– The environmental objectives are critical for business and boards should know about them since the environmental objectives are the basis for Sweden’s environmental politics. Working with the environmental objectives gives you competitive advantages.

Then Annika quotes the bill for the new law on sustainability reporting for companies of a certain size, “It’s natural that companies in their reporting relate to decided sustainability objectives, e.g. the environmental objectives agreed upon by the Swedish parliament.” Swedish companies can thus choose to actively work with the environmental objectives and communicate this in their sustainability report. Annika mentions IKEA and Ragn-Sells as good examples of companies that report on the environmental objectives, but so far there are few companies doing this.

Many Swedish companies are actively working with the global sustainable development goals. Sweden’s environmental objectives correspond to the environmental dimension of the global goals. For Sweden, the monitoring of the environmental dimension of the global goals will be based on the Swedish environmental objectives. Annika points out that the Swedish environmental objectives system is generally more concrete than the global goals and targets. Annika has, together with Enact’s Magnus Enell, developed a positioning of Sweden’s environmental objectives against the global goals and GRI’s indicators. This positioning makes it easier for companies already working with the global goals or GRI to also link its activities to Sweden’s environmental objectives. Annika has also created a cheap sheet to environmental policy for small companies, including proposed measures that contribute to the achievement of the environmental objectives. Annika sees a great potential in attracting more small companies to work with the environmental objectives.

Annika just started a business network with about 25 companies, so far, that want to work with the environmental objectives. The aim is to share experiences of how it is to work with the environmental objectives and how you do this in the best way. Axfood, SCA, Skandia, Vattenfall and Åhléns are some of the companies in the network. Annika notices that there is an interest in working with the environmental objectives – and thus to put your company’s activities in relation to what should be achieved in the environmental field. Working with the environmental objectives also helps to identify business risks and opportunities and may facilitate the dialogue with authorities. Annika’s most important message is that companies should see an added value of working with the environmental objectives.

Enact can help your organisation to work with Sweden’s environmental objectives. We can also help you to combine this work with the global goals and GRI. For more information, contact johanna.raynal@enact.se