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Using Goals in Environmental Management: The Swedish System of Environmental Objectives

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Abstract

In Sweden, environmental policy is essentially carried out through a system of environmental objectives adopted by Parliament in the late 1990s. This system contains principles, objectives, interim targets, strategies, and follow-up mechanisms, which together provide a solid ground for increased efficiency and improved prioritization in environmental policies. Despite the ambitious approach of the Swedish Parliament, the system of environmental objectives suffers from certain shortcomings. Some of the objectives are imprecise and difficult to evaluate, and there are no rules or principles that may be used to solve goal conflicts and to prioritize between different objectives. As a consequence, the environmental objectives tend to differ in their degrees of operationalizability, and the priority-setting between different objectives is often unclear.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Philosophy Unit, Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 78 B, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

    Karin Edvardsson

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  1. Karin Edvardsson
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Correspondence to Karin Edvardsson.

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*Rskr. denotes a written communication (from the Swedish Parliament to the Swedish Government) of a Parliamentary decision.

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Edvardsson, K. Using Goals in Environmental Management: The Swedish System of Environmental Objectives. Environmental Management 34, 170–180 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-3073-3

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