According to SKR (Sweden's municipalities and regions), more sustainable public procurement can play a crucial role in achieving national environmental goals, such as significantly shorter transports and reduced carbon dioxide emissions through the procurement of locally produced food.
But a review that SVT Nyheter Västerbotten has done shows that there is a lot of difference in the county's municipalities' view of procuring locally produced food.
- Those who have come a little further than others have collaborated within the municipality and with other municipalities, then it is important to have a close dialogue with producers, says Stina Fernerud, process manager at the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten.
Some have clear goals
In some municipalities, for example Umeå, Bjurholm and Skellefteå, there are clear goals such as that 40-50 percent of all food in the municipality's operations must be locally produced by 2025.
But the review also shows that in many municipalities there are no clear goals and that sometimes there is hardly anything written at all about locally produced food.
In Storuman, it is formulated, for example, as follows: "All municipal activities are expected to prioritize local goods and services based on current procurement rules".
Why have you not set a clearer goal?
- When you look at the definition of locally produced, some say that it is one within a radius of 250 km, and 250 km for us, then you are down in Lycksele if you count from Tärnaby.
Then there is not such a large selection, says Karin Malmfjord (S), vice chairman of the municipal board in Storuman.
Hear more about how Storuman reasons in the clip above.