Strategy for the Riksbank’s sustainability work

Long-term sustainability is a key issue for the future. As a public authority under the Riksdag, the state’s core values guide the work of the Riksbank. Several of the goals of the 2030 Agenda have a bearing on the Riksbank’s operations, for example those concerning climate change, sustainable consumption and production, decent working conditions, equality and global partnership.

The Riksbank has decided on six principles to consider sustainability in its policy work:

• The Riksbank’s work uses the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda as its starting point.
• The Riksbank shall analyse climate change and developments in the area of sustainability to understand how the economy as a whole is affected and thus how the Riksbank can best carry out its policy tasks. .
• The Riksbank is to act for international cooperation to promote sustainable development and reduce the risks linked to climate change. Consequently, in line with the intentions of the Riksdag and the Government, the Riksbank shall act for regulation of the financial system that reduces risks linked to climate change.
• The Riksdag and the Government have main responsibility for conducting climate policy in Sweden. The Riksbank can contribute the means available within its mandate, and as a complement to other policy.
• The Riksbank is obliged to ensure that its operations are run efficiently and that it uses public finances prudently. It follows on from this that the Riksbank, among other things, shall manage the risks that arise when purchasing corporate bonds, especially risks to the Riksbank’s financial position.
• The Riksbank is to apply a sustainability perspective in management of the foreign exchange reserves.

Within the scope of its mandate, the Riksbank is to contribute to limiting climate change by, for instance:

• Promoting regulation of the financial markets that reduces the risks climate change may entail for the financial system.
• Taking a sustainability perspective in its asset purchases and in the administration of the foreign exchange reserves under the framework of the Riksbank’s mandate.
• Participating in various international networks that work on climate-related issues, for instance, the International Monetary Fund, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Basel Committee and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
• Initiating internal processes to ensure, in the longer run, that its own activities are in line with international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, and do not unnecessarily contribute to global warming.
• Helping to increase knowledge of the effects of climate change on the economy by supporting and contributing its own research.