The scope of the care requirement

The plan requires reuse and recycling of materials to increase and sees it as a key component in a broader shift to a circular economy. It also wants ambitious environmental targets to be followed up with sharp legislation, not voluntary measures. A duty of care that explicitly covers resource use as well as cultural and natural values in demolition and excavation is precisely such sharp regulation, and aligns with the plan's requirements for environmentally smart construction.

• increased material reusedecisive»Återanvändning och återvinning av material behöver öka.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reuse and recycling of materials need to increase.”
• shift to circular economy»Det är en nyckeldel i ett bredare skifte till cirkulär ekonomi och« (party programme ↗)“It is a key component in a broader shift to a circular economy and”
• sharp environmental legislation»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental targets that are followed up with sharp legislation and practical work.”
• environmentally smart construction»Med större kontroll och planering från samhällets sida, kan byggandet både öka i takt och bli miljösmart och lagra kol istället för att släppa ut koldioxid.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“With greater control and planning from society's side, construction can both increase at pace and be environmentally smart and store carbon instead of emitting carbon dioxide.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme demands that environmental considerations be built into production processes from the outset and that natural resources be used more efficiently, since resources today are exploited beyond the limit of sustainability. The counter-proposal's requirement that the duty of care shall explicitly cover resource use and cultural and natural values aligns with this. The plan says nothing about whether ongoing government work makes expansion unnecessary.

• environmental consideration from the startdecisive»Hänsynen till miljöns krav ska byggas in i produktionsprocesserna redan från början.« (party programme ↗)“Consideration of environmental requirements shall be built into production processes from the start.”
• efficient resource use»Naturtillgångarna måste användas mer effektivt och energiproduktionen ställas om.« (party programme ↗)“Natural resources must be used more efficiently and energy production converted.”
• unsustainable resource use»naturtillgångar och ekosystem utnyttjas i dag över gränsen för det långsiktigt hållbara« (party programme ↗)“natural resources and ecosystems are exploited today beyond the limit of long-term sustainability”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that construction occurs in a land-efficient, resource-efficient and climate-smart way and that cultural and natural values are protected in societal development. It also wants what we use to last longer and be repairable in a sharing economy. A duty of care that explicitly covers resource use, building waste and cultural and natural values is precisely what the plan calls for.

• resource-efficient constructiondecisive»yteffektivt, resurseffektivt och klimatsmart sätt.« (party programme ↗)“land-efficient, resource-efficient and climate-smart way.”
• cultural and natural values protected»naturvärden ska värnas och lyftas fram.« (party programme ↗)“natural values shall be protected and highlighted.”
• circular economy»Vi vill skapa en delningsekonomi, där det vi köper håller längre, och går att reparera till lägre kostnad.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to create a sharing economy where what we buy lasts longer and can be repaired at lower cost.”
• nature in the built environment»investera i mer natur och grönska i städer och tätorter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“invest in more nature and greenery in cities and built-up areas.”

The plan wants Sweden to become the world's most resource-efficient country, but explicitly states regulatory simplifications and support as the means to get there, not expanded requirements in building codes. It also establishes that climate work cannot wait for expensive and complicated regulations and that the Environmental Code should be reformed in a simplifying direction. An expanded duty of care requirement for demolition and excavation thus goes against the plan's chosen path, even though the goal of circular economy is shared.

• circular economy through regulatory simplificationdecisive»Sverige ska bli världens mest resurseffektiva land och ekonomin mer cirkulär. Med rätt stöd och regelförenklingar kan vi återvinna och återbruka allt från kläder till mineral och metaller.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall become the world's most resource-efficient country and the economy more circular. With the right support and regulatory simplifications, we can recover and reuse everything from clothes to minerals and metals.”
• fewer complicated regulations»Klimatet kan inte vänta på dyra och krångliga regelverk. Det är dags att halvera tiden det tar att få tillstånd för gröna investeringar och reformera miljöbalken så att ett projekts klimatnytta ges större vikt i miljöprövningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Climate cannot wait for expensive and complicated regulations. It is time to halve the time it takes to get permits for green investments and reform the Environmental Code so that a project's climate benefit is given greater weight in environmental review.”
• strong property rights»Brott mot äganderätten, med konfiskatoriska och godtyckliga beskattningar och ingrepp, underminerar förtroendet och långsiktigheten i samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Violations of property rights, with confiscatory and arbitrary taxation and intrusions, undermine confidence and long-term thinking in society.”

The party programme undertakes that the environmental impact of waste shall be reduced through functioning reuse and recycling and that basic raw materials shall circulate in the production system, which carries the requirement that the care requirement covers resource use. The protection of natural and cultural values in exploitation also has support in the plan. At the same time the plan wants to simplify building regulations, which pulls in the opposite direction and makes the conclusion uncertain.

• recycling and circular economydecisive»Avfallets miljöpåverkan ska minskas genom fungerande återanvändning och återbruk.« (party programme ↗)“The environmental impact of waste shall be reduced through functioning reuse and recycling.”
• protect nature and diversity»Då behöver vi fortsätta arbetet med att skydda både värdefull natur och den biologiska mångfalden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Then we need to continue the work of protecting both valuable nature and biological diversity.”
• natural and cultural values in construction»Vid förtätning av städer måste grönområden få en självklar plats.« (party programme ↗)“When densifying cities, green areas must have a natural place.”
• simplified building regulations»Byggnormerna bör förenklas« (party programme ↗)“Building regulations should be simplified”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that waste management primarily should start from preventing waste and that valuable cultural and natural environments should be handled carefully so that they are preserved for the future. Stewardship requires a long-term holistic perspective with respect for coming generations. That the care requirement explicitly covers resource use as well as cultural and natural values therefore follows from the plan, with the reservation that rules should not create unnecessary obstacles to housing construction.

• prevent waste firstdecisive»Avfallshantering ska främst utgå från att förebygga avfall« (party programme ↗)“Waste management shall primarily start from preventing waste”
• careful handling of cultural values»Värdefulla kultur- och naturmiljöer ska hanteras« (party programme ↗)“Valuable cultural and natural environments shall be handled”
• stewardship across generations»långsiktig helhetssyn med respekt för vår samtida omgivning och kommande generationer.« (party programme ↗)“long-term holistic perspective with respect for our present surroundings and coming generations.”
• no unnecessary building obstacles»inte skapa onödiga hinder för bostadsbyggande och« (party programme ↗)“not create unnecessary obstacles to housing construction and”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The counter-proposal wants to expand the duty of care during demolition and excavation to explicitly include resource use as well as cultural and natural values, which places new demands on builders. The plan's line is simplification: advanced detailed plans shall be replaced by simpler building plans, bureaucracy is drastically reduced and more homes are built, with ownership as the guiding principle for how the owner can use their property. An expanded duty of care goes in the opposite direction. Therefore the demand is rejected, on derived grounds.

• simpler building rulesdecisive»Ersätta avancerade detaljplaner med enklare byggplaner« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Replace advanced detailed plans with simpler building plans”
• less red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one-third of companies' administrative costs and one-third of bureaucracy”
• more homes»Vi ska se till att det byggs fler bostäder – även strandnära« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We shall see to it that more homes are built – also near the coast”
• ownership guiding principle»principen att den som äger också ska ha rätt att använda sitt ägande efter eget huvud ska vara vägledande« (party programme ↗)“the principle that the person who owns also shall have the right to use their property according to their own judgment shall be guiding”

The plan's commitment is to simplify and speed up building processes and review the extensive regulations and requirements that govern building, not to expand them. An expanded due diligence requirement that explicitly covers resource use and cultural and natural values instead places new requirements on builders and demolition work. The plan's care for cultural values in the built environment is a counterweight, but the rule-simplification line weighs more heavily.

• simplify building regulationsdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill underlätta bostadsbyggande genom att förenkla och snabba på beslutsprocesser och se över de omfattande regelverk och krav som styr bostadsbyggande.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to facilitate housing construction by simplifying and speeding up decision processes and reviewing the extensive regulations and requirements that govern housing construction.”
• simpler planning processes»Anpassa och förenkla regler och processer för planering och byggnation« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Adapt and simplify rules and processes for planning and construction”
• review building standards»Nybyggnation kan underlättas genom att se över byggnormer och öka konkurrensen på byggmarknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“New construction can be facilitated by reviewing building standards and increasing competition in the construction market.”
• cultural values in built environment»Sverigedemokraterna vill verka för trivsamma och trygga områden med klassisk arkitektur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to work for pleasant and safe areas with classical architecture.”