In 1997, the Swedish government proclaimed that sustainable development (SD) should be the lodestar for all public activities (SOU 1997, 105). The following year sustainable development was explicitly introduced as an overarching aim in Swedish regional development politics (Regeringens proposition 1998). The 21 Swedish regions were thus requested to implement and integrate a new goal and perspective, namely SD, as part of their traditional responsibilities to coordinate and promote regional economic growth and employment.