Activities

The Riksdag Administration strives to create the best possible conditions for the work of the Riksdag and the MPs by:

• providing efficient support to the work in the Chamber and the parliamentary committees, etc;
• ensuring efficient support and services to members of the Riksdag and party secretariats;
• promoting knowledge about the Riksdag and its work;
• maintaining and preserving the buildings and collections of the Riksdag, and
• being an efficient and forward-looking authority and employer.

Public procurement

The Riksdag Administration is obliged to comply with the Public Procurement Act. This means that the Riksdag Administration's procurement processes must be conducted according to business principles, and that the available competition on the market should be made use of.

The Public Procurement Act (2007:1091) is based on principles of EC law.
The Swedish Competition Authority is the authority responsible for supervision of public procurement procedures.

Accessibility

People with disabilities should be able to work on the same terms as others at the Riksdag. It should also be possible for them to visit the Riksdag and view and learn of the Riksdag's activities on the same terms as others. This is set out in the Riksdag's accessibility policy.

The policy sets out that:

• the Riksdag Administration shall aim to organise and run its activities so that they are accessible for all. This means that it shall seek to follow the Swedish Agency for Disability Policy Coordination's (Myndigheten för delaktighet) guidelines on accessibility. The Riksdag Administration shall show consideration and respect for the equal value of all people in all contexts;
• the Riksdag shall be a place of work where people with functional disabilities can work on the same terms as others. This means that the working conditions shall be adapted to people's different physical and psychosocial preconditions. It should be possible for people with functional disabilities to visit the Riksdag and receive information on the same terms as others.

Responsibility for the policy is divided as follows:

• The Secretary-General of the Riksdag is ultimately responsible for ensuring that that Riksdag Administration works to ensure that all aspects of its activities are accessible for all. This means that the Secretary-General establishes the Riksdag Administration's accessibility policy.
• All managers are responsible for accessibility within their respective areas. This means that they should plan and implement concrete measures to achieve the policy's goals and the action plan for accessibility.
• All employees are to be acquainted with and to work according to the policy.
• A coordinator has been appointed with the task of coordinating and following up measures and of keeping the Secretary-General up-to-date on the current situation.

Submit your opinions

Please contact the Riksdag Information Service if you have any opinions or complaints regarding accessibility at the Riksdag.

Contact the Riksdag

Equal treatment

The Riksdag Administration aims to be a modern workplace with an open work climate that safeguards the equal value and rights of all employees.

The Riksdag Administration works systematically with all forms of discrimination, but shall also take long-term measures to promote greater gender equality and diversity.

Its work with equal treatment is based on the Discrimination Act. According to this Act, employers are to promote equal rights and opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion or other belief. The Administration's equal treatment work also includes preventing and stopping discrimination on the other grounds for discrimination that are regulated in the Act: gender identity or expression, disability, sexual orientation or age.

Equal Treatment Plan

The Riksdag Administration's Equal Treatment Plan for 2014-18 contains goals and measures relating to working conditions, opportunities to combine parenthood and work, harassment, internal mobility and recruitment. Efforts to prevent unwarranted pay differences etc. are presented in the Administration's salary survey. Measures to combat discrimination on the grounds of disability are dealt with in a special plan of action for accessibility.

Here are some of the goals in the new equal treatment plan:

• in as far as it is possible, managers should plan activities so as to enable employees wishing to take time off to celebrate festivals that are not public holidays in the Swedish calendar to do so. These may include festivals that are celebrated in other religions or cultures;
• the Riksdag Administration shall provide gender-neutral toilets in all of the various buildings;
• measures shall be taken to increase the employees' awareness and knowledge of different grounds for discrimination;measures shall be taken to achieve a more even gender balance and greater ethnic diversity in all professional areas within the Administration by encouraging internal mobility;
• measures shall be taken to further reduce the risk of discrimination in connection with recruitment;
• measures shall be taken to increase the number of employees who were born in another country or who have two parents who were born in another country;
• the Riksdag Administration shall ensure that the Discrimination Act's ban on discrimination on grounds of functional disability is observed. By taking reasonable support and adaptation measures, the Riksdag Administration shall ensure that employees, job-seekers or trainees with functional disabilities are offered comparable conditions to people without functional disabilities.

Abusive treatment

The Riksdag Administration also has a policy on abusive treatment as well as guidelines on how to deal with and examine cases of abusive treatment.

Who is responsible?

The Secretary-General of the Riksdag has overall responsibility for ensuring that the Administration observes the Discrimination Act and the Equal Treatment Plan. The Head of the Human Resources Department or the employee's immediate superior are responsible for implementation.

Environmental work

The Riksdag Administration was granted environmental certification under the ISO 1400 environmental standard in 2009. Continuous improvement is a basic requirement for being granted certification. Since 2009, the Riksdag Administration has succeeded in reducing its energy and paper consumption annually, as well as carbon dioxide emissions from travel. Certification also means that external environmental audits are carried out.

The parliamentary process is not affected by the environmental management system. The parliamentary process is defined as the work of the members of the Riksdag, party group secretariats and the decision-making process in the Chamber.

Environmental policy

As part of its efforts, the Riksdag Administration has adopted an environmental policy. According to this policy, the Administration is to take measures to minimise its impact on the environment, prevent ill health and utilise resources efficiently.

Environmental objectives

The Riksdag Board has established overall environmental objectives for the Riksdag Administration for 2019-2022. These are based on the national environmental quality objectives that have been decided by the Riksdag, and on the Riksdag Administration's environmental considerations.
The following overall environmental objectives apply for the 2019–2022 period:

• To reduce emissions of greenhouse gases;
• To minimise the occurrence of hazardous substances;
• To reduce energy consumption;
• To reduce the amount of waste; and
• To limit environmental impact as a result of sustainable purchases.

Riksdag buildings

In connection with the Riksdag Administration's renovations of Riksdag buildings, a number of environmental programmes have been developed that are based on the Swedish Green Building Council scheme. This means that Riksdag buildings are examined on the basis of energy consumption, indoor environment and materials. The recently renovated Mercurius block in the Old Town fulfils the requirements that need to be met for a building to be classified as a Green Building.