Environmental management at Swedish universities

Abstract Since1996, all Swedish public authorities, which includes most universities, have been made responsible for contributing to the sustainable development of the society. Swedish universities are thus required to submit annual environmental reports about their policies, structures and actions. This study provides a review of the activities that Swedish universities have undertaken so far. Reports from the year 2000 show that all 25 participating universities conducted the first environmental review. Most universities stopped there, although one – Mälardalen University – has gone all the way to ISO 14001 certification. The findings of the study suggest that universities, which have been participating for some years in the project, are further along the line than those that joined recently. There is also some indication that environmental‐management‐system (EMS) work is easier for the smaller universities, which can mobilise around a single goal.