Climate issues are without a doubt the biggest challenge of our time, and as urban developers we can make a real contribution in this area. This involves creating more sustainable places while influencing the people who live, work and stay in our city to make climate-smart choices and positive changes to their behaviour.

Agenda 2030 and our role in a broader context

The UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serves as a guide in efforts to ensure global development is sustainable in the long term. By joining forces in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the countries of the world aim by the year 2030 to have made human rights for everyone a reality, and achieved gender equality and lasting protection for our planet. The business community has an important role to play here, particularly the construction and property sectors.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals we work systematically with

We can see strong synergies between the goals, which is why we are placing greater emphasis on those areas that present the most significant challenges for our business, namely:

• Goal 3 - Good health and well-being
• Goal 7 - Affordable and clean energy
• Goal 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• Goal 10 - Reduced inequalities
• Goal 11 - Sustainable cities and communities
• Goal 12 - Responsible consumption and production

During 2021 we focused more intently on the UN’s goal 10, Reduced inequalities by adopting a more structured approach to working with and planning ways to reduce social inequalities in our districts.

Our ambitious sustainability work has resulted in activities linked to several of the SDGs now becoming integral elements of our business processes. This is the case, for example, with our work on goal 3, Good Health and well-being; an area that has long been a vital and natural part of our day-to-day operations. Goal 13: Climate Action. We regard this as a direct consequence of our work with goals 9, 11 and 12. The latter goals are therefore prioritised in order to effectively manage all these challenges. We know that our work has an impact on all 17 SDGs, and that there are synergies between the environment, social values and economics. However, we do not underestimate the huge adjustments that remain to be made, for example in relation to goal 13.

The most crucial climate issues

• Systematic work on energy efficiency
• Environmental certification of all our properties, new builds and major redevelopments
• Effective public transport and cycling facilities