serious problems, such as excessive wear of pumps, clogging of
aeration devices, or just taking up capacity in tanks that is needed for treatment.
Primary sedimentation with the screening completed and the grit removed, wastewater still
contains dissolved organic and inorganic constituents along with suspended solids. Pollutants that
37
are dissolved or are very fine and remain suspended in the wastewater are not removed effectively
by gravity settling. When wastewater enters a sedimentation tank, it slows down and the
suspended solids gradually sink to the bottom. This mass of solids is called primary sludge. Some
plants use systems that remove the solids continuously.
7. Secondary treatment; Bio active basin after the wastewater has been through the primary
treatment process, it flows into the next stage of treatment called secondary. Secondary treatment
processes can remove up to 90 % of the organic matter in the wastewater by using biological treatment
process. In this process fine bubbles of air are pumped into the wastewater. This process speeds up the
work of the aerobic bacteria that break down the organic matter and converts the ammonium nitrogen
to nitrates. Some biological treatment processes called Biological Nutrient Reduction (BNR) can
also achieve nutrient reduction, removing both nitrogen and phosphorus. Most of the BNR processes
work so that the bacteria in these systems convert nitrate nitrogen into inert nitrogen gas and trap the
phosphorus in the solids that are removed from the effluent. The activated sludge process pumps back
bio active sludge that speed up this process even further.
8. Clarifier and sludge removal from the aeration tank, the treated wastewater flows to a sedimen tation tank (secondary clarifier), where the excess biomass is removed. Some of the biomass is
recycled to the aeration tank as activated sludge.
9. Discharge of treated sewage into water frequent samples of the effluent water is taken to certified
laboratory analyses to ensure that the legal permit as an environmental hazardous activity is followed.
The environmental authorities at Ljungby municipality get an annual report from the municipality
technical office with the results of the analyses.
10. Activated sludge process the most common option uses micro organisms in the treatment process
to break down organic material with aeration and agitation, then allowing solids to settle out. The
mix of bacteria and settled sludge is called activated sludge. Activated sludge with a high content
of bacteria is continually re-circulated back to the aeration basin to increase the rate of bacteria
activity and organic decomposition.
11. Sludge thickener to improve the dewatering process usually a polymer is added to make the sludge
thickened by creating bigger particles that are easier to remove.
12. Bio digestion a very economical process where methane is produced, recovered and concentrated
and used as an energy source. The process of digestion also stabilizes the sludge by removing odour
and harmful bacteria.
13. The methane gas, called Bio gas, can be used for heating, production of electricity or used for a local
bus fleet. In some medium size Swedish towns the amount of produced methane gas is sufficient to
run the local bus fleet. When this bio gas is used as an energy source the resulting carbon dioxide
outlet does not contribute to the greenhouse effect like fossil fuels.
14. Bio solids storage before being placed in the storage the sludge is usually dewatered to make it
more usable.
15. Bio solids for different use, such as fertilizers and soil substance for pot plants and golf courses.
38
39
KREATION.SE | 07-0388
The BEE project

A main idea behind the BEE project is to further develop the fruitful bilateral cooperation since the
beginning of the 1990th between public parties of the Kaliningrad Region and South Sweden, but
now developing the earlier support approach into cooperation on more equal conditions, creating
win-win conditions for all parties involved.
Very important problems to tackle are the lack of practice oriented, sustainable education methods
and practises of friendly environmental attitudes in both countries, as well as how to develop methods
for good management and capacity building for handling environmental and energy issues.
Descriptions and comparisons will be done concerning legislation, the role of municipalities for
implementation of regulations, etc. Arenas for coordination of sustainable development activities and
using results of project work in day-to-day activities of ordinary administrative line-organisations will
be developed. New practice oriented education methods for sustainable development on compulsory
school levels will be developed on the basis of mutual experiences and new thinking. A programme
for concrete long-term bilateral cooperation between the Kaliningrad Region and South Sweden will
also be developed jointly with the RED project.
Baltic
Environment
and Energy
www.beeproject.eu
Project part-financed by the

European Union within the
BSR INTERREG IIIB NP and
External actions (TACIS)

Swedish Environmental Policy

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Swedish Environmental Policy

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Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Swedish Environmental Policies

2. The Environmental Legislation in Sweden

3. The Swedish Environmental Administrative Organisation Supervision and Authorisation

4. National Objectives for the present Swedish Environmental Policies

5. Checklist for Creating Environmental Objectives and Programmes

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

1.1 The Awakening

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

1.2 International Conferences

1.3 The Power of the Consumer some examples

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

1.4 Important environmental campaigns

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

2. The Environmental Legislation in Sweden

2.1 The Swedish Environmental Code aims and general rules

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

2.2 Relations between the EU and the Swedish Environmental Regulations

2.3 Milestones in the EU Work for Sustainable Environmental Development

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

2.4 Some important parts of the EU environmental legislation

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

3. The Swedish Environmental

3.1 Environmental Protection and Public Health

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

3.2 Animal Protection and Environmental Impact of Agriculture

3.3 Food Control

3.4 Financing of Monitoring, Control and Supervision

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

3.5 Working Conditions for the Environmental Inspectors

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

4. National objectives for the present

4.1 National Level

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

The sixteen environmental objectives are:

Reduced Climate Impact

10. A Balanced Marine Environment,

4.1.1 Interim targets

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Reduced Climate Impact:

Interim target 1, 2010

Interim target, 20082012

Interim target 2, 2010

4.1.2 Progress and follow-up

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

4.2 Regional Level Skne Region

4.2.2 The process

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

4.3 Local Level Burlv Municipality

4.3.1 Creating Local Objectives and an Environmental Programme for Burlv

4.3.2 Local Objectives, Interim Targets and Measures

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

4.3.4 Progress and follow up

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

4.4 An Example from the Practice - SYSAV

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007

Report 3 of the BEE project, 2007