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This project helped Sweden’s municipalities to map and reduce emissions generated by consumption in their local areas. To implement the project, SEI partnered with Umeå and Kalmar Municipalities and the company InsightOne.
The project was funded by Formas, a Swedish government research council for sustainable development and implemented from November 2019–April 2022.
The Sustainable Development Goals for sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and responsible consumption and production (SDG 12) are closely connected, and are perhaps two of the most challenging SDGs for Sweden to achieve. Several Swedish municipalities have set ambitious targets to reduce consumption-based environmental pressures, but often lack the data and tools they need to identify suitable policies to meet the targets or to monitor progress. This project aims to fill the gap by downscaling cutting-edge research and data on Sweden’s national climate footprint so that it can be applied in local contexts.
SEI developed a practical tool that municipalities can use to analyse climate footprints at fine geographic scales (postcode level). This will enable them to identify and understand local consumption hotspots and to choose the best policy mix to reduce footprints. The work builds on SEI’s long-term experience in sustainable consumption and in developing tools for decision support and calculating climate footprints.
The project has three core aims:
SEI implemented the project in partnership with two Swedish municipalities, Umeå and Kalmar, to provide insights into the challenges and opportunities that municipalities face, as well as their needs in terms of consumption-based emissions accounting. The project also partnered with the company InsightOne, which uses geo-demographic modelling to identify consumption patterns at fine geographical scales.
SEI provides guidance and hands-on training for using the tool, and for knowledge exchange and boosting capacity. The tool helps municipalities to implement more targeted and efficient policies and generate a knowledge base of effective, replicable local actions that target consumption, ultimately moving Sweden closer to achieving the SDGs.
Feature / In close collaboration with Kalmar and Umeå Municipalities and the company InsightOne, SEI developed and launched the Consumption Compass in April 2022
Team Leader: Cities, Communities and Consumption; Senior Research Fellow
SEI Headquarters
Feature / In close collaboration with Kalmar and Umeå Municipalities and the company InsightOne, SEI developed and launched the Consumption Compass in April 2022
Project / Understanding local government drivers for sustainable consumption (UNLOCK) investigates how incentive structures shape sustainable consumption behaviours.
Other publication / This report summarises the findings of the PRINCE, a project to develop state-of-the-art indicators of the environmental impacts of Swedish consumption.
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