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Nordic Toolbox for a Just Green Transition

This is how policymakers can support green choices

This section presents examples and tools – from the Nordic countries and further afield – that show how to promote more sustainable consumption and lifestyles.

EXAMPLE: Internal climate tax

Location

Aarhus (Denmark)  

Description 

In 2022, Aarhus Municipality in Denmark introduced an internal climate tax on its procurement of food items with high CO2 emissions. The tax targets beef, lamb and ready meals containing meat, as well as juice and sugar-sweetened beverages, which together account for one-third of the municipality’s food-related CO2 emissions. Initially, the tax was set at DKK 850 per emitted tonne of CO2. By 2023, it had been increased to DKK 1,000 per tonne and it is planned to reach DKK 1,500 by 2030. This progressive tax is applied during the procurement process to incentivise more sustainable purchasing practices.

Outcome

In its first year, the climate tax led to a 40% reduction in beef consumption and an overall 12% decrease in food-related CO2 emissions.

Read more

Implementing sustainable procurement strategy - document from Aarhus Municipality (PDF).

Example: State-governed climate label for food products

Location

Denmark 

Description

In 2022, the Danish government initiated the development of a state-controlled climate label for food products. By 2023, an expert group had presented its recommendations to the government on the design and implementation of the label, as reported by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. Its proposal included a traffic light labelling system and a publicly accessible database detailing the climate impact of all food items to underpin the labelling system. The goal is to guide consumers towards more sustainable food choices and encourage a shift in food production towards greater sustainability.

Outcome

The climate label is under development and has therefore not yet achieved any specific outcomes or impacts.

Read more

News article "Denmark to Roll Out New State-Run Climate Label for Food" from think tank Foodtank.

Example: Demand-Responsive Transport (Kyläkyyti service)

Location

Finland 

Description 

The municipality of Porvoo introduced a demand-responsive transport (DRT) service to improve public transport in rural areas, reduce car usage and lower transport emissions. The DRT service also had the goal of providing better access to train and bus services by making door-to-door travel chains possible. The service integrated resources from transport services for disabled and elderly people with public transport and enhanced the utilisation of vehicle capacity through automated routing and pooling.

Outcome

Evaluation of the Kyläkyyti service in Porvoo revealed that 67% of the trips made with the service would otherwise have been by car and 27% of users would not have made the trip at all. The trial led to a 12.6% reduction in driven kilometres, saving 10,923 kilometres and reducing CO2 emissions by 2.6 tonnes. 36% of the total kilometres saved were trips that would ordinarily have been taken by taxi.

Read more

Website of the initiative (in Finnish and Swedish): Kyläkyyti – Porvoo 
A brief description and references can be found in this report "Innovations for better rural mobility" from International Transport Forum (PDF).

Example: Tasty School

Location

Finland 

Description 

Tasty School has been developed by the Finnish Society for Food Education and the University of Eastern Finland, with funding from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The initiative has drawn up a primary school model for food education. It offers practical solutions for schools on how to improve school meals, implement food education activities and increase social participation. That includes complete lessons, as well as tasks, materials and an online course for teachers. As part of the suggested food education curriculum, children learn about sustainable food choices, seasonal food choices and food preparation.

Outcome

Evaluation of the Tasty School model showed that it can be easily integrated into the school environment. Support from headteachers and colleagues was identified as a success factors while lack of time was the biggest barrier to using the model.

Read more

Website of Tasty School (in Finnish, English and Swedish).
Evaluation "The ‘Tasty School’ model is feasible for food education in primary schools" in Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.

Example: Age-friendly city strategy

Location

Oslo (Norway) 

Description 

The city of Oslo engaged with almost 1,000 older adults to make city planning more age-friendly. Older adults could participate in meetings, workshops and interviews. They were also encouraged to make short films about barriers in the city, as well as opportunities for improvement, including in relation to fields that are important for the green transition, such as public transport and green spaces.

Outcome

The input provided by the participants informed the development of public transport, public spaces, housing and other areas to make them more accessible and appealing to older adults. 

Read more

Information about Age-friendly Oslo on Oslo Municipality's website.
Information on Nordic network for age-friendly cities and communities of which Oslo is a member, on Nordic Welfare Centre's website.

Example: Sustainable Public Procurement Initiative

Location

Sweden 

Description 

In Sweden, public procurement accounts for over SEK 800 billion annually. The Sustainable Public Procurement Initiative aims to advance the shift towards a more sustainable society by prioritising socially and environmentally sustainable products. Sweden’s regions adhere to a unified code of conduct for suppliers, which encompasses fields such as human rights, workers’ rights, environmental concerns (including climate) and business ethics. One concrete example is the promotion of circular procurement, which includes online training for stakeholders and assists regions and municipalities in signing framework agreements for furniture upcycling and related services.

Outcome

The work and outcome of the initiative are described in yearly activity reports. The latest edition is available here: Året som gick – resultaten i korthet.

Read more

Website of the Sustainable Public Procurement Initiative Hållbar upphandling (in English and Swedish).
More information on Hållbar upphandling on SKR's website.

Example: WasteFinder

Location

Canada  

Description 

WasteFinder provides tactile and visual information to assist people with disabilities in recycling their waste independently in public spaces. The system is placed on the ground of waste stations and helps people with disabilities with correct waste disposal. This initiative is one concrete example of how to remove accessibility barriers that hinder social groups from taking part in the green transition.

Outcome

A successful pilot project has been conducted at Thomson Rivers University and the system will be rolled out in further locations.

Read more

WasteFinder on Thomson Rivers University's website.

Example: BlueLA – car sharing in low-income neighbourhoods

Location

Los Angeles (USA) 

Description

The city of Los Angeles promotes electric transport and seeks to increase the use of electric cars. The BlueLA initiative addresses the issue that electric vehicles are often unaffordable for low-income households and other vulnerable groups. The city of Los Angeles entered into a public-private partnership to establish a car-sharing programme for electric vehicles in low-income neighbourhoods, including a vehicle fleet, charging stations and dedicated parking spaces. Use of the electric vehicles is subsidised for lower-income households.

 Outcome

Between February 2021 and September 2022, some 52,000 trips were completed using the available electric vehicles. Nearly half of all trips were made by low-income users. 

Read more

BlueLA on City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation's website.

Example: See, sow and taste

Location

Nordic Region   

Description

The Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen) developed educational materials on food production for children and young people in 2023. The materials – including instructions and four cultivation experiments using seeds from NordGen – were distributed to pre-schools, schools and after-school clubs in Reykjavik. The experiments teach children and young people about seeds, cereals and the diverse varieties of vegetables as well as how to grow microgreens.

 Outcome

Around 1,000 children participated in the project in 2023. In 2024, the project was expanded to include schools in the Faroe Islands and Lithuania.

Read more

See, sow and taste is described on NordGen's website.

Example: Climate School programme

Location

Switzerland 

Description

The programme has been designed to systematically include sustainability education in school curricula. Over a period of four years, students at participating schools learn about renewable energy, environmentally friendly mobility and sustainable food production and consumption.

 Outcome

The initiative has involved 43 schools and 14,300 students.

Read more

Summary of the initiative Climate school by the TOMORROW project (in English) (PDF)

Tool: A toolkit for a just transition with the people

Author or Publisher

Engager 

Year of publication

2021  

Description 

This toolkit focuses on energy poverty. It discusses challenges related to energy poverty and strategies to overcome those challenges. Multiple good practices from European countries are described in the toolkit and may offer inspiration. Among other topics, the toolkit addresses the question of how vulnerable groups and tenants can be supported in undertaking energy renovations of their homes and thereby contribute to the energy transition.

Read more

The Engager toolkit "A toolkit for a just transition with the people" (PDF).

Tool: Nordic Swan Ecolabel

Author or Publisher

Nordic Council of Ministers 

Year of publication

The label was introduced in 1989. 

Description 

The Nordic Swan ecolabel is an environmental labelling scheme that supports consumers in choosing the most sustainable products and services. It is therefore a valuable tool in the transition to more sustainable consumption. The label certifies that a product or service adheres to ambitious environmental requirements and criteria. Those are currently defined for 59 product categories, including cleaning products, cosmetic products and office and hobby supplies. In 2023, criteria were introduced for three new product groups, namely e-commerce logistics, building operations and window replacement.

Read more

Website of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.
Nordregio I www.nordregio.org/publications