Sustainable construction industry

Alongside the rapid pace of building in Sweden during the 2010s, a worrying development has been observed concerning how homes and infrastructure are being built. Several investigations have shown occurrences of tax avoidance, illegal workers and salary dumping as well as a lack of respect for human rights along the supply chain at construction sites.

Banks are an important component of the new construction ecosystem and as part of our shared responsibility, and in dialogue with the construction industry, Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, Nordea, SBAB, SEB, Sparbankerna and Swedbank have started an industry-wide initiative. The initiative aims to counteract and reduce economic crime in the construction industry by considering a number of new types of factors in lending and thereby set more stringent requirements for the bank’s customers.

The initiative aims to achieve increased control over who conducts work on construction sites across the entire supply chain. Through the initiative, the banks want to work together to make a difference and to help make the construction industry more sustainable. The initiative was implemented in november 2023.