All Swedish state-owned companies have been mandated by the state to establish sustainability targets within 2013. This thesis intends to shed light on the sustainability targets adopted by Vattenfall AB in the areas of carbon emissions, renewables and energy efficiency. In contact with the company, the thesis evaluates the targets in terms of practicability, adequacy and market competition. In other words, it assesses how Vattenfall intends to achieve the targets, whether they raise the “sustainability bar” high enough for the company and how they compare with targets set by competitor companies such as E.ON and Fortum. Furthermore, the thesis identifies room for improvement within Vattenfall’s sustainability work, and makes recommendations to the company, on how to seek improvement. Having the targets and their related plan of action as the focal point, a number of different areas within the domain of corporate sustainability are covered, such as sustainability approach, strategy, work, performance and reporting, while the Swedish state-ownership policy works as a key guideline. The thesis work is based primarily on literature review and analysis of material published by Vattenfall, E.ON and Fortum, the Swedish state ownership policy, corporate energy target setting, and climate and energy policies of the European Union. / Alla svenska statligt ägda företag har av staten ålagts att under 2013 definiera hållbarhetsmål, och att målen ska vara i bruk fr. o m 2014. Föreliggande studie analyserar de hållbarhetsmål som Vattenfall AB har specificerat inom koldioxidutsläpp, förnyelsebara energikällor och energieffektivisering. I samarbete med företaget, utvärderar studien de tre målen utifrån praktiskt genomförande, relevans och marknadskonkurrens. Med andra ord, studien bedömer Vattenfall´s intentioner hur man ska uppnå målen, huruvida de lyfter ”hållbarhetsambitionen” tillräckligt högt för företaget och hur målen är i jämförelse med de mål som satts av konkurrentföretagen E.ON och Fortum. Dessutom, studien identifierar förbättringsutrymmen för Vattenfall´s hållbarhetsarbete och ger rekommendationer för hur företaget kan hitta förbättringsområdena. Genom att ha målen och de kopplade åtgärdsförslagen i centrum, inkluderas ett antal andra områden inom hållbar utveckling, såsom hållbarhetsinriktning, strategi, arbetsinsatser, genomförande och redovisning, samtidigt som den svenska statens ägarpolicy ska fungera som vägledning. Studien är primärt baserad på en litteraturgenomgång och analys av information publicerat av Vattenfall, E.ON och Fortum, den svenska statens ägarpolicy, företagens presenterade energimål, samt klimat- och energipolicies presenterade av Europeiska Unionen.

Global consumption levels currently extend far beyond what planet Earth in terms of natural resources can regenerate in a sustainable manor and will by 2050 reach levels corresponding to what it would require three Earths to sustain. This overexploitation and unsustainable management of the Earth’s resources in combination with the necessity of mitigating climate change and reaching net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 require action across all sectors, not least the manufacturing industry. This thesis covers how large manufacturing enterprises can implement and utilize strategic targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to align with the principles of a Circular Economy (CE), and as a result, improve sustainability and business performance. Based on a case study conducted at Siemens Energy (SE) involving a literature study, interview study, and focus groups, a carefully selected set of strategic circularity targets and KPIs are presented to measure, evaluate, and drive circularity performance within large manufacturing enterprises. Since the thesis’ ambition was to provide valuable insights beyond SE, strategic circularity targets and KPIs specifically directed at SE were further generalized to be universally relevant for academia and other large manufacturing enterprises. Enterprises within the given sector share several key characteristics such as extensive material resource flows and complex value chains, hence strategic targets and KPIs emphasize material efficiency through decreasing virgin material dependency, increasing recirculation rates, and transitioning towards circular business models. While suggested targets and KPIs are universally directed at large manufacturing enterprises, individual organizations are recommended to conduct internal investigations and analyzes to further tailor and adapt strategic targets and KPIs towards the specific enterprise. In addition to strategic targets and KPIs, the thesis also presents an overview of opportunities, benefits, risks, and potential impacts for large manufacturing enterprises aspiring to increase circular initiatives, highlighting key principles to manage risk and capitalize on opportunities. The findings conclude that the main opportunity enabled by CE is to leverage synergies which align environmental, economic, and strategic corporate incentives, with key benefits including aspects such as decarbonization and reduced environmental impact, increased revenues and cost savings, risk management, and new business opportunities. Risks associated with CE include rebound effects, organizational insufficiencies, lack of material quality and safety, as well as a low product performance, which further can lead to potential impacts mitigating the positive effects of CE, or at worst setbacks causing a net negative output from implemented circular measures. In summary, the opportunities and benefits associated with CE are many, but implemented circular measures require risk awareness and continuous management to ensure efficiency.