OECD reviews Stockholm in global environmental report Green Growth in Cities: 11 measures to sustain leading position

Stockholm is one of the world’s leading sustainable cities. This is OECD’s conclusion after having examined the city’s model for sustainable growth as part of a comprehensive international study. Stockholm’s strengths are identified and 11 measures are presented with the aim of promoting green growth still further.

Stockholm has managed to combine economic growth with active and successful environmental work. This has made Stockholm one of the leading sustainable cities. OECD, the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has now investigated the city’s green growth model as part of an extensive international study.  Four cities, including Stockholm, and two countries have been subjected to special examination with the aim of disseminating good examples and promoting sustainable development.

”It is gratifying that Stockholm has attracted attention and that we have had the honor of being selected as one of the cities to be studied. Learning from each other is crucial. It is also the objective of OECD’s global initiative. We shall now adopt the itemized measures that have been presented and continue our development work,” says Sten Nordin, Mayor of Stockholm. 

It states in the report:

Stockholm, which was declared the first European Green Capital in 2010, has earned a reputation as a leader in urban sustainability. The City of Stockholm is a leader in reducing local greenhouse gas emissions, most notably through widespread district heating and cooling systems, and through the application of a vehicle congestion charge.

Stockholm’s population and economic growth are well above the OECD average. In the past decade, the service sector has been Stockholm’s fastest-growing economic sector, and this economic success has been matched by strong environmental performance.

CO2 emissions per capita are among the lowest of any OECD metro area, water quality is excellent, very little waste goes to landfill, and air pollution is below critical measures for almost all pollutants.

In order to promote Stockholm’s continued development, 11 itemized measures are presented:

·  Clarify the environmental work in the city’s visions
·  Encourage private property owners to undertake an energy efficiency-enhancing renovation project and reduce information and cost obstacles to the use of energy-service companies
·  Extend the congestion charge system and exert greater local and regional influence over the income
·  Better collective traffic between the region’s growing city centers
·  Work towards changes to laws and rules in order to make it easier to connect small-scale renewable energy sources to the power network
·  Identify and create a platform for the most important parts of the regional system for innovations. Commercialize the region’s expertise within green innovation to a greater extent
·  Coordinate and adapt the innovation policy so that R&D matches the region’s comparative advantages to a greater extent. Map out Stockholm’s green clusters
·  Small and medium-sized businesses within the sector should be encouraged further and incentives aimed at entrepreneurship should be increased
·  The green technology industry should be put on an equal footing with other important industries, such as ICT or biotechnology
·  Support and develop the regional coordination between public and private partners with the aim of improving management, e.g. through the application of smart power networks
·  Prioritize the international profiling of Stockholm’s export of green technology. Improved regional cooperation between Business Sweden and other authorities

Other cities subjected to examination are Paris, Chicago and Kitakyushu along with the countries China and South Korea. The report and case studies are presented in connection with OECD’s Green Growth in Cities – Urban Evolution conference, which took place in Stockholm 23-24 May 2013.

Press contact Sten Nordin:
Therez Olsson, press secretary, +46 (0)76-12 29 200 or the Moderate Party’s press office +46 (0)8-508 29 222

For more information:
Per Holmlund, Media Relations Manager, Stockholm Business Region
+46 (0)70-472 80 69, per.holmlund@stockholm.se