Enköping's model for climate transition is based on a combination of broad internal commitment, expert support, and a clear structure for learning and governance.
At the center are the five transition teams, consisting of managers and relevant employees from the municipality's various operations. They are responsible for identifying, analyzing, and proposing climate measures within their areas. They are supported by a special team of experts (both internal and external) with in-depth expertise who review and quality-assure the proposals – a working model that ensures both support and precision in the decisions.
The work is carried out in close dialogue with external actors, with partners and external experts contributing their knowledge and perspectives. Enköping also actively collaborates with the municipalities around Lake Mälaren and within the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative, which strengthens shared learning and the pace of the transition.
The process is iterative and knowledge-based: teams collect and analyze data, test different alternatives, perform target balancing and tempo analyses, prioritize the most effective measures, and then anchor the results in governance and budgeting.
A fundamental principle of the work is ownership in the line. The managers and employees who plan, budget, and implement the measures participate in the entire process, which increases understanding, accountability, and the ability to put the strategy into practice.
At the same time, expert support is a crucial part of success. Continuous quality assurance and joint discussions between the business and experts create both legitimacy and greater accuracy in the measures taken.
By working with what the municipality calls dual control—both direct measures that reduce emissions here and now, and indirect efforts that build structures, culture, and working methods—Enköping is strengthening its overall ability to transition in a sustainable and long-term way.
In the city's latest update, they talk about the work, the transition arena, the project portfolio and much more.
Maria Lindelöf, process manager for Climate Neutral Enköping 2030, maria.lindelof@enkoping.se
Enköping's climate transition is based on a process design that combines structure, participation, and learning. At the center is the transition arena, where five cross-functional teams of managers and employees drive the work forward with the support of a team of experts who ensure quality and buy-in. The work is supported by a methodology package that makes the process knowledge-based and systematic. Using ClimateView data, resource analyses, target balancing, and pace analyses, the municipality can identify which measures provide the greatest climate benefits and at what pace they can be implemented.
Portfolio management keeps the work alive. Measures and investments are continuously updated and woven into the municipality's regular planning cycles, which creates both flexibility and faster response to changes.
The most important lessons learned so far concern the importance of ownership in the line, continuous expert support, understanding of dual control—direct and indirect measures—and the need to balance investment and operation. The work is now entering its next phase—taking the best from the model and adapting it for implementation, follow-up, and financing. The goal is to maintain commitment and participation, while at the same time increasing the pace and linking climate work even more clearly to governance, budgeting, and investment.
Enköping highlights three initiatives that they believe could be of particular interest to other municipalities to spy and apply. Contact the process leader to spy and apply.
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.
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.
Gävle is part of the NetZeroCities 112 Mission Cities, selected since 2022 to pioneer the EU Cities Mission.
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