Systembolaget aims to halve emissions – from grape to glass – by 2030

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 02 September, 2022

Sweden’s Systembolaget has adopted far reaching new climate targets in a bid to halve its current emissions by 2030, in accord with the Paris Agreements goal of keeping global warming to 1.5˚C.

Most notable about the Swedish monopoly’s move is that the new goals are to be applied across “both the company’s own operations and the entire value chain”.

As such, the new “science-based goals” will include calculating the emissions from cultivation, manufacturing, packaging and transport, plus the customer’s trip to and from the monopoly’s stores across Sweden.

Details ranging from cultivation of grapes to heating of stores and recycling pf packaging will all be taken into account.

These targets look to build upon an already impressive sustainability record, with the organisation’s own internal emissions on course to reduce by 90% by 2025 when compared with 2019. The longer-term aim is to have net zero climate impact by 2045.

The new goals, encompassing the whole supply chain from grape to glass, are significant in terms of leadership on climate change – Systembolaget and it’s neighbouring Nordic monopolies are often looked to by other European nations for being ahead on sustainability.

“I am proud that we now have these tough and necessary climate goals to live up to. They are ambitious and in order to reach them we look forward to continued good cooperation with, among other things, our many suppliers,” said Ann Carlsson Meyer, CEO of Systembolaget.

“The entire value chain, from the cultivation of raw materials to the recycling of packaging, affects how significant the emissions become. We bear a great responsibility to do everything we can when it comes to reducing climate emissions in the entire chain.”

The new targets are pending approval by the international body Science Based Target Initiative, with Systembolaget describing the gaining of approval as “an important milestone” in its sustainability strategy.

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