Environmental Goods and Services Sector (EGSS) 2018
Production value of the environmental sector increased in 2018
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2020-06-18 9.30
In 2018, the production value of the environmental sector amounted to SEK 209 billion, 8 percent more than a year ago. This increase mainly occurred in sewage treatment, waste management, recycling and sanitation. The environmental sector employs 67 000 people, of which almost three in four are men.
Statistics on the environmental sector describe the part of Sweden’s economy that produces environmentally-friendly goods and services. The environmental sector includes the production of goods for environmental protection and sustainable resource management.
Value added of the environmental sector unchanged
The production value of the environmental sector increased by 8 percent in 2018 compared with the previous year and amounted to SEK 209 billion. Sewage treatment, waste management, recycling and sanitation, and the energy sector were the main contributors to this increase.
Value added of the environmental sector increased by 2 percent in the same period and was estimated at SEK 86 billion in 2018. The environmental sector accounts for approximately 2 percent of Sweden’s total GDP. The total value added by the environmental sector increased until 2008, when it amounted to SEK 85 billion, but decreased in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis. Since then, value added has only increased marginally. Since 2008, value added for the environmental sector has increased among service providers, but has decreased in renewable energy production and the manufacturing industry.
Source: Statistics Sweden, environmental and national accounts.
Drainage, waste and sanitation contributed the most to production
Statistics on the environmental sector are also broken down by industry (SNI 2007). Producers of renewable energy and companies within drainage, waste and sanitation are the industries that contributed the most to production value and value added for the environmental sector in 2018. Service industries, such as environmental consultants and certain manufacturing industries, for example, of environmental technology, also form a large part of the environmental sector.
With regard to employment, the labour force in the environmental sector is mainly located among service providers, and drainage, waste and sanitation. Statistics on the environmental sector also estimate exports of goods and services from the environmental sector. Exports for the environmental sector are dominated by goods and services from the manufacturing sector.
Source: Statistics Sweden, environmental accounts
Most employed persons in the environmental sector are men
The environmental sector employed 67 000 persons in 2018, of whom 71 percent were men and 29 percent were women. Women employed in the environmental sector are often employed in the service sector and in the public sector. Men most often work in drainage, waste and sanitation, and in the service sector.
Source: Statistics Sweden, environmental accounts and RAMS
Geographic breakdown
Statistics on the environmental sector are also available per county. Metropolitan regions account for the highest total value added and number of persons employed. However, with regard to value added normalised as a share of gross regional product (GRP), a different picture emerges. The highest value added as share of GRP for the environmental sector is found in Jämtland, Gävleborg and Kalmar counties, while the lowest share is found in Uppsala, Stockholm and Västra Götaland counties.
Source: Statistics Sweden, environmental and national accounts
Definitions and explanations
Environmental accounts are organised using national accounts as a base to enable reporting on environmental statistics and economic statistics in a common system. The environmental accounts, which are a UN-based statistical standard, provide opportunities for analysing connections between the economy and the environment, in particular through the use of industries that are reported according to the Swedish Industrial Classification (SNI).
Statistics Sweden’s Environmental accounts
Statistics on the environmental sector form part of the environmental accounts framework. Since 2017, under the regulation on European environmental accounts, it is mandatory for EU Member States to report these statistics annually to Eurostat. However, Statistics Sweden has published statistics on dates earlier than this, where statistics are available as early as 2003. In connection with the publication in 2018, the statistics were revised to better align with new guidelines and to be more closely integrated with the national accounts. This also enables deeper national and international comparisons, such as the environmental sector’s contribution to the Swedish economy. In addition to the national accounts data, data on company finances is also used to describe net turnover, from RAMS (register-based labour market statistics) to describe gainful employment, and from foreign trade statistics to describe exports.
Statistics on the environmental sector are based on a micro-database of companies and workplaces that produce environmentally-friendly goods and services. The statistics follow Eurostat’s environmental sector manual, which contains definitions of which economic activities are included in the environmental sector. Examples of economic activity included are production of renewable energy, wastewater treatment, waste management, sanitation, environmental consultants and organic farming. Examples of economic activity not included are wholesale of waste products, nuclear power and public transport.
Previous statistics that have been published on the environmental sector have been revised and the entire time series has been updated. The national accounts has revised their time series since the publication last year. This affects the values for the environmental sector regarding the production value and value added for the whole time series.
To read more on definitions and delimitations, see Eurostat’s handbook:
Environmental goods and services accounts, Handbook, 2016
Next publishing will be
The next publication on the environmental sector up to 2019 will take place in 2021.
Statistical Database
More information is available in the Statistical Database
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.