Even in Stockholm's ritzy Le Rouge restaurant, where dinner for two can set you back more than $300, asking for a bottle of water will lead to a rebuff. “Our own water is clean and just as good,” a waiter says mindfully, “and it's free.” What runs from the taps in Sweden's capital is indeed fresh and tasty – and a point of pride for locals, who rarely if ever buy bottled water. Keeping it clean enough to drink from, swim and fish in, however, requires significant effort.
Which is why, after decades of living green, clean and organic, Stockholm has been crowned the first Green Capital of Europe for 2010. It's a nod to the city's ongoing work to preserve its environment: This is a place where gas-guzzling cars are frowned upon and leafy parks and expansive bike paths are plentiful. For visitors, it doesn't take long to appreciate Stockholm's natural setting, and here you can even shop with a conscience, at hotels, fashion boutiques and restaurants that run on renewable energy and peddle everything from organic coffee and cakes to fair-made sweaters and shawls. It's one of the world's best cities for a green vacation.
You just have to make like the locals. More than 90 per cent of Stockholmers live within 300 metres of a green area. When the sun is out, so are they, soaking in as much fresh air and outdoor activity as they can. Even in winter, when daylight is scarce, walkers and cyclists are out navigating the many car-free paths along the shores of the 14 islands that make up the city.
“Battling the elements there seems easier,” says Corey Dias, a Torontonian who lived in Stockholm for three years. “The air is so fresh and Stockholmers are so sun-starved that at any opportunity, regardless of the temperature, they'll get outside.” Indeed, cafés supply woolly blankets so patrons are never too cold to sit outdoors.
But physical beauty and sunny patios didn't win Stockholm the Green Capital award. From a short list of eight finalists that included Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Oslo, Stockholm prevailed with its clean water and air, plans to reduce carbon emissions, to increase its collection of food waste to create bio-gas (mostly used as fuel in eco-friendly cars and buses) and to further develop its excellent public-transport system. Stockholm's 760 kilometres of cycling lanes, and a congestion charge that deters inner-city driving, have significantly improved air quality– a factor both locals and tourists enjoy. Even if you're only stopping in for a few days, it's impossible not to get lured by the city's eco ethos.
SUSTAINABLE HOTELS
Sweden is famously design-savvy, and its hoteliers thrive on chic green design. Guests at the Scandic Anglais hotel in central Stockholm are provided with keycards that are made of birch instead of plastic. Rooms are outfitted in natural materials (lots of wood, wool and linen) and they have low-energy light bulbs, a variety of recycling bins, and eco-labelled bathroom amenities that come in fixed containers instead of disposable ones. And, every morning, it serves up a certified organic buffet breakfast.
This is typical for Scandic, a Swedish hotel chain that developed an environmental policy in 1994 – long before most corporations jumped on the sustainability bandwagon. Fifteen years on, Scandic is one of the greenest companies in the industry. It was the first major Swedish company to serve fair-trade coffee and publishes its resource consumption and savings online. Last year, Scandic stopped selling bottled water, a move that the chain says has cut fossil carbon dioxide emissions by 160 tonnes per year.
