Abstract SEA is currently becoming an important tool for sustainable development. The main principles of SEA are to incorporate environmental considerations to the process of development of strategic documents and to make the process of the decision-making more transparent. Over the past years, there have been an increasing number of countries especially transitional and developing countries such as Belarus that consider joining the international conventions for SEA such as EU Directive 2001/42/EC (the SEA Directive) and UNECE SEA Protocol. This research focuses on the capacity assessment for SEA implementation in Belarus. The benchmarks for SEA capacity assessment were defined. For identifying the approaches for SEA implementation in the countries in transition, the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was analyzed. The capacity assessment for Belarus was made involved three levels, namely, system level, as well as organizational and individual levels. The paper analyses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for SEA implementation in Belarus. The study concludes with some suggestions that might help to improve capacity for SEA implementation.

The purpose of this study is to revise the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's (DWAF's) current Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) procedure and to develop an Environmental Management Framework (EMF), so as to ensure that the environment is considered in a structured, formal manner at each decision-making stage of the projects development business process. The proposed EMF provides process diagrams that align the IBM principles, the environmental assessment and management tools, and the engineering business process with the project life cycle approach for DWAF's water sector functional areas. Key decision-making points are introduced to the business process to ensure that all the specific requirements have been met before continuing to the next engineering stage of the business life cycle. Auditing nodes were identified within the life cycle approach and complement the decision-making points and strengthen the evaluation of environmental compliance and performance. These process diagrams is designed to prompt development planners and implementers to consider the environment at all stages of the business life cycle and practice sound environmental management. The EMF is based on international best practice and follows the Deming model philosophy as well as principles and elements of an environmental management system. The EMF must be an integral part in the way the department conduct its business and not seen as an ad hoc function and the duties of the environmental officer. To conclude, the EMF is the building block and interim management plan for an appropriate environmental management system in the future and the first step towards business excellence for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The purpose of this study is to revise the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's (DWAF's) current Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) procedure and to develop an Environmental Management Framework (EMF), so as to ensure that the environment is considered in a structured, formal manner at each decision-making stage of the projects development business process. The proposed EMF provides process diagrams that align the IBM principles, the environmental assessment and management tools, and the engineering business process with the project life cycle approach for DWAF's water sector functional areas. Key decision-making points are introduced to the business process to ensure that all the specific requirements have been met before continuing to the next engineering stage of the business life cycle. Auditing nodes were identified within the life cycle approach and complement the decision-making points and strengthen the evaluation of environmental compliance and performance. These process diagrams is designed to prompt development planners and implementers to consider the environment at all stages of the business life cycle and practice sound environmental management. The EMF is based on international best practice and follows the Deming model philosophy as well as principles and elements of an environmental management system. The EMF must be an integral part in the way the department conduct its business and not seen as an ad hoc function and the duties of the environmental officer. To conclude, the EMF is the building block and interim management plan for an appropriate environmental management system in the future and the first step towards business excellence for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

La tesis doctoral "Urbanismo Ambiental y Evaluación Estratégica" investiga y propone un renovado papel del urbanismo y muy especialmente de la ordenación del territorio como instrumentos no tan sólo de valor para la protección del medio ambiente sino también para la consecución de las políticas hacia un desarrollo sostenible. Con tal fín se reflexiona y potencia la visión/función del suelo como recurso ambiental, también en su función urbanística, y de su mano las consecuencias e interacciones que tal conceptuación puede tener en la Comunidad Europea desde su competencia compartida con los Estados Miembros en materia de medio ambiente, concretamente en su capacidad para incidir, mediante técnicas normativas y no normativas en el urbanismo y la ordenación del territorio en cuanto instrumentos de regulación y ordenación del recurso ambiental suelo. En esta nueva andadura del urbanismo ambientalizado o, si se prefiere, en la carrera hacia el desarrollo urbanístico sostenible, la técnica de evaluación ambiental estratégica de determinados planes y programas se revela como fundamental, especialmente si se consigue que su transposición a los ordenamientos internos de los Estados Miembros se lleve a cabo con pleno respeto a las notas insosyalables defendidas en la tesis de técnica preventiva y no reparativa, dinámica, con capacidad de incidencia en la elección misma del modelo de plan y con miras finalistas a la sostenibilidad. Con ella podrá generalizarse el urbanismo ambiental y acelerarse el proceso de revisión que tienen pendiente las materias de urbanismo y ordenación del territorio desde la nueva concepción del suelo como recurso ambiental y mediante la recepción e integración de los principios ambientalistas. / The doctoral thesis "Environmental Urban Planning and Strategic Evaluation" investigates and proposes a renewed paper of the urban planning and very especially of the ordering of the territory like instruments not so only of value for the protection of the environment but also for the achievement of the policies towards a sustainable development. With this purpose is reflected and promotes the vision/function of the land as an environmental resource, also in its urbanistic function, and of its hand the consequences and interactions that such name can have in the European Community from their shared competence with the Member States on the subject of environment, precisely in their capacity to hit, through normative and non normative techniques in the urban planning and the ordering of the territory when instruments of regulation and ordering of the resource environmental land. In this new stage of the environment urban planning or, if the technique is preferred, in the career towards the sustainable urbanistic development, of strategic environmental evaluation of determinate plans and programmes reveals how fundamental, especially if is achieved that its transposition to the internal ordering of the Member States defended in the thesis of technique is carried out with plenum with respect to the notes preventive and dynamics, with capacity of incidence in the same choice of the model of plan and with sights finalist to the sustainability. With her the environmental urban planning will be able to be generalised and to speed up the process of revision that they have pending the matters of urban planning and ordering of the territory from the new conception of the floor as an environmental resource and through the reception and integration of the environmentalist principles.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T14:27:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1450366 bytes, checksum: 6d65107a01b77df76b70085b8e7cf960 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Sustainable development presupposes updated and efficient in environmental management instruments. Currently, the National Environment Policy in Brazil has advantages and disadvantages compared to other countries. Licensing is one of the most debated instruments and for now we will study it compared to strategic environmental assessment, delineating points of convergence and divergence between them and presenting reasons and prospects for the viability of the institutionalization of the latter in the Brazilian legal system. First we will deal with the Brazilian public environmental management for, then, we enter the more specific issues, such as the object and procedure for each of the above-mentioned institutes. The key-question of the research is, therefore, why the environmental license which is today practiced in Brazil can not be considered efficient regarding the implementation of social and environmental sustainability of economic development and how the adoption of strategic environmental assessment would contribute to the solution of this problem? , the response being our main objective. In the case of evaluation, by not being elected as one of the instruments of environmental management by the National Environment Policy, unlike the licensing, we will also present its main characteristics in the foreign legal systems and a brief overview of its growing prominence in the international debate. This is a survey of exploratory and qualitative nature, through detailed investigation of the relationship between the environmental licensing and AAE. Concerning each environmental management tool under analysis, the method of proceeding is deductive , in order to elucidate the characteristics , the object and scope of each one. Regarding methods of proceeding, shall be used the historical (survey of the evolution of licensing and AAE), the comparative (from the analysis of other systems), the monographic (with the study of the performance of each of the actors involved) and the structuralist (abstraction of all the factual problems at the level of theoretical discussion will allow to propose concrete solutions). Therefore, the bibliographical and documentary research will be used as research techniques, based on the analysis of literature on the subject in books, journals, official documents and electronic databases. / O desenvolvimento sustentável pressupõe instrumentos atualizados e eficientes no âmbito da gestão ambiental. A Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente vigente no Brasil apresenta vantagens e desvantagens em relação às de outros países. O licenciamento é um dos instrumentos mais debatidos e por ora o estudaremos em comparação à avaliação ambiental estratégica, traçando pontos de convergência e divergência entre ambos e apresentando razões e perspectivas para a viabilidade da institucionalização desta última no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. Trataremos primeiramente da gestão ambiental pública brasileira para, posteriormente, adentrarmos a questões mais específicas, como o objeto e o procedimento de cada um dos institutos supramencionados. A pergunta-chave da pesquisa é, portanto, por que o licenciamento ambiental que hoje é praticado no Brasil não pode ser considerado eficiente face à concretização da sustentabilidade socioambiental do desenvolvimento econômico e no que a adoção da avaliação ambiental estratégica contribuiria para a solução desse problema? , sendo essa resposta nosso objetivo geral. No caso da avaliação, pelo fato de não estar eleita como um dos instrumentos de gestão ambiental pela Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente, diversamente do licenciamento, apresentaremos também suas características mais destacadas nos ordenamentos jurídicos alienígenas e um breve panorama do seu destaque crescente no debate internacional. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de natureza exploratória e qualitativa, por meio da investigação pormenorizada da relação entre o licenciamento ambiental e a AAE. Em relação a cada instrumento de gestão ambiental sob análise, o método de abordagem será o dedutivo, com o fim de elucidar as características, o objeto e escopo de cada um. Quanto aos métodos de procedimento, serão utilizados o histórico (levantamento da evolução do licenciamento e da AAE), o comparativo (a partir da análise de outros ordenamentos), o monográfico (com o estudo do desempenho de cada um dos atores sociais envolvidos) e o estruturalista (a abstração de todos os problemas fáticos ao nível de discussão teórica possibilitará a proposição de soluções concretas). Para tanto, a pesquisa bibliográfica e a documental serão utilizadas como técnicas de pesquisa, com base na análise da produção literária a respeito do tema, em livros, periódicos científicos, documentos oficiais e em bases de dados eletrônicos.

Essa pesquisa estuda as contribuições e potencialidades da Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica (AAE) como instrumento de planejamento urbano- territorial capaz de sugerir a implementação econômica, social e ambientalmente sustentável de políticas, planos e programas habitacionais e de prevenir os impactos socioambientais decorrentes, resultando na contribuição para sustentabilidade do desenvolvimento urbano. O objetivo do trabalho é avaliar o Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida no& Brasil e as possíveis contribuições da AAE para a tomada de decisão sobre o programa habitacional em questão. Desse modo, a AAE é analisada como potencial instrumento para assegurar a integração ambiental com o planejamento estratégico do setor habitacional, utilizando, como estudo de caso, o programa Minha Casa Minha Vida (PMCMV). Através da construção de moradias, o PMCMV visa incrementar a indústria da construção civil, criando empregos e contribuindo para a movimentação econômica do país. Entretanto, muitas vezes, o programa é implantado em áreas urbanas sem a devida infraestrutura e os serviços necessários, provocando, muitas vezes, a deterioração ambiental e social da região. Esta pesquisa conclui que a sistemática da AAE para implementar os princípios do desenvolvimento sustentável no PMCMV é, senão essencial, recomendável para a tomada de decisão, pois considera as variáveis ambientais sociais e econômicas nas etapas de planejamento. / This research studies the contributions and potential of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as a tool for urban planning for ensuring economic implementation, social and environmental sustainability of policies, plans and housing programs, as well as preventing environmental impacts, resulting in the contribution to sustainable urban development. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the Minha Casa Minha Vida program in Brazil, and the possible contributions of SEA to decision making regarding this housing program. Thus, SEA is analyzed as a potential instrument to guarantee environmental integration with the strategic planning of the housing sector, using, as a case study, the Minha Casa Minha Vida program (PMCMV). Through the construction of houses, the PMCMV aims to stimulate the construction industry, creating jobs and contributing to the increase of economic activity in the country. However, sometimes the program is deployed in urban areas without adequate infrastructure and services, causing environmental and social deterioration of the region. This research concludes that the SEA process to implement sustainable development principles in the PMCMV is highly recommended, if not essential, to decision making, since it considers the environmental, social and economic variables during planning phases.

A agricultura é considerada uma das atividades antrópicas ambientalmente mais impactantes, sejam esses impactos em âmbito econômico, social e ambiental. Acarreta, portanto, interferência nos meios natural e socioeconômico, tanto positivos quanto negativos. Destaca-se, no Brasil, o cultivo da cana-de-açúcar, que utiliza práticas consideradas impactantes em todo o seu ciclo agrícola e industrial. Com o objetivo de praticar os valores de sustentabilidade, o setor sucro-alcooleiro precisa incorporar a variável ambiental na tomada de decisão desde as etapas iniciais do planejamento, permitindo a construção de cenários preditivos que tornem as atividades humanas menos impactantes negativamente para os sistemas ambientais, econômicos e sociais. Com isso, fazer esforços no sentido de praticar o desenvolvimento sustentável. Assim, o presente trabalho avalia as possíveis contribuições do instrumento de política ambiental Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica - AAE - para o setor agrícola, tendo como referência o Projeto Ambiental Etanol Verde Estratégico (PAEVE), do Governo do Estado de São Paulo, tomando como estudo de caso da região da bacia do rio Pardo. Para tanto, após uma revisão bibliográfica internacional dos conceitos, procedimentos e resultados do uso do instrumento (AAE), com maior enfoque para os casos realizados na agricultura, são analisados os procedimentos utilizados para a elaboração do PAEVE como um plano setorial estratégico da cana-de-açúcar no estado de São Paulo, à luz dos procedimentos comumente utilizados em AAE, por meio de uma matriz de avaliação da qualidade, técnica SWOT e análise crítica. Posteriormente é utilizado Sistemas de Informações Geográfica para avaliar aspectos relacionados ao Zoneamento Agro Ambiental do PAEVE e seus condicionantes técnicos, tendo como estudo de caso a região da bacia do rio Pardo, no estado de São Paulo. Dentre os resultados, merece destaque a indicação dos procedimentos dos planos e programas relacionados ao setor agrícola sucro-alcooleiro que podem ser influenciados pela Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica a fim de endereçar a sustentabilidade ao processo decisório. / Agriculture is considered one of the most environmentally impacting human activities. These impacts are in the economic, social and environmental aspects. Therefore, it entails interference in the natural and socio-economic, both positive and negative issues. It stands out in Brazil the cultivation of sugar cane, which uses practices considered striking all along its life cycle. Aiming to incorporate the environmental variable into decision make since its initial stages of planning, an important task is to build predictive scenarios on sugarcane sector activities for a less harmful development into environmental, economic and social aspects. Thus, this study assesses the possible contributions of environmental policy instrument Strategic Environmental Assessment - SEA - for the agricultural sector, with reference to the Strategic Green Ethanol Project of São Paulo State, in a case study on Pardo´s river basin. To do so, it is established an international review of the use of the instrument, with greater focus on the cases used in agriculture. So, it is analyzed the procedures of Strategic Green Ethanol Project within a SEA framework, throughout a quality assessment matrix, SWOT and critical analysis. Its used Geographic Information System for evaluating aspects related to the Agro Ecological Zoning of Strategic Green Ethanol Project, its conditioning technical factors, having as case study the region of Pardo´s river basin, in the state of São Paulo, Among the results, deserves attention the indication of the procedures in plans and programs related to agricultural sector of sugarcane that could have beneficial influential of Strategic Environmental Assessment towards promoting sustainable development into the decision making.

På grund av de ökade utsläppen av växthusgaser, och att forskare angett klimatförändringar som en av de mest kritiska miljöfrågor människan stött på, har frågan kring utsläpp av växthusgaser blivit ett högaktuellt ämne. År 2016 trädde Parisavtalet i kraft med syfte till att stärka de globala åtgärderna mot klimatförändringar, och hittills har 189 länder skrivit på avtalet. Med anledning av klimatförändringarna och Parisavtalet har denna studie på hur företagsledningen arbetar strategiskt med frågor för att minska utsläpp av växthusgaser på ett fallföretag genomförts. För att kunna besvara studiens frågeställningar har en fallstudie genomförts på ett moderbolag i en koncern som arbetar med tillverkning och försäljning. Data samlades in genom enkäter och telefonintervjuer med totalt sex personer i fallföretagets ledningsgrupp och andra nyckelpersoner på och kring företaget. Litteraturstudier har också genomförts för att samla in tidigare forskning relaterat till ämnet. Enkäterna och intervjuerna har gett en insyn kring hur fallföretaget arbetar med miljö och hållbarhetsfrågor på företaget och i koncernen. Något som har identifierats som ett hinder för företaget är dess fokus på hög tillväxt, vilket har lett till att miljö- och hållbarhetsfrågor har varit lågt prioriterade. Det har även till viss del setts som problematiskt av respondenterna att det inte finns en dedikerad person som arbetar aktivt med dessa frågor på företaget. I studien har teori ställts mot resultatet för att kunna se vilka hinder, utmaningar och möjligheter ett företag har när det kommer till att arbeta strategiskt för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser. Det ges en bild av hur Parisavtalet och andra klimatpolitiska åtgärder kan påverka företag. En visuell modell presenteras som visar sambandet mellan ny miljöreglering, innovation samt information och medvetenhet. Modellen beskriver en pågående process där företag, genom att arbeta med innovation, kan sprida information kring ny teknik och öka medvetenheten om de möjligheter som finns. En spridning av information och ökad medvetenheten kan motivera och underlätta införandet nya miljöregleringar, vilket i sin tur kan främja arbetet med innovation. Det har även tagits fram konkreta förslag på hur företag ska kunna arbeta för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser genom ett miljöledningssystem, miljöbedömningar, produktutveckling, innovation och Supply chain management. / Due to the increased emissions of greenhouse gases, and the fact that researchers have identified climate change as one of the most critical environmental issues man has encountered, the subject of greenhouse gas emissions has become highly topical. In 2016, the Paris Agreement came into force with the aim of strengthening global measures against climate change, and so far 189 countries have signed the agreement. Due to climate change and the Paris Agreement, this study on how corporate management works strategically with issues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a case company has been conducted. To answer the study's questions, a case study has been conducted at a parent company in a group that works with manufacturing and sales. Data was collected through surveys and telephone interviews with a total of six people in the case company's management group and other key people in and around the company. Literature studies have also been conducted to collect previous research related to the subject. The surveys and interviews have provided an insight into how the case company works with environmental and sustainability issues at the company and in the group. Something that has been identified as an obstacle to the company is its focus on high growth, which has resulted in environmental and sustainability issues getting a low priority. It has also, to some extent, been seen as problematic by the respondents that there is not a dedicated person working actively with these issues at the company. In the study, theory was set against the results to be able to see what obstacles, challenges and opportunities a company has when it comes to working strategically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An image has been given of how the Paris Agreement and other climate policy measures can affect companies. A visual model has been presented that shows the connection between new environmental regulation, innovation and information and awareness. The model describes an ongoing process in which companies, by working with innovation, can disseminate information about new technologies and raise awareness of the opportunities that exist. The dissemination of information and increased awareness can motivate and facilitate the introduction of new environmental regulations, which in turn can promote the work on innovation. Concrete proposals have also been made on how companies can work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through an environmental management system, environmental assessments, product development, innovation and Supply chain management.

Förväntan på att företag arbetar aktivt med att minska sin miljöpåverkan växer sig större för var dag. Med en miljöcertifiering kan företag visa sig ansvarsfulla inför sina intressenter och chanserna för en säkrad plats på framtidens marknad kan öka. Miljöcertifikat såsom ISO 14001-standarden inkluderar behovet av ständiga förbättringar av en organisations processer och miljöstrategiskt arbete. Begreppet ständiga förbättringar har sitt ursprung i Toyota Motors framgångsrika arbetssätt - kaizen - och innebär att allt kan göras lite bättre än i nuläget. På så sätt klingar det väl med miljöförbäattringsarbete eftersom vi fortfarande är på en resa mot det mest miljövänliga sättet att leva på. Två företag inom elinstallatörsbranchen har genom den webbaserade applikationen System C2 TM utmärkt sig i sitt arbete med ständiga förbättringar inom miljö. Eftersom en framgångsfaktor för ständiga förbättringar är utbildning kan det antas att dessa två företag har genomgått ett lärande som har lett till denna framgång, men vad som kännetecknat detta lärande är inte specificerat. Syftet med detta examensarbete är därför att undersöka vad en sådan utbildning bör innehålla för att inte bara leda till fler miljöförbättringar, utan även för att skapa förutsättningar för ett lärande inom ekologisk hållbar utveckling. För att generera kunskap kring detta genomfördes kvalitativa fokussamtal i två omgångar, med två  olika företag. Samtalen analyserades med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Resultaten visar att en utbildningsinsats som ämnar leda till ett aktivt miljöförbättringsarbete och ett kontinuerligt lärande ska sträcka sig över flera utbildningstillfällen. Tillfällena i insatsen bör ta vara på verksamhetens kunskap genom inklusion av medarbetare, knyta miljöfrågan till verksamheten, drivas av en engagerad ledning och ta vara på medarbetarnas personliga engagemang. Dessutom ställs krav på företagets kultur i form av att den ska vara öppen för ifrågasättande av rutiner samt drivas av en vilja att utvecklas. Resultaten visar även på likheter mellan konceptet ständiga förbättringar och lärande, och vidare föreslås djupare studier kring dessa likheter. Vidare forskning föreslås även i form av att testa de faktorer som detta examensarbete har resulterat i. / The expectations for a company to actively work on reducing their environmental impact are higher today than ever before. With an environmental certification, companies can show their responsibilities towards the environment to their stakeholders, and improve the chances to securing a position on the future market. An environmental certification, such as the standard ISO 14001, includes the need for continuous improvements to an organization’s processes and strategic environmental work. The term continuous improvements origins from Toyota Motors successful way of working - kaizen. It implies that everything can be madea little better than it is right now. This interpretation of continuous improvements goeswell together with environmental improvements in business since we are still on a journeytowards the most sustainable way of living. Two electrical contracting companies have through the web-based application System C2TM excelled in their work with continuous environmental improvements. Since a success factor to continuous improvements has proven to be education, one can assume that the two studied companies have a learning culture in their workplace that has led to this success. However, this learning culture is not specified. The purpose of this study is to examine what a training session in ecologically sustainable development should involve, not only lead to continuous improvements, but also to continuous learning. To generate knowledge about this, a qualitative study has been made. Two focus group conversations with each of the studied companies were made to gather data about their work with continuous environmental improvements. The data from the focus group conversations were analyzed through a thematic analysis. The results show that a training session that aims to lead to continuous improvements and learning within the organization consists of several sessions. The training sessions should make use of the knowledge within the organization, connect the environmental issue to the organization, involve an engaged leadership, and make use of the personal engagement amongst the coworkers. Apart from this, demands on the company culture are being made in order to create a learning organization. The culture should be open to challenge the existing routines and strive to develop the company to the better. The results from this study show that there are similarities between continuous improvements and learning. Suggested as further research is to examine the similarities between learning and continuous improvements. Another example for further research is to test the factors presented in this study, in a training session about ecologically sustainable development.

För att möta de kommande samhällsutmaningarna, med klimatförändring, miljödegradering och sociala problem, krävs en mer hållbar samhällsutveckling där den fysiska planeringen spelar en stor roll. Översiktsplaner, som regleras i den svenska plan- och bygglagen (2010:900), är kommunernas strategiska dokument och avsiktsförklaring om hur den fysiska miljön i kommunen ska användas, utvecklas och bevaras. Enligt den svenska miljöbalken (1998:808), som är en miljölagstiftning med syfte att främja hållbar utveckling, krävs att en strategisk miljöbedömning utförs av de planer och program som innebär betydande miljöeffekter eller anger förutsättningar för kommande tillstånd, vilket översiktsplaner alltid ska antas medföra. Med anledning av de olika och ibland motstridiga vägledningarna utgivna av myndigheter samt avsaknad av ett bredare hållbarhetsperspektiv i lag och vägledning, har vissa kommuner valt att utvidga den strategiska miljöbedömningen av den senaste översiktsplanen till en så kallad hållbarhetsbedömning. Detta med syftet att miljöbedömningen ska omfatta såväl ekologiska, sociala som ekonomiska konsekvenser. Det finns olika åsikter om hållbarhetsbedömningar. Dels anses hållbarhetsbedömningar vara progressiva, nödvändiga samt att de följer det europeiska direktivet om strategisk miljöbedömning. Dels anses hållbarhetsbedömningar marginalisera miljöeffekternas betydelse och riskera att utelämna lagstadgat innehåll. Det råder således inte konsensus om på vilket sätt hållbarhet ska inkluderas i den strategiska miljöbedömningsprocessen och presenteras i det slutgiltiga dokumentet på bästa möjliga sätt. Ett syfte med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap och förståelse kring den svenska strategiska miljöbedömningsprocessen för översiktsplaner. Ett andra syfte har varit att identifiera och analysera hållbarhetsbedömningars styrkor och svagheter som utveckling- och bedömningsverktyg samt som beslutsunderlag för översiktsplaner. Metoderna som används i studien är kvalitativa där en litteraturstudie, innehållsanalys samt en intervjustudie genomfördes i syftet att undersöka de utmaningar och möjligheter verktyget medför i arbetet med kommunal översiktsplanering. Resultatet av studien visar att strategisk miljöbedömning inte används med dess fulla potential beroende på att den inte genomförs proaktivt och integrerat med besluts- och planeringsprocessen för att identifiera hållbara planalternativ. Detta beror på felaktiga tolkningar av direktiv och lagstiftning samt bristande vägledning för angreppssätt och genomförande. Det har även identifierats avsaknad av lagstiftat innehåll i granskade hållbarhetsbedömningar och att en tillsyn av processens och dokumentets uppfyllelse av krav saknas. Den bredare tolkningen av de ingående aspekterna har identifierats som en möjlighet till utveckling av verktyget, öka överensstämmelsen med EU direktivet och möjliggöra för kommuner att proaktivt arbeta för ett helhetsgrepp om hållbar utveckling och verkställande av hållbarhetsmål. Kunskap och resurser saknas dock inom kommuner och konsulter varvid en översyn av vägledning och samsyn mellan myndigheter och politiker är av stor betydelse. / To meet the upcoming societal challenges, with climate change, environmental degradation and social problems, a more sustainable societal development is required where spatial planning is of great importance. Comprehensive plans, regulated in the Swedish Planning and Building Act (2010:900), are the municipalities' strategic documents and a statement of intent on how the physical environment in the municipality should be used, developed and maintained. According to the Swedish Environmental Code (1998:808), which is an environmental legislation with the aim of promoting sustainable development, a strategic environmental assessment is required to be carried out on plans and programs that have significant environmental effects or plans that specify conditions for future permits, which comprehensive plans are always assumed to do. Due to the different and sometimes contradictory guidelines issued by authorities and the lack of a broader sustainability perspective in law and guidance, some municipalities have chosen to extend the strategic environmental assessment of the latest comprehensive plan to a so-called sustainability assessment, with the aim to include ecological, social and economic consequences. The opinions about sustainability assessments are various. On the one hand, sustainability assessments are considered to be progressive, necessary and that they comply with the EU directive on strategic environmental assessment. On the other hand, sustainability assessments are considered to marginalize the significance of environmental effects and risk omitting statutory content. There is thus no consensus on how sustainability should be included in the strategic environmental assessment process and presented in the final document in the best possible way. One aim with this study is to provide knowledge and understanding about the Swedish strategic environmental assessment process for comprehensive plans. A second aim has been to identify and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of sustainability assessments as a tool for development, assessment and decision-making of comprehensive plans. The methods used in the study are qualitative; a literature study, content analysis and an interview study were conducted with the aim of investigating the challenges and opportunities the tool implies for the work with municipal comprehensive planning. The study shows that strategic environmental assessment is not used to its full potential since it is not done proactively and integrated with the decision and planning process to identify sustainable planning alternatives. This is due to incorrect interpretations of directives and legislation as well as lack of guidance for approaches and implementation. Lack of legislative content has also been identified in audited sustainability assessments and that a supervision of the legality of the process and document is missing. The broader interpretation of the aspects has been identified as an opportunity for the development of the tool, increase the coherence with the EU directive and enable for municipalities to proactively work for a holistic approach to sustainable development and the implementation of sustainability goals. However, there is a lack of knowledge and resources in municipalities and consultancy firms, whereby a review of guidelines and consensus between authorities and politicians are of great importance.