This report critiques GDP as a measure of national welfare and explores alternative frameworks, analyzing the Nordic countries' performance using three key metrics: the Sustainable Development Index (SDI), the Transition Performance Index (TPI), and Doughnut Economy Indicators. It highlights strong social outcomes in Nordic countries but at great ecological cost; every Nordic country is significantly overshooting the planetary boundaries which must be maintained to avoid environmental breakdown. Recommendations include better alignment across the beyond-GDP metrics field, stronger integration of alternative metrics into governance, and exploring alternative ecological interventions such as sufficiency solutions for a balanced approach to social and environmental progress.

This publication identifies the barriers to achieving emission-free construction sites, a crucial step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. The report categorizes these obstacles into four key areas: policy and regulation, financial constraints, technological challenges, and systemic issues. It provides actionable insights based on research, stakeholder discussions, and a survey. Addressing these barriers requires collaboration across sectors to create a more sustainable and competitive construction industry in the Nordics. The findings aim to show policymakers and industry professionals the challenges to encourage changes towards the green transition.

In this research anthology on the interplay between national and Nordic funding for culture Kulturanalys Norden has invited researchers from each Nordic country to contribute with a chapter. The publication is an independent continuation of the previous anthology Cultural policy in the Nordic welfare states – Aims and functions of public funding for culture, with contributions from the same group of researchers. Focus for the new anthology is to explore funding systems from a multi-level approach. The analyses primarily concern the interplay between money streams, rather than the interplay between actors at the Nordic and national level. Therefore, ‘interplay’ is primarily investigated in terms of overlap between different funding systems, that is, the identification of instances where funding from different systems coincide (or not). The analyses also make visible application strategies rather than financial results.

Ensomhed er en væsentlig udfordring i dagens samfund. I 2024 arrangerede Nordisk Ministerråd en debatserie med møder i Danmark, Sverige, Norge, Finland, Letland og Estland med et overordnet tema: Hvordan bekæmper vi ensomhedsudfordringen? Resultatet fra møderne præsenteres i denne rapport i form af 12 forslag til, hvordan man kan arbejde for at forebygge ensomhed.

The study identifies factors that either enable or hinder Nordic collaboration and proposes a new model for fostering long-term, sustainable partnerships. Using data from a Nordic-wide survey and four in-depth case studies, the report zooms in on: (1) Denmark’s Coast to Coast Climate Challenge, a project fostering climate adaptation through municipal cooperation; (2) Finland’s Greenreality Network, where energy sector businesses catalyze regional economic growth; (3) Åland’s Grit:lab, an innovative tech education initiative; (4) Iceland’s Telemedicine Program, which improved healthcare access in remote areas.

This publication is a culmination of the challenges, lessons learned, and good practices of cycling in the capital cities and regions of the Nordic countries. Derived from the research and discussions among network participants, this publication highlights eight common myths about the role of the bicycle as a mode of transport in the Nordic Region. Each myth is followed by an evidence-based rebuttal, confronting the inaccurate claims and uprooting the underlying problem. After each reality statement, we provide suggestions and good practices, based on both desk research and contributions from practitioners in the Nordic Cycle Power Network.

The world is currently facing a biodiversity and climate crisis which are globally interlinked. Nature-based solutions (NbS) is part of the solution to these challenges. NbS encompass different actions spanning protection, sustainable use, and restoration of ecosystems to solve societal challenges such as biodiversity loss, food security, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. As such, NbSs are highlighted by both the UN, IPBES and IPCC as a cost-effective way of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. One of the main points of NbS is that they are implemented to meet societal challenges. In this report we focus on several societal challenges and how they can be addressed by NbS. We also focus on six ecosystem types and how NbS can be implemented in these: coastal, cultural landscapes, forests, mountains, urban, and freshwater ecosystems including rivers, lakes and wetlands.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are recognised as contributing to international climate and biodiversity goals as well as solving other major societal challenges. Still, there are barriers to using NBS in the Nordic countries. Well-designed policies and targeted policy instruments are needed to accelerate the uptake of NBS. The A-DVICE project has developed an online handbook featuring advice for mainstreaming the use of NBS through policies by exploring potential opportunities and examples in the Nordic countries. The project is part of the Nordic Council of Ministers' programme on NBS. The handbook is hosted online, at www.nbspolicy.org. This TemaNord report contains a compilation of its main content.

The aim of this policy paper is to inform decision makers on how sustainability education can be strengthened within adult education to reach the Nordic Vision 2030, applying principles of diversity, professional freedom and a strengthened focus on Bildung.

The recommendations in this policy paper respond to the global challenges of sustainability and enable adult education in the Nordic countries to take a lead in the transformation towards a more sustainable world.

The recommendations are based on the results of a Nordic pilot learning circle that involved participants from various backgrounds, countries, organizational cultures, and professional roles. The Policy brief presents also the key barriers and drivers that hinder or support transformation towards sustainability within adult education. The pilot project “Development of Educational Models for Sustainable Lifestyles” (2023-2024) has been carried out within the Nordic Council of Ministers Programme for sustainable lifestyles.

The report “Voices of Young Immigrants – Inclusion in Education, Work, and Society” is a handbook for social change. It offers crucial insights into the challenges faced by young immigrants in Iceland. The report presents the findings of the project, which was part of Iceland’s presidency of the Nordic Council in 2023. It not only presents key findings from the project, but also serves as a practical handbook for using Design-Based Research (DBR) to address complex social challenges.

The report highlights the voices and experiences of young immigrants, while proposing innovative, real-world solutions for improving their inclusion in education, employment, and society. In addition to its findings, the report provides a detailed guide for applying DBR methodology—a flexible, iterative process that brings stakeholders together to co-create sustainable solutions.

By offering both research insights and a practical toolkit, this report is set to inspire policymakers, educators, and social organizations across the Nordic region and beyond to foster greater inclusion and collaboration in their communities.

The "Best Practice Catalogue – Building LCA cases from the Nordic countries and Estonia" is a comprehensive report that presents a collection of 26 best practice cases of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) in the Nordic countries and Estonia. This report is part of the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme, which aims to support the Nordic Vision 2030 by promoting sustainable and competitive construction practices with minimal environmental and climate impact. 

The catalogue provides valuable insights into best practices for low-carbon construction and highlights the importance of early commitment to sustainability goals, innovative material choices, and stakeholder collaboration. These examples set a strong precedent for future projects and contribute to the overall goal of reducing the built environment's climate impact and achieving the region’s decarbonization objectives

This conference report summarises the most important and interesting aspects of the conference Preventing dementia in the Nordics: Evidence-based measures across the life course.

There is no cure for dementia, but prevention is possible. At a conference, held on 4 September 2024 in Stockholm, experts from the Nordic countries gathered to share vital knowledge on how we can promote brain health and prevent dementia.