Mercedeh Sanati
From Saturday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Monday, Sep. 28, 2009 02:14AM EDT
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.
EATING YOUR GREENS
Another establishment specializing in natural cuisine is the famed Operakällaren, a royal favourite. (Chef Stefano Catenacci presides over all banquets held at Stockholm's Royal Castle.) It was the first Michelin-starred eatery to receive Scandinavia's coveted Svanen eco-label. “To get the Svanen certification you have to comply to strict guidelines concerning waste, and electricity, water, and chemical usage,” says Claes Anerud, managing director at Nobis, the restaurant's parent company, “You also have to buy a certain percentage of ecologically farmed and locally produced products – which isn't always easy when your restaurant is in the middle of a city.”
ORGANIC FASHION
In the realm of fashion, Johanna Hofring, the serene and willowy owner of Ekovarahuset (literally, the House of Organic) is a Stockholm eco-icon. With an earthy, yet chic collection for adults and children, her tiny boutique in the old town is the go-to place for organic outfits. Hofring is quick to point out the few exceptions: zippers, some buttons, and threads. “We haven't found good alternatives for them yet.”
She has a shop in New York as well, but worries that Americans may not yet have embraced Stockholm's philosophy on clean living. “In New York, there isn't the same concern for sustainability. They seem to be in a bubble,” Hofring says. “Here, we've been aware of organic materials for years. We believe that people are better off buying a few high-quality garments that don't deplete our natural resources and that can be repaired and recycled over time.”
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
Does Stockholm sound too virtuous to be true? It is, after all, a big city with inevitable big-city woes. You'll see litter and graffiti near the main train station. A surprising number of shoppers tote plastic bags. And even though bicycles and eco-cabs (a snazzier version of rickshaws) can be seen all around town, taxis and cars still rule the roads.
Still, Europe's Green Capital is setting a good example for cities around the world. On a sunny Saturday morning, Stockholm native Maria Booth and her husband Mark are at one of the many waterfront cafés along Kungsholms Strand with their 18-month-old daughter. Kayakers whiz past and a fisherman has thrown a line in off the dock. “Our daughter can play nearby while we have a coffee. Even if she picks up something from the ground and puts it in her mouth I'm not really fussed,” Booth says. And, she adds, tongue only half in cheek, “Stockholm's dirt is much too clean to be harmful.”
