November 14, 2025
In December 2024, Sandviken Municipality became a twin town of Gävle and is now one of 48 municipalities participating in Viable Cities' Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative.
In 2025, the focus has been on building structure, gathering knowledge, and beginning a more systematic transition process. The work is based on the strategic areas decided upon for the term of office. One of these is reducing climate impact:
“We take responsibility for the climate, protect our planet, and are working to be climate neutral by 2030. We do this by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and working circularly—we reuse and recycle in a climate-smart way. Everyone needs to contribute to climate change to create a long-term sustainable society.”
In spring 2025, the municipal council adopted a new Climate and Energy Plan with the following goals:
Based on the plan, Sandviken Municipality has begun work on organizing the transition for the coming years. The work is being led by the municipal executive office, together with the municipality's process manager for Climate-Neutral Sandviken 2030, who is also a community planner with a focus on the environment and climate, based at the Västra Gästrikland community development administration.
In the city's latest update, they talk about the work, the transition arena, the project portfolio and much more.
Christina Juhlin, process manager for Climate Neutral Sandviken 2030, christina.juhlin@sandviken.se
The following projects in Sandviken Municipality can inspire and provide ideas for other cities that want to accelerate their climate work:
Industrial supply chains – a concept that is easy to adapt and use in other municipalities. The project strengthens local small and medium-sized enterprises in their climate transition and makes them more attractive as suppliers to large industrial companies.
New construction of the Rökebo waterworks (pictured above) – a good example for municipalities planning new construction or renovation of waterworks. The project combines energy efficiency, climate adaptation, and sustainable water supply, and has been partially financed with a green loan.
Interconnection of district heating networks between Sandviken and Gävle – an initiative that recycles industrial surplus heat and reduces Sandviken's climate emissions by approximately 50,000 tons per year from energy production.
These projects demonstrate how climate benefits and social benefits can go hand in hand and serve as model projects for other cities.
Climate City Contract 2030 is an effort to manage 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, in which all parties undertake to make a concrete contribution to accelerating the climate transition. The letter of intent is a preparation for signing the contract next year.
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.
Sandviken is working, together with Gävle, for new opportunities to mobilize the local business community. Sandviken is one of 48 municipalities in Sweden that are joining forces to meet the climate crisis and are joining forces in the next phase for climate-neutral and sustainable cities. Sandviken hooks...
Gävle is part of the NetZeroCities 112 Mission Cities, selected since 2022 to pioneer the EU Cities Mission.
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