As per my research and information , Sweden is recognized  as the world leader in sustainability. This is because the country has been foremost in implementing transformational strategies through recycling and other green practices for a greener community before most of the world caught on.

It all started with the country?s response to the oil crisis in 1970– Sweden invested heavily  in alternative energy. It got more than 75 percent of its energy supply from oil in 1970, according to the Sweden.se, the country?s official website. Forty years later, that number was 32 percent, with large contributions from bio-fuels and hydroelectric plants. It now gets 45 percent of its energy from renewable sources and plans to hit 50 percent by 2020, the Swedish Energy Agency says.

Sweden has been ranked first by Switzerland based investment group RobecoSAM, in terms of using renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions. It has earned top scores on sustainability issues.

Sustainability is a way of life for the residents and government of Sweden. Sweden?s architects, construction firms, energy companies, city planners, transport authorities, enterprises and politicians are working today to create the sustainable cities of tomorrow. Here are just a few examples:

Investing in green technology

In 2011, the Government presented a new environmental technology strategy to establish favourable conditions for the growth and development of environmental technology companies. It had three main objectives:

• promote the export of Swedish environmental technology and thus contribute to sustainable economic growth in Sweden and globally

• promote research and innovation in environmental technology and create the conditions required for green technology companies to flourish in Sweden

• make it easier to commercialise innovations.

The strategy is backed by SEK 400 million in total funding with SEK 100 million allocated each year from 2011 to 2014. Sweden?s environmental technology sector employs roughly 40,000 people and has revenues of about SEK 120 billion, according to Statistics Sweden and the then Swedish Environmental Technology Council. sweden.se/nature/sustainable-living

Energy supply

There are many private initiatives to save energy. The goal is to create a way of living in which carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced to one metric ton per person a year. With an environmentally designed timber house, an electric car and a whole range of experts to help them, the families succeed in achieving the goal, going from 7.3 metric tonnes per person a year to 1.5 tonnes.
onetonnelife.com

Green strategies are followed by clothing retailers equally – for example, H&M is a global leader in using organic cotton in garments car maker Volvo is testing a fleet of plug-in hybrid buses that it says reduces fuel use by 75 percent compared with diesel buses and furniture retailer IKEA is a leader in solar energy.

Hammarby Sjöstad is Stockholm?s largest urban construction project. When completed in 2017, 26,000 people will be living here in 11,500 apartments. The district has been planned using an eco cycle approach and is intended to showcase ecological and environmentally sensitive construction and living.
hammarbysjostad.se

Vertical greenhouses

Award-winning Swedish company Plantagon works with urban agriculture and specializes in what is known as vertical cultivation. Plantagon?s vertical greenhouses minimise the need for energy, water and pesticides. The idea is that the buildings will contribute to a climate-smart solution to the world?s future demands for food.
plantagon.com

Stockholm Royal Seaport

Following the success of Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm Royal Seaport is now being launched as the next environmental district in the capital and an environmental role model. Some 10,000 homes and 30,000 offices will be built by 2025. The district will be completely free of fossil fuels by 2030 and have a positive impact on the climate.
stockholmroyalseaport.com

Sustainable transportation

On your bike

In 2011, the Swedish government appointed a special investigator to review regulations that affect cycling. In addition, the Swedish Transport Agency in cooperation with other government agencies has been assigned to develop an action plan to increase cycling.

Electric trains

Trains run by SJ, the government-owned train operator, are powered by electricity. For its trains in Sweden SJ buys only renewable electricity from hydropower or wind power. This means that the production of electricity for trains causes minimal emissions. All trips using SJ?s electric trains meet the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation?s requirements for ?Good Environmental Choice,? the organization?s most stringent eco-label.

722,000 travel with SL

Stockholm Public Transport (SL) operates the city?s subway, buses, trams and commuter trains. New trams that SL purchases are at least 98 percent recyclable. The entire subway system runs on green electricity, and since 2009, 28 buses running on biogas and 127 running on ethanol have been added to the fleet of green buses. Some 80 SL buses run on biogas. The target is to have all buses running on renewable, environmentally-friendly fuel by 2025.

Sweden is the third largest country in the western Europe but  the facts and figures as per the reports mentioned above places Sweden far ahead of other countries in the world in terms of transformational stratagies applied by the country to create green community.

Sources Triple pundit,  sweden.se/nature/sustainable-living