Green Sigtuna

An Eco-municipality and a Fairtrade City

As an Eco-municipality for over 16 years, Sigtuna ensures a high priority is given to environmental and conservation issues. In 2008 Sigtuna also joined The Swedish Energy Agency's program for a Sustainable Municipality, which works to systematically integrate the energy perspective into the daily work of the community which in turn reduces the environmental impact necessary for a sustainable society.

Since 2010, Sigtuna is also a Fair-trade City, like the cities Rome, London and Brussels for a fair and ethical consumption. This means that the municipality and a great number of shops and businesses operating here live up to the Fair-trade requirements for ethical procurement and supply of ethically labeled products.

Ten green minutes away

Across the municipality are valuable grazing lands, important aquatic environments, vast areas of forests, parks, and also plenty of 1000 year-old runic stones and historical cultural buildings. Many of these areas are protected in nature reserves. ‘No one should be longer than ten minutes walking distance away from a green area.’, is a stated motto in Sigtuna and one which the community works to protect.

Arlanda’s environmental efforts applauded as world-leading

Sigtuna is the proud home municipality of Sweden’s largest airport, Stockholm Arlanda Airport, which works in various fields to minimize the adverse environmental impact of its operations. Reduced carbon dioxide emissions is one of the areas the airport is most focused on – since 2004, net emissions of carbon dioxide have been cut by more than half. In 2010, the airport was the world´s first airport awarded the ACI prize. The ACI is Europe’s newly established environmental prize for outstanding achievement in environmental performance and innovative approaches to environmental management.

“Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is probably the hands-down winner in actively battling global warming." - quotation in The New York Times, April 24^th, 2009.

First climate neutral destination

Sigtuna is Sweden's fourth largest hotel destination in terms of hotel nights. Sigtuna’s hotel and conference facilities have’ in different ways’ been working with sustainability for a very long time. In 2010 they took a unique joint first step towards sustainable tourism and climate neutrality for the entire destination. Sigtuna is thus, the first destination in Sweden to move towards a net carbon dioxide emission that is equal to zero. Now Sigtuna has challenged Sweden´s three largest cities - Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, to follow their lead.

Unique Water Park

In the heart of Märsta, you can find Scandinavia’s first biologically cleansed outdoor water park. There isn´t a drop of chlorine in any of the four well-visited pools. Through a naturally inspired system of ponds, plants, rocks and gravel, the water is filtered and sent back fresh and clean.

Ecological Award

The Ecologistic Award was initiated by DHL Global Forwarding and issued annually by the Arlanda Logistic Network.This award acknowledges and rewards a significant and innovative environmental logistics work, a collaboration between two or more parties in the Arlanda area. In 2010 the award was given to Stockholm Arlanda Airport’s taxi system. By giving precedence to cars that run on green fuel, Stockholm-Arlanda has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by thousands of tones since the taxi system was introduced in March 2010.

 

Green integration at Skalmsta

At Skalmsta Gård, a farm situated close to Arlanda, hard work goes into creating and offering a way for people who have immigrated to Sweden to find a way to work and explore the countryside. Skalmsta Gård works as an incubator for new products, new experiences and new companies that come from rural areas. Skalmsta welcomes all who have new ideas and experiences within the rural area.  This is a place where those who are new to Sweden can test their ideas, find a market, build their own network and get involved with organizations that can help develop their ideas.

Hotels creates profitability and sustainable development through co-operation

Sigtuna hotels creates profitability and sustainable development through co-operation

This week the Tällberg Forum is held in Sigtuna. An active work of sustainability, naturally associated to high quality and worthwhile offers, is becoming a more important component to attract meetings and conferences here.

During the year 2010, Sigtuna became Sweden’s first climate neutral destination, as the hotels and conference centers got together in a joint project. After having calculated their climate emissions, they compensated these through projects that lowered the emissions that could not be avoided.

This unique co-operation continues and Sigtuna is still the only climate neutral destination in Sweden.

“We have challenged other destinations to do the same and we are hoping that we soon will get some followers”, says Camilla Zedendahl, CEO at Destination Sigtuna.

At the same time, as all business managers knows, profitability has to be focused on. “What we are seeing is that sustainability and profitability accompany each other. During 2010 Sigtuna expanded as a destination with more than ten percent and the hotel occupancy is very good.” continues Camilla Zedendahl.

“Environmentally conscious standards internally are obvious”, says Lotta Giesenfeld Boman, owner of the conference facilities Sigtunahöjden and Stora Brännbo Conference centers in Sigtuna town, “but we need to take a wider responsibility for questions regarding sustainability”.

Lotta and her colleague Björn Jonzon were chosen The Entrepreneurs of 2011, in Sigtuna, for their leading environmental work, among other things.

Charlie Edlund at Steningevik Conference center emphasizes how important the environmental work is for attracting customers, motivating employees, and not least to sense pride in contributing to a better world. Steningevik has recently invested in a geo thermal heating system, and has due to that reduced the climate emissions with 25 percent and reduced their running costs markedly.

To estimate ones climate emissions and how to compensate for these creates ideas on how to lower the negative effects on the environment. It also creates ideas on how to work on an even wider scale about sustainability. During the past year, a co-operation was initiated in Sigtuna, where companies, the municipality and the Stockholm Arlanda Airport –situated in the municipality, work together.

Sigtuna –Sweden’s fourth biggest hotel destination –is not only increasing in the number of overnight stays, but also more companies chose to establish themselves here. In the spring of 2012, Clarion will open a new hotel by the airport.

“Since we are establishing ourselves here, we would like to become an active partner in Sigtuna and together with others create possibilities for good developments”, says Johan Svensson, CEO for Clarion Hotel Arlanda. “To combine profitability and sustainability is not only possible but actually a prerequisite for every responsible company”, finishes Johan Svensson.

Facts about the Travel and Meeting industry in Sigtuna:

With more than 500.000 overnight stays per year, Sigtuna is Sweden's fourth largest hotel destination in terms of hotel nights.

The travel industry has a yearly turnover of about 2 billion SEK and employs about 1500 persons every year, excluding Stockholm Arlanda Airport. This is more than the turnover in many Swedish counties. The travel trade, including Stockholm Arlanda Airport, reaches approximately 24 billion SEK.

Participating hotels in the Sigtuna climate neutral destination project:                                                    

1909 Sigtuna Stads Hotell, 32 Rum & Kök, Arlanda Airport Conference, Arlanda Hotellby, Clarion Hotel Arlanda, Ibis Hotel Arlanda, Hotell Kristina, Radisson Blu Arlandia Hotel, Radisson Blu SkyCity Hotel, Sigtunahöjden Hotell & Konferens, Sigtunastiftelsen Hotell & Konferens, Steningevik Konferens, Stora Brännbo Konferens and Hotell, Stockholm Arlanda Airport an d Destination Sigtuna.

Art projects get the trees to speak during the Tällberg Forum

Between 29 June and 3 July hosts Sigtuna of Tallberg Forum, an international meeting where delegates from around the world gather to discuss future issues. Several seminars and workshops take place at the Sigtuna Foundation. As a backdrop to the Tallberg Forum's theme How can we agree to agree participate Sigtuna Foundation Art Project Imagine trees.

-  The Sigtuna Foundation, as well as the Tallberg Forum, characterized by the awareness that we need several different languages if we want to deepen our understanding of various issues. Artistic expression, with the living tree in the center, creates a room for hope and reflection that complements seminars and workshops, says Alf Linderman executive director at Sigtuna Foundation.

The Art Project was inspired by Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Exhibition, where the fundamental idea is a Wish Tree. Everyone who passes the Sigtuna Foundation: Tallberg Forum's delegates, Sigtuna locals and public in general are invited to come up with a wish or a prayer, write it down on a piece of paper and attach it to a tree, a kind of collective hope for a better future and world.
All requests will then be sent to the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, which in turn makes art project a part of a global movement.

The project Imagine trees include several artistic expressions at the Sigtuna Foundation during the Tallberg Forum. Silhouettes of tree huggers in actual size embraces Sigtuna Foundation's apple trees and pines, the local textile artist Tina Caléns felted flowers adorn acacia trees outside the Sigtuna Foundation Refuge and in the Rose Garden Hall is the Ira Löfman art exhibit Moments of Presence with trees as clear theme.

In connection with the Tallberg Forum will also an exhibition of Barbro Fagerlind be displayed at Sigtuna Foundation's chapel. Barbro Fagerlind works with religious items made of recycled cans called Re: Art.
Barbro Fagerlind holds a workshop at the Sigtuna Foundation with the theme "People's Home Altar" on July 2 as part of the Tallberg Forum's programs An evening for the future.

Sigtuna welcomes Tällberg Forum 2011

The Tällberg Forum 2011 will take place on 29 June – 3 July 2011 in Sigtuna, Sweden, returning to the question “How on earth can we live together?”
It will gather leaders and thinkers for a four-day conversation on the converging crises we face.
The Tällberg Forum gathers around 400 delegates from all over the world.

Confirmed delegates to Tällberg Forum 2011 i Sigtuna :
Yvo De Boer, former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC and Special Advisor at the KMPG,  Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UNEP, Christine Loh, Civic Exchange Hong Kong, Peter Norman, Sweden's Minister for Financial Markets, Prof. Johan Rockström, Executive Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute, Prof. Dennis J. Snower, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Shlomo Ben-Ami, former Foreign Minister of Israel, Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, Birgitta Ohlsson, Sweden's Minister for EU Affairs, Prof. Hans Rosling, Karolinska institutet and Gapminder Foundation, Carl Bennet, Getinge and Hans-Olov Olsson, Vice Chairman of Volvo Car Corporation.
Chairman of the Board,



Read more about Tällberg Forum 2011.