Conditions for Strategic Sustainability Work in Municipalities

Conditions for Strategic Sustainability Work in Municipalities in Skåne – Step 1

How can municipalities ensure that sustainability work truly becomes part of everyday operations – and not something that happens on the side?
This pilot study, carried out in 2022 by Lund University and funded by Region Skåne’s Environmental Protection Fund, explored this question to understand which organizational conditions are necessary for sustainability work to function in practice. The focus was not on what municipalities do for sustainable development, but on how they can organizationally create better conditions for implementing political decisions on sustainability.

How the Pilot Study Was Conducted

During the pilot study, a model was developed to assess municipalities’ institutional capacity – that is, their ability to integrate sustainability into their structures, processes, and culture. The model was used to design a survey answered by 53 strategists, managers, and coordinating functions in 30 municipalities in Skåne. In addition, an inventory of municipalities’ overarching political decisions and governance documents was conducted. The results were linked to an international framework for policy coherence for sustainable development (Agenda 2030 Target 17.14).

Results of the Pilot Study

1. Political decisions exist – but often lack political legitimacy.
   Most municipalities have decisions related to sustainable development, but many respondents feel these decisions are not prioritized or taken seriously in practice.
2. Management practices are crucial – and often insufficient.
   For sustainability work to function, management must integrate it into regular processes (e.g., budgeting, follow‑up, case preparation) and into shared structures (roles, responsibilities, systems, routines). Many municipalities lack parts of this, resulting in sustainability work running in parallel tracks.
3. Strategists and coordinators often lack adequate conditions.
   Many work informally, without clear mandates or access to important processes. This creates heavy workloads, vulnerable organizational setups dependent on “champions,” and risks of discontinuity when staff change.
4. Municipalities show strong engagement – but capacity needs strengthening.
   The results show that of every 10 respondents, four experience low institutional capacity, nearly five experience moderate capacity, and only one reports high capacity according to the study’s model. There is thus clear potential for improvement in almost all municipalities in Skåne – and it is likely that they do not differ significantly from other municipalities in Sweden.

The pilot study (Step 1) provided an important first picture of how municipalities’ sustainability and transition work is shaped by their structures, processes, and culture. The results clearly showed that the ambition is often present – but the organization’s actual ability to implement political decisions is lacking. It also became clear that strategic coordinators carry substantial responsibility, often without sufficient mandates or structural support.

Conditions for Strategic Sustainability Work in Municipalities in Skåne – Step 2

Step 2 of the project deepens the understanding, broadens the focus from “sustainability work” to the wider question of municipal transition capacity, and provides concrete guidance on how municipalities can strengthen their ability to drive cross‑sectoral development work.

The follow‑up project was conducted in 2023–2025 by RISE and Lund University, funded by Region Skåne’s Environmental Protection Fund. While the pilot study identified the challenges, Step 2 focused on why these challenges arise – and, above all, what municipalities can practically do about them.
How can municipalities create the organizational conditions required to address complex transition tasks, whether related to sustainable consumption, integration, innovation, climate neutrality, or preparedness?

How the Study Was Conducted

Step 2 builds on the pilot study by combining several complementary methods that together provide a deeper understanding of municipalities’ transition capacity. The material consists of three components:

• an inventory of the instructions for municipal chief executives (kommundirektörer) in 32 municipalities in Skåne,
• an in‑depth analysis of strategists’ work environment based on the same survey used in Step 1,
• a thematic analysis of free‑text responses from 53 respondents on governance, leadership, and coordination.

Data from Step 1 was therefore further analyzed, supplemented with new material, and placed within a broader organizational perspective.

Study Results

The results from Step 2 build directly on the conclusions of the pilot study – but expand them by shifting focus from sustainability work to municipalities’ overall transition capacity.
Where Step 1 showed that municipalities lack organizational conditions for integrating sustainability work, Step 2 explains why this is the case and what is required to change it. Among the key results are:

• a mapping of municipal chief executives’ formal mandates and how their instructions can be used as tools to strengthen transition capacity,
• a work‑environment analysis using the demand–control–support model, clarifying why strategic functions often become overloaded and create a “champion dependency” within the organization,
• a deeper analysis of management’s role and how their priorities influence the entire transition effort,
• a practical guide with models, methods, and tools to develop structures, processes, and culture so that cross‑sectoral transition work can be integrated into ordinary operations.

Together, these results provide a clearer picture of what needs to change – and how municipalities can move from good intentions to the actual organizational conditions required for long‑term transition. The final report offers guidance tailored to different target groups to strengthen the organization’s transition capacity.