Climate neutral Borlänge 2030

In Borlänge, people are working together for the climate and a climate-neutral future - and this is creating commitment throughout Dalarna.

Borlänge hooks arms with Avesta.

Borlänge and Avesta's transition arena

Borlänge municipality currently has two focus areas. One is about sustainable travel, with sub-goals such as reducing the need for car traffic. The other concerns sustainable eating, with sub-goals such as increasing the municipality's purchase of organic food and ensuring that purchases are locally produced.

Borlänge municipality's environmental strategy describes that the municipality will work towards a climate-neutral Borlänge, that carbon dioxide emissions in Borlänge will be within budget, that emissions will be reduced according to the carbon budget, that consumption-based emissions will be below 1 ton CO2-eq per person, that biodiversity will be preserved and developed, and to transition to a circular economy. The transition arena - Climate Neutral Borlänge 2030 - aims to create forms of collaboration, new processes and methods to enable the transformative changes required to succeed in a rapid climate transition. This is done by mobilizing local businesses with the help of local Climate City Contract, but also by shifting to a regional perspective. 

Within the focus area of the Sustainable Travel Strategy, there is a sub-goal that the need for car traffic should be reduced by one fifth by 2030 by supporting and facilitating more sustainable transport. By spreading the goal, the willingness to participate and contribute to the work towards a climate-neutral Borlänge can increase, not only within the municipal group, but also among residents and organizations. Highlighting synergy effects linked to increased sustainable travel, such as the promotion of a more pleasant city planned for people, meeting places and improved public health, are important parts of the target image. 

Another focus area in the environmental strategy is Eat sustainably with associated sub-targets such as the municipality's purchase of organic food to increase to at least 80% by 2030 and the municipality's food purchases to be locally produced to at least 30% by 2030. 

Borlänge is working on several fronts and with various initiatives together with local actors, and has so far succeeded, among other things, in radically reducing tenants' residual waste with simple solutions, enabled large-scale recycling in new construction and redevelopment for the entire municipal group, and developed group-wide guidelines for sustainable procurement. 

Deep dive into Borlänge's transition

In the city's latest update, they talk about the work, the transition arena, the project portfolio and much more.

Our innovative pilot projects have opened up new avenues of cooperation that did not exist before. Cooperation and broad commitment create the conditions for change. We are now stepping up the work on transition in the municipal group and through a regional transition arena where academia, civil society, more Dalecarlia municipalities and their business can join to jointly accelerate the implementation of the Dalecarlia strategy.
Erik Nises (S), Municipal Executive Chairman in Borlänge municipality.
Erik Nises (S)
Municipal Executive Chairman in Borlänge municipality

peak and steal

Borlänge highlights seven initiatives that they believe may be of particular interest to other municipalities to spy and apply. Contact the process leader to spy and apply.

  • Reduced residual waste by 22 percent. Tunabyggen has, with the help of simple "low-tech" solutions, collaboration and information, successfully managed to radically reduce tenants' residual waste. A positive synergy effect is major savings through reduced emptying.
  • Let me go further. Let me move on is a campaign where everyone who lives and works in Borlänge was encouraged to hand in discarded cell phones, tablets and computers for reuse and recycling. The campaign resulted in a climate saving of 36 670 kg Co2 and 801 collected mobiles!
  • Recycling - where the entire municipal group can drop off and pick up materials. Tunabyggen has, through a digital platform for inventory management and the warehouse Återbruket, enabled large-scale reuse in new construction and remodeling for the entire municipal group.

  • Sustainable procurement guideline developed and tested. Group-wide guidelines for sustainable procurement for rebuilding and new construction have been developed and tested in the Skogstäppan project, which is a rebuilding with a focus on reuse. 

  • Inspiration for sustainable travel. Borlänge aims to be climate-neutral by 2030 and to get there, immediate emission reductions of 13% annually are required. And it's not to give us a pat on the back that we have that goal, but for people's health and well-being. Take part in our film that shows the goal for sustainable travel in Borlänge and take part in tips and benefits linked to sustainable travel.

  • All of Borlänge is cycling. Borlänge municipality organizes together with actors who signed locally Climate City Contract the activity Hela Borlänge cyklar to inspire Borlänge residents to explore Borlänge on two wheels. 

  • Carpool to and from work with digital support. As part of their commitment to Climate Neutral Borlänge 2030, four major employers joined forces in a project to investigate whether patterns can be broken and more climate-smart commuting can be achieved through the provision of a technical solution for carpooling. 

Borlänges Climate City Contract 2030

Climate City Contract 2030 is a collective effort to achieve the climate transition that we need to implement in a short time to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. It is an agreement between municipalities, government agencies and Viable Cities where all parties undertake to make a concrete contribution to increasing the pace of climate change.

Borlänge invests and tests

To achieve deep change, we need to move from fragmented projects to an ecosystem of efforts that all pull in the same direction. Cities are doing this together with Viable Cities, funders government agencies and other partners, in different constellations and with different objectives. It is about moving beyond dealing with symptoms and instead focusing on underlying problems in our social structure. Here you will find the initiatives and studies within the city that have been granted funding under Viable Cities.

  • All calls
  • Accelerate
  • Alvesta
  • Arvika
  • reuse
  • Avesta
  • hospitality industry
  • Floor
  • Borås
  • Borlänge
  • The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning
  • Capabilities
  • Chalmers
  • CitiES2030
  • Climate Smart Cities Challenge
  • Climate-KIC
  • CoAction
  • Digitalization
  • Drive Sweden
  • Driving Urban Transition
  • energy
  • Energy Authority
  • Enköping
  • ERA-NET Cofund Urban Transformation Capacities
  • Eskilstuna
  • EU
  • European Viable Cities Day
  • Falkenberg
  • Falköping
  • Formas
  • Research
  • Gävle
  • Global
  • Gothenburg
  • Gotland
  • Greentopia
  • Håbo
  • Halmstad
  • Härryda
  • Helsingborg
  • Höganäs
  • Halmstad University
  • Höör
  • IVL Swedish Environmental Institute
  • Järfälla
  • Jobs
  • squid
  • Karlskrona
  • Karlstad
  • Karlstad University
  • Climate investment and financing
  • Climate Communities
  • Climate competitiveness
  • climate city contract
  • Climate-neutral cities by 2030
  • Communication
  • Kristianstad
  • Kristinehamn
  • KTH
  • Royal Institute of Technology
  • Landskrona
  • Linköping
  • Linköping University
  • Foodstuffs
  • Local Climate City Contract
  • Lomma
  • Luleå
  • Lund
  • Lund University
  • M100
  • Malmö
  • Mariestad
  • land use
  • Civic engagement and involvement
  • Mjölby
  • mobility
  • Mobility and accessibility
  • Mörbylånga
  • Nacka
  • The Nature Conservation Society
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • NetZeroCities
  • New European Bauhaus
  • Nordic Transition Partnership
  • Örebro
  • Örnsköldsvik
  • Östersund
  • policy development
  • Positive Energy Districts
  • Research institute of Sweden
  • RISE
  • collaboration
  • Sandviken
  • Sharing Cities Sweden
  • Skellefteå
  • Södertörn University
  • Urban planning and construction
  • State Agricultural University (SLU)
  • Stockholm
  • Stockholm Environment Institute
  • PROUD
  • Storytelling
  • Governance and management
  • Sundsvall
  • Swedish Municipalities and Regions
  • Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU)
  • Sweden-US Green Transition Initiative
  • System demonstrators
  • Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth
  • Tomelilla
  • Transport Authority
  • Transition Lab Forum
  • Trollhättan
  • twin cities
  • Ulricehamn
  • Umeå
  • Umeå University
  • UN-Habitat
  • UniCities
  • Upplands-Bro
  • Uppsala
  • Uppsala University
  • Calls for proposals
  • Värmdö
  • Växjö
  • Vinnova
  • WWF

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Gävle is part of the NetZeroCities 112 Mission Cities, selected since 2022 to pioneer the EU Cities Mission.