All operations regulated by permit must return annual environmental reports as required by Chapter 26, section 20, of the Environmental Code. Beginning in 2007, reports can be submitted electronically via the Swedish Portal for Environmental Reporting (SMP).The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency obtains information from the SMP for its international reports.
The Swedish Portal for Environmental Reporting, SMP, helps Sweden meet its obligations under the Aarhus Convention and the EC Directive on Public Access to Environmental Information. The environmental reports are an important information source for the public, for decision-makers, for scientists and for other stakeholders with an interest in environmental issues at international, national, regional and local levels.
Helps in supervision and reporting
Authorities which have the responsibility for inspection and inforcement can visit SMP to review environmental reports and extract up-to-date emission data. The Swedish EPA can also extract data for its international reporting.
Apart from the needs of international reporting, the information collected by SMP is used:
- by supervisory authorities
- for compiling official environmental statistics
- for monitoring progress towards national environmental quality objectives.
Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers
Sweden maintains a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, which makes emission data available to the public. Information comes from the environmental reports and is extracted directly from the SMP site.
Information from the environmental reports is also contributed to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR), which publishes data on emissions. This information too will be extracted from the SMP site.