Environment and Health Department

The Environment and Health Department is the government agency responsible for the environment in the City of Stockholm, both indoors and outdoors. The Department works actively to ensure that everyone in Stockholm can live in a clean, healthy environment. This may involve anything from traffic noise to water issues, chemicals, air quality and hygiene.

Supervision and monitoring

The Department’s main undertaking is inspection and monitoring. It has become increasingly important to link these together and create a dialogue with those involved. This may involve, for example, coordinated supervision, training and information in targeted campaigns.

The Environment and Health Department also works on the climate issue, with the goal of a fossil fuel-free City by 2040. This can entail anything from strategy and follow-up to communication of the City’s climate work and the climate impact of Stockholmers.

The elected representatives on the Environment and Health Committee make decisions on how the City should work in this area. The Environment and Health Department must then implement the Committee’s decisions.

Environment and Health Committee

Environmental tariff

Tariff for the Environment and Health Committee

Organisation

The Environment and Health Department is led by Head of Department Anna Hadenius. The Head of Department has an executive team consisting of all Heads of Division, the Head of Development and the Head of Administration’s assistant.

Food Control

This Division controls operations in Stockholm, such as restaurants, snack bars, grocery stores, food producers and school kitchens, and is divided into three control units and one unit for control support.

The Division registers food facilities, conducts regular checks to ensure that the rules for handling food are being followed, takes samples of drinking water and foods for laboratory testing of bacteria content and composition, and monitors the handling of food at temporary events.

The Division also receives complaints from the public and investigates suspected instances of food poisoning, as well as responding to questions concerning this operational area.

Email: livsmedelskontrollen@stockholm.se

Air and Climate

The Division is responsible for monitoring the air in Stockholm and also carries out work relating to energy efficiency, the climate, green vehicles and renewable fuels.

The Division is divided into three units: Energy and Climate, Green Vehicles and Sustainable Transport, and SLB Analysis.

The work is both strategic and operational. The Division conducts analyses and provides supporting data for the City’s strategic work aimed at reducing energy consumption and climate impact – and provides support and advice to the rest of the City, residents and companies.

The Division is also tasked with increasing the number of green cars in the City, and with helping to increase the range of green car models and the availability of and proximity to green fuel.

Environment and Health

The Environment and Health Division conducts supervision in accordance with the Swedish Environmental Code.

The Division has four units: Schools and Waste, Indoor Environment, Industry and Water, and Chemicals and Health.

Supervision entails both preventive and direct work aimed at reducing the impact of operations, including property owners, on health and the environment. Supervision takes place primarily through inspections and examinations of operators’ internal controls, reports of completed checks and investigations.

The Division works with preventive information initiatives for business operators, and also reviews permit applications.

Urban Environment

The Urban Environment Division strives to deliver a sustainable urban environment through expert support, environmental monitoring, project and programme work, planning work and supervision.

The Division is divided into four units: Planning and Transport, Land and Water, Natural Environment and Chemicals Centre.

The Division supports the City’s various operations with expert knowledge, and coordinates the implementation of action plans. The Division also performs environmental monitoring and conducts the supervision of contaminated soil, development projects, and road, rail and air traffic.

The Division is also home to the Department’s GIS coordination and the coordinator for environmental collaboration in Stockholm County (MSL).

Miljösamverkan Stockholms län (MSL)
Since 2007, Miljösamverkan i Stockholms län (Environmental Collaboration in Stockholm County) has been an established collaboration between the municipalities in Stockholm County, the County Administrative Board of Stockholm and Storsthlm.

The brief is to develop supervision under the Swedish Environmental Code and food control with the aim of making environmental protection, health protection and food control more effective in the County, and making more progress than as an individual municipality.

With shared resources and skills, the long-term, sustainable development of municipal environmental work can be ensured; this also means that comparable cases are assessed and handled equally throughout the County.

For residents, this means a good environment and health, as well as safe food products – and for businesses, it means good, equal service, which makes it easier for business operators to meet the requirements set down in legislation.

If you want to find out more about MSL’s collaborative projects, please contact the office, miljosamverkan@stockholm.se.

Operational Support

The Operational Support Division provides support and services to the Department’s executive team and other divisions. The Division possesses expertise in the areas of archives and registry, finance, HR, IT, international coordination and legal, as well as facilities and security.

The Division is also responsible for coordinating cases for the Environment and Health Committee, and is the point of contact for the joint committee secretariat.

Communication

The Communication Division’s role is, by means of communication initiatives, to make it easier for the City’s operations, business sector and residents to act in line with applicable regulations and work to achieve the City’s environmental goals.

The Division’s activities include providing advice to other divisions, target group adaptation, purchasing communication services and working with the department’s websites, social media and graphical profile.