Sweden is recognized for its strong environmental awareness and leading position in developing sustainable cities. Property owners, developers, architects and property lenders are now making collective efforts to advance green property construction.

 Strong sustainability commitment

Sweden has become a hot-spot for development of energy efficient buildings and sustainable city districts. Cities have integrated the planning of transport and traffic, water and sewage treatment, waste collection, employment and housing to create increasingly sustainable cities with low carbon footprints.

Sweden is the European leader in energy use from renewable sources, partly thanks to pioneering waste-to-energy developments and extensive build-up of district heating/ cooling systems in Swedish municipalities.

The Swedish real estate industry is now making a collective effort to advance environmentally-friendly building practices. During 2009, twelve companies and organizations including NCC, SEB, Vasakronan, the Swedish Property Federation and the cities of Stockholm and Malmö co-founded the Sweden Green Building Council (SGBC). SGBC aims to support the transformation to greener property construction and real estate management by influencing decision-makers, disseminating knowledge and developing various supportive tools.

Swedish eco-cities

Stockholm: Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm Royal Seaport
Göteborg: Norra Älvstranden
Malmö: Sustainable city