Sustainability at Arbetsförmedlingen
As one of Sweden’s largest government agencies, we have a major responsibility to promote sustainable development. Sustainability is part of our internal work, in our activities with jobseekers and employers, and in procurement.
Social, environmental and economic sustainability
We have made a decision to be a sustainable government agency and to methodically work with sustainability throughout the organisation. Everything we do has to be in a responsible way and take the following three dimensions into account:
- social sustainability
- environmental sustainability
- economic sustainability.
We have a sustainability policy that applies to the entire organisation, a strategy for how the work is to be conducted and we produce a report each year to show how we are progressing. Our sustainability reporting can be found under Governance and results (in Swedish)
The 2030 Agenda
As a government agency we have committed to contribute to the national implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the 2030 Agenda. We cooperate with other Swedish government agencies in order to make sustainability part of our core activities in the best way possible.
Grafics
1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequality
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life on Land
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals
Focus on selected goals
Generally speaking, our entire assignment falls under goal number 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth. It is important to protect employees’ rights nationally and internationally in order to stop modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour. Creating good conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship and ensuring decent working conditions for everyone benefits economic growth that includes the whole of society. Over the next twenty years, the global labour force is expected to grow by 800 million people, which requires great efforts in order to create new jobs that are also sustainable for people and the environment.
In addition to goal number 8, we have chosen to focus on a further seven goals:
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
10. Reduced Inequality
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
Environment and climate
Arbetsförmedlingen works with environmental management. This allows us to reduce the environmental impact of our activities in a systematic way during planning, implementation and follow-up. Environmental management is to be integrated throughout the organisation and is to contribute to the national environmental goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Each year we report to the Government Offices of Sweden and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) on our contribution to environmental sustainability.
Our environment management reports can be found under Governance and results
Definition of sustainable development
The established definition of sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
(Brundtland report, UN, 1987)