Environmental concerns and climate change strengthens the need of education for sustainable development. We have both acknowledged a need of more research aimed towards teachers in Swedish primary schools. Therefore, the ambition for this study is to contribute with more knowledge about sustainable development in primary schools with an emphasis on science education. In this qualitative study we interview teachers working in pre-school class and primary school years 1-3 about what they think pupils should learn in education for sustainable development, as well as what their practical approaches are to the subject and what the didactical challenges are. We used semi-structured interviews to interview six teachers from three different schools in a Swedish city. The collected data is analyzed and presented using a thematic analysis and the research questions that are based on the aim for this study. The results of the study are then put in relation to our theoretical perspectives, which are “the three selective traditions in environmental and sustainability education” and “individual and collective responsibility”, to draw conclusions. On this basis we reach the conclusion that teachers want to make it possible for their pupils to make change and that the most important thing in teaching is to make it concrete and close to everyday life. The challenges that the teachers face is that the subject is unprioritized, that there is a lack of didactical material, a need of personal engagement and that the subject is rather complex. Based on our selective traditions we draw further conclusions. Traces of all three selective traditions are visible in the school and in the individual teachers’ teaching. Furthermore, some teachers express that the aim for their education is linked to one tradition, but their actual method is another.