SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Tove Andersson, Anders Linnerborg, Sara Eriksson and Ellen Lewin, Setterwalls Advokatbyrå AB
16.2 Public Environmental Information The Freedom of the Press Act ( tryckfrihetsförord- ningen ) gives the public access to documents from public authorities, including documents containing environmental information, provided that they are not covered by confidentiality pursuant to the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act ( Offentlighets- och sekretesslagen ). Public authorities are defined as anybody within the state or regional organisation. Some bodies are considered authorities according to the Aarhus Convention, but not under Swedish national law. For these specific bodies, access to environmental information is provided through the Environmental Information from Certain Private Bod- ies Act (2005:181) ( lag om miljöinformation hos vissa enskilda organ ). The Swedish Environmental Protec- tion Agency is responsible for providing the public with information on where to locate environmental information. Its webpage contains links to different governmental authorities’ webpages and explanations of what can be found on these pages. 16.3 Corporate Disclosure Requirement Under the Annual Accounts Act (1995:1554) ( årsre- dovisningslagen ), corporations are required to include a sustainability report in their annual reports. The sus- tainability report shall contain environmental informa- tion about the company’s impact on issues relating to the environment. See also 16.1 Disclosure and Reporting Require- ments . 16.4 Green Finance Loans or bonds can be labelled green loans/bonds if the proceeds shall be used for projects with environ- mental benefits. Such green labelling is often based on internal guidelines which are based on international market standards such as the Green Bond Principles established by the International Capital Market Asso- ciation (ICMA). To further promote green industrial investments, the Swedish National Debt Office has been mandated by the Swedish government to pro- vide state credit guarantees to credit institutions that offer green loans meeting specific requirements. In November 2024, the Act (2024:1085) contain- ing supplementary provisions to the EU Regulation
on European Green Bonds ( lagen (2024:1085) med kompletterande bestämmelser till EU:s förordning om europeiska gröna obligationer ) was enacted, as well as the Regulation (2024:1086) containing supplementary provisions to the EU Regulation on European Green Bonds ( förordning (2024:1086) med kompletterande bestämmelser till EU:s förordning om europeiska gröna obligationer ). The Act supplements Regulation (EU) 2023/2631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023 on European Green Bonds and voluntary disclosures for bonds marketed as environmentally sustainable and for sustainability- linked bonds. The Act contains provisions regarding, among other things, administrative fines. The purpose of the regulations is to prevent greenwashing. Since 2020, the so-called EU taxonomy has applied for Swedish credit institutions. In addition, there are several state and EU-funded grants earmarked for projects and businesses that support the climate transition. Whether or not an environmental due diligence is conducted in connection with a transaction depends on the business of the target company. In Sweden, environmental due diligence is typically conducted in connection with transactions concerning energy and industrial projects (eg, wind, solar, water, hydrogen or battery projects as well as industries) and proper- ties, as well as contemplated bank financing of such projects. The scope of a legal environmental due diligence var- ies depending on the status of the project. Typically, the due diligence includes conducting a review of the project rights, that is, if all necessary permits have been obtained for the construction and operation of the business, and the permit holder’s compliance with such permits and environmental law. Depending on the scope and content of the purchase, liability issues relating to contamination of land would also be included. 17. Transactions 17.1 Environmental Due Diligence
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