Explore our sustainable Skellefteå

"If you want to understand how the world should change to a climate-smart way of life, then you should go to Skellefteå. This is where it happens."

These words were uttered by the then Minister of Civil Affairs Ardalan Shekarabi in the autumn of 2019 after a visit to Skellefteå. The hospitality industry is an important part of the destination's sustainability work and has an important role to show and offer experiences for visitors, investors and for immigrants. Sustainability and development go hand in hand.

MEAT-FREE FOOD EXPERIENCES

FIND UNIQUE ITEMS AT OUR SECOND HAND STORES

FIND LOCALLY PRODUCED FOOD

DISCOVER SKELLEFTEÅ FROM YOUR BIKE

A KRAV-CERTIFIED CAFÉ

In the village of Skråmträsk, 20 km west of Skellefteå, is Skråmträsk Kvarn - a KRAV-certified café that has been listed in the White Guide Café since 2016. Enjoy good coffee and dishes, all baked and cooked from scratch from organic ingredients.

Explore Skellefteå city center by foot

HIKING TRAILS THROUGH NATURE

SUSTAINABLE EXCURSIONS

USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO YOUR NEXT EXPERIENCE

PADDLE IN STILL WATERS

Sustainable meetings and events

Being able to offer an event that not only has a good environmental profile but also contributes to improvements in society locally and globally - and may even leave lasting positive changes behind - is a sustainable meeting or event. This is exactly what we strive for in Skellefteå and here there are good conditions: Facilities at the forefront, most within walking distance, locally produced food, environmentally friendly transport and not least a fantastic host. We constantly strive to get better and we do it together at our destination.

ARRANGE SUSTAINABLE MEETINGS

PLAN A SUSTAINABLE EVENT

A CLIMATE-FRIENDLY HOUSE

Sara Kulturhus is the place for the sustainable meetings of the future. Art, performances and literature together with hotels in what will be one of the world's tallest wooden houses. Here, Skellefteå's legacy of building in wood is combined with the latest engineering, which has made the project a model in sustainable design and construction.

Läs mer om Sara Kulturhus

Sustainability development is our focus

With 7,174 km, Skellefteå is Sweden's largest coastal municipality in terms of area. Just over 72,000 inhabitants live here. The city, the cultural area and nature form a diversity of environments. Changing seasons and varied climates create unique experiences. Here is a strong industrial tradition that has gradually developed into new sustainable industries and here is also a Sami cultural-historical landscape. In Skellefteå, we think sustainably - in research and around wooden houses, in energy supply and biogas production, in mining as a prerequisite for battery production, in the creative industries and in the IT sector. With Northvolt's battery factory, new sustainable solutions will also emerge.

SKELLEFTEÅ 2030

Skellefteå - a far-sighted and equal growth municipality, attractive to live and work in with the goal of having 80,000 inhabitants by 2030. That is the municipality's vision. For Skellefteå to meet the challenges of the future, we must grow. Skellefteå 2030 is the joint development work where we have developed a strategy for how we will become more, and how we will be an attractive place to live and work. Below you will find a selection of everything that happens within the municipality. If we gather the strength of all residents, entrepreneurs, associations and other stakeholders to together lift Skellefteå, we can reach the goal of being 80,000 inhabitants by 2030.

SUSTAINABILITY ANALYZED DESTINATION

In 2016, Skellefteå's sustainability was analyzed as a destination according to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's (GSTC) criteria. GSTC is a global standard for sustainable tourism based on the UN's global goals.
This analysis has since been a guide for our sustainability work going forward. Since 2019, we also carry out sustainability analyzes of our member companies according to GSTC's criteria. This is to strengthen the destination and help companies on their sustainability journey. The companies that, after analysis, submit a sustainability policy and environmental plan receive the label Västerbotten Experience - the seal for sustainable nature and cultural experiences in Västerbotten.

Read Visit Skellefteås sustainability strategy

Read Visit Skellefteås sustainability strategy

GLOBAL DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY INDEX (GDSI)

Since 2021, Skellefteå is also included in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS index), an international sustainability ranking in which over 70 destinations from around the world participate. Based on the UN's global goals, strengths and weaknesses in sustainability are identified with the help of a scoring system that aims to help destinations become more sustainable.

Read more about GDSI

Read more about GDSI

THE GROWTH OF THE NEW INDUSTRY

In Skellefteå is the growing site for the new and sustainable industry of the future. An industry that is both sustainable in its process and whose products build the new sustainable society.

Here are already leading companies in sustainable construction, renewable energy, responsible mineral extraction and recycling and it is no coincidence. The river's currents, the force of the wind, the greenery of the forest and the interior of the mountain make nature our main resource.

SKELLEFTEÅ - A WOODEN TOWN

Skellefteå is a modern wooden town. We drive the technical development in research and modern wood construction nationally and internationally. At Skellefteå Campus, both research and development on wood construction take place, and visions of sustainable construction are realized.

Skellefteå's wood construction strategy is based on the goal of continuing to increase our construction in wood, both what is visible and as a load-bearing frame material. Since sustainable construction creates the ambition to choose building materials that give rise to as low carbon dioxide emissions as possible, we must consider wood as a material in all projects.

SARA KULTURHUS

Right now, Sara culture house is being built in Skellefteå, which will be one of the Nordic region's tallest wooden buildings, with 20 floors. As wood is a renewable material, it has a low environmental impact. In addition, the qualities of the wood are health-promoting and contribute to a good environment for everyone who stays in it. Skellefteå culture house also gets green roofs with a soil layer and meadow plants that handle stormwater and contribute to biodiversity, while improving the house's insulation. Parts of the culture house's roof landscape are open to visitors who can enjoy nature in an urban environment. With the new culture house, Skellefteå will have a long-term sustainable building that promotes a sustainable lifestyle.

STRENGTH IN CLEANTECH

Skellefteå is part of the North Sweden Cleantech project, which is a regional innovation and export platform for green technology, clean energy and sustainable solutions from Västerbotten and Örnsköldsvik.

SKELLEFTEÅ – A TAP APPROVED TOWN

Tap marked is a national sustainability label introduced by Svenskt Vatten for businesses that choose tap water over bottled water. The tap labeling shows that you take a stand for a better environment and inspire others to also choose tap water.

NORTHVOLT

An additional proof of Skellefteå's strengths in sustainability work is Northvolt's establishment of what could be Europe's largest factory for the production of lithium-ion batteries. Northvolt's goal is to build the world's greenest batteries with minimal carbon dioxide emissions. Access to renewable electricity, locally produced metals and recycling of batteries will make this possible and in turn contribute to Europe's conversion to renewable energy.

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