Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Environmental protection expenditure accounts (EPEA) describe transactions related to preventing, reducing and eliminating pollution and any other degradation of the environment. The main aggregate resulting from EPEA is national expenditure on environmental protection (NEEP), which measures the resources dedicated by resident businesses, households and government to protecting the natural environment. This aggregate covers uses of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation) for environmental protection activities, and net transfers to the rest of the world for environmental protection. Countries are required to report on: output, consumption, imports and exports of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation and acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets) for the production of EP services, transfers for environmental protection.
3.2. Classification system
The scope of environmental protection is defined according to the classification of environmental purposes (CEP). The mandatory reporting is defined by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1131 of 26 March 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011.
For EPEA data reporting in CEP, Eurostat has introduced an ad hoc breakdown of Cross-cutting and other environmental purposes (CEP 08), i.e. the share “of which for environmental protection” (CEP 08 EP) for voluntary reporting to ensure the reconciliation with previous classification (CEPA) and allow the calculation of total environmental protection aggregates including administration, management as well as education, training and information (cross-cutting activities) related to environmental protection.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Data should be reported by institutional sector: general government, corporations, households and the rest of the world. NPISH (non-profit institutions serving households) are not separately identified and are included under general government. The corporations sector is divided between: "corporations as specialist and secondary producers of market EP services" and "corporations other, including corporations as producers of ancillary EP output"; productive activities of households are included under corporations as market producers.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The construction of the EPEA closely follows the concepts, definitions and accounting rules of the core national accounts. The SEEA-CF 2012 (section 4.2) identifies environmental protection activities as those activities whose primary purpose is the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution and other forms of degradation of the environment. These activities include, but are not limited to, the prevention, reduction or treatment of waste and wastewater; the prevention, reduction or elimination of air emissions; the treatment and disposal of contaminated soil and groundwater; the prevention or reduction of noise and vibration levels; the protection of biodiversity and landscapes, including of their ecological functions; monitoring of the quality of the natural environment (air, water, soil and groundwater); research and development on environmental protection; and the general administration, training and teaching activities oriented towards environmental protection.
3.5. Statistical unit
Environmental protection expenditure accounts present data, in a way that is compatible with the data reported under ESA, on the expenditure for environmental protection, i.e. the economic resources devoted by resident units to environmental protection. EPEA use statistical units from national accounts. National accounts define and use various statistical units and groupings of units that interact economically (see ESA 2010, §§ 1.54-1.56, 2.01-2.03).
3.6. Statistical population
The statistical population is the national economy as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). It includes all economic activities undertaken by resident units to produce environmental protection specific services. While some economic activities may be undertaken only for a single purpose, many activities are undertaken for a variety of purposes. Following general principles of classification, activities are deemed to be environmental activities only if the primary purpose of the activity is consistent with the definitions of the environmental protection.
3.7. Reference area
The reference area of the statistics is Sweden. The reference area is the economic territory as defined in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). A unit is said to be a resident unit of a country when it has its centre of economic interest in the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (1 year or more) in economic activities in that territory.
3.8. Coverage - Time
2021-2023
3.9. Base period
Not requested for this metadata collection.
Macro economic variables (output, intermediate consumption, investment etc.) are measured in million units of national currency.
The reference period for EPEA data is the calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
EPEA accounts are compiled and reported in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts (EEEA) and subsequent amendments. EPEA follow internationally agreed concepts and definitions set out in the SEEA Central Framework (2012), the international statistical standard adopted by the UN Statistical Commission. They present data in a way that is compatible with National Accounts (ESA, 2010).
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
In the area of statistics, there are laws and regulations about data sharing and personal data processing. These are the Act (2001:99) and the Ordinance (2001:100) on official statistics and the following Ordinance (2004:943).
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
The Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics) applies for EPEA.
The Swedish law (chapter 24 section 8) regarding publications and confidenctiality (2009:400) and Regulations on data protection (1998:204, 2001:99 and 2001:100) are also applied.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
The rule applied for treating the microdata and macrodata is based on the p-percentage rule.
8.1. Release calendar
The release of statistics in EPEA for Corporations, which is based on a survey, is planned a year before each publication and then it is published in the publication calender in the official website of Statistics Sweden, which is publicly accessible.
8.2. Release calendar access
The release calender is publicly accessible in the official website of Statistics Sweden, See the calendar.
8.3. Release policy - user access
EPEA statistics for Corporations (Table S11-S12) are dessiminated nationally in the Swedish Environmental Accounts webpage, SCB website - Environmental protection expenditure. A newsletter is published the day of the release, which is also available to the press. Users can be informed about the next publishing both in the newsletter and the official webpage.
Statistics Sweden publish environmental protection expenditure for Corporations, which means within NACE B: Mining and quarrying, NACE C: Manufacturing industries, NACE D: Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, and NACE E36: Water collection, treatment and supply. See : SCB website - Environmental-protection-expenditure.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
There is no publication of data with the same level of detail as Eurostat. Please see the above comment and link.
Output data for the reference year is compared to data reported for the reference year of the previous year. All macro checks in the EPEA questionnaire (thus including plausibility checks etc) are applied and errors and warnings that appear are usually adressed. If errors are detected, calculations are revised as described above. If no errors occur, the reason for the check error/warning is documented.The production methods for calculation of values within the EPEA tables are developed in close collaboration with the National Accounts to ensure accuracy and consistency.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The overall quality of the statistical outputs is considered high.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Not all EPEA data are published on SCB website. The results of the survey on EPE of ancillary producers is usually published in October every year on www.scb.se and it is mainly used by other government agencies and researchers.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
User satisfaction is discussed twice a year together with organisations that are users of the statistics of environmental subsidies and similar transfers.
12.3. Completeness
The scope and frequency of EPEA data collection is set out under Regulation (EC) No. 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts. The EPEA questionnaire seeks also more detailed information on breakdowns by environmental activity and a number of additional variables that are reported on a voluntary basis. Sweden reports all mandatory items and a number of voluntary items. In the current data collection more voluntary data are transmitted, i.e. data on exports on products for the voluntary CEPAs.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The underlying data is of good quality for the purposes of the data itself. In 2020, a Eurostat Grant project was performed to improve the calculation system and thus, to improve the accuracy. The project resulted in revisions for all EPEA tables reported in 2020. Improvements in the survey on EPE of ancillary producers in order to provide more accurate estimates of CEPA 5 was performed in 2023. Data for CEPA 5 and summ of CEPA 7-9 were revised for years 2018-2021. Finally, in Table 5 for households, a first attempt to estimate P3_EPS in CEPA 1, based on a modeling, regarding the use of electrical vehicles was performed in 2023. During 2025 CEPA was replaced with CEP.
13.2. Sampling error
Most of EPEA compilation is based on official statistics. A survey is done to collect data for corporations (table S11-S12). The calculation of sampling error is based on a mathematical formula that can be found in page 9 in the following document (in Swedish): SCB website.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3. Non-sampling error
EPEA accounts are compiled using a range of primary statistical sources. These are mainly based on other official statistics. Only Tables for S11-S12 in EPEA accounts are compiled by using a survey. The survey covers companies with 50+ employees. It is sent to a sample of companies of this size which usually corresponds to 40-45% of the total number of companies. The survey covers 100% the companies with 250+ employees. Data for companies with 49 or less employees are estimated by a model. A survey is sent to a sample of these companies (with 49 or less employees) when it is considered necessary (for example, when the total number of the existing companies of this size has drastically changed) in order to avoid or correct any model assumption errors. For the companies that participate in the survey there is an imputation rule which applies to those companies that do not fill in the survey in order to avoid understimation errors in the collected data.
13.3.1. Coverage error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.2. Measurement error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.3. Non response error
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
13.3.4. Processing error
The errors in processing contribute to the total uncertainty being considered negligible. Review and processing of the registered material has been carried out. A number of plausibility checks are included in the form. Objects flagged in the checks are investigated manually and contact with respondents is made when necessary. The production system used to collect data has built-in checks that signal errors in the event of deviations or if companies have left text comments. The review is based on these checks and comparisons with the previous year. Outliers, i.e. objects with correct but deviating values, are handled partly to reduce the selection error and partly to avoid unreasonable results. The handling consists of adjusting weights. The weight is set to 1 for outliers and adjusted for other objects in the affected stratum.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Data for companies with 49 or less employees are estimated by a model. A survey is sent to a sample of these companies (with 49 or less employees) when it is considered necessary (for example, when the total number of the existing companies of this size has drastically changed) in order to avoid or correct any model assumption errors.
14.1. Timeliness
EPEA results are calculated and finalized at T+24 months because they depend on the availability of multiple data sources. The annual National Accounts are finalized at T+17 months, this is one of the main data sources of EPEA. An other main data source, the survey on EPE of ancillary producers, which may contain revised time series, is published in October every year, and these latest updates are also implemented in the EPEA before transmission in December. iii) Not all data are disseminated nationally - we only link to Eurostat website from www.scb.se. We have discussed this with our user council and they considered this as an appropriate measure. Resources need to be prioritized in other areas.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
T+24 months
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
T+24 months
14.2. Punctuality
The data were delivered to Eurostat on 23 DEC 2025. The reporting deadline for EPEA to Eurostat is 31 December.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The data concern the entire Sweden, it is not regionally collected, and all data is collected by the same actor.The geographical comparability is therefore considered to be good.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Due to new NACE reporting requirements (implemented in 2022 data collection) we are in position to transmit data only for the reference years 2021-2023.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The same concept and definitions, statistical units and breakdowns as the input data so there are no differences between the statistical outputs in question and other related statistical outputs.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Not requested for this metadata collection.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Yes NA data is used in the EPEA and these are allocated using various distribution keys to fit in with EPEA.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The same concept and definitions, statistical units and breakdowns as the input data so there are no differences between the statistical outputs in question and other related statistical outputs.
The survey on EPE of ancillary producers, necessary to collect data for EPEA S11-S12, requires 27 weeks of work, full time equivalents, different groups of employees are involved. The compilation of the EPEA tables including Questionaire, Quality report, transmission and validation procedure as well as participation in Eurostat's webinars require around 10 weeks of work, full time equivalents.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Have you revised in this data transmission the data previously validated by Eurostat? If yes, please indicate the reasons and average size of revisions.
Yes, we have revised data for the year 2022 in S11_S12 corporations due to improvements in our calculation methods. The average size of revision is estimated as small.
Please describe the revision policy for EPEA data (if any).
17.2. Data revision - practice
Data are revised in case of an error detection or a new source of data in order to assure the data quality. These revisions are not planned and do not occur often. In the case of a detected error Statistics Sweden's policy for handling errors is followed.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not requested for this metadata collection.
18.1. Source data
Source data - detailed - General government and NPISH
Statistics for the public sector, primary municipalities and non-profit institutions serving households (including and excluding COFOG function 5) are provided from the National Accounts as well as the state budget, municipal accounts, environmentally-motivated subsidy statistics, environmental sector statistics (EGSS) and the NPISH survey.
Source data - detailed – Corporations (specialist and ancillary)
Data for "Corporations as specialist and secondary producers of market EP services" are provided by the Structural Business Statistics and the National Accounts.
Data for ancillary producers are provided by a special survey on EPE. This is an annual survey.
Source data - detailed - Household
Data are provided by the National Accounts, housing statistics as well as fees and charges for waste and wastewater, price statistics about vehicles and vehicle registration database.
Source data - detailed - other macro-economic data (import, export, VAT etc.)
Data for total supply of environmental protection services are provided by the National Accounts. This includes data on imports and exports as well as VAT and other taxes less subsidies for product groups 37-39 excl 38.3. Data on exports on products in CEP 0601 (CEPA 5), CEP 0502 (CEPA 6), the sum of CEP 0602, CEP 07, CEP 08 (sum of 7-9) are provided from EGSS.
Source data - detailed - national expenditure on environmental protection NEEP
(Please provide information + DELETE THE TEXT IN THIS BRACKET):
Source data - detailed – other information
Data for environmental tranfers are provided through datasets also used to produce statistics for environmentally-related subsidies which provides the basis for this table. These are collected from state-budget statistics.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annually.
18.3. Data collection
The survey on EPE of ancillary producers, necessary to collect data for EPEA tables 3 is an on-linne survey. The survey is sent to a representative number of companies in every NACE branch of ancillary producers with a size of 50+ employees. All the existing companies in Sweden with 250+ employees are obliged to participate in the survey. Companies with 49 or less employees are estimated by a model based on survey data from 5 years ago and aligned with the survey data for companies with 50+ employees for every year. Companies which send back a survey without answers are imputed.
18.4. Data validation
i) Data is collected from reliable sources applying high standards with regard to the methodology and ensuring a high degree of comparability. Statistics Sweden applies the Eurostat code of practice and has implemented UNECE’s Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) in the production processes. Data collected for all reference years is compared to data for all reference years collected last year. Any differences are analyzed and documented. In (rare) cases when errors are found, indata are revised and collected again. ii) Output data for the reference year is compared to data reported for the reference year of the previous year. All differences are analyzed and documented. In case of detected errors, calculations are revised and the updated output is compared again etc., until no errors remain in output. All macro checks in the EPEA questionnaire (thus including plausibility checks etc) are applied and all errors and warnings that appear are adressed. If errors are detected, calculations are revised as described above. If no errors occur, the reason for the check error/warning is documented. Our production methods for calculation of values within the EPEA tables are developed in close collaboration with the National Accounts to ensure accuracy and consistency.
18.5. Data compilation
Imputation is applied to companies that have not answered the survey. A model is used for companies with 49 or less employees.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not requested for this metadata collection.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not requested for this metadata collection.
No further comments.
Environmental protection expenditure accounts (EPEA) describe transactions related to preventing, reducing and eliminating pollution and any other degradation of the environment. The main aggregate resulting from EPEA is national expenditure on environmental protection (NEEP), which measures the resources dedicated by resident businesses, households and government to protecting the natural environment. This aggregate covers uses of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation) for environmental protection activities, and net transfers to the rest of the world for environmental protection. Countries are required to report on: output, consumption, imports and exports of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation and acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets) for the production of EP services, transfers for environmental protection.
22 December 2025
The construction of the EPEA closely follows the concepts, definitions and accounting rules of the core national accounts. The SEEA-CF 2012 (section 4.2) identifies environmental protection activities as those activities whose primary purpose is the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution and other forms of degradation of the environment. These activities include, but are not limited to, the prevention, reduction or treatment of waste and wastewater; the prevention, reduction or elimination of air emissions; the treatment and disposal of contaminated soil and groundwater; the prevention or reduction of noise and vibration levels; the protection of biodiversity and landscapes, including of their ecological functions; monitoring of the quality of the natural environment (air, water, soil and groundwater); research and development on environmental protection; and the general administration, training and teaching activities oriented towards environmental protection.
Environmental protection expenditure accounts present data, in a way that is compatible with the data reported under ESA, on the expenditure for environmental protection, i.e. the economic resources devoted by resident units to environmental protection. EPEA use statistical units from national accounts. National accounts define and use various statistical units and groupings of units that interact economically (see ESA 2010, §§ 1.54-1.56, 2.01-2.03).
The statistical population is the national economy as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). It includes all economic activities undertaken by resident units to produce environmental protection specific services. While some economic activities may be undertaken only for a single purpose, many activities are undertaken for a variety of purposes. Following general principles of classification, activities are deemed to be environmental activities only if the primary purpose of the activity is consistent with the definitions of the environmental protection.
The reference area of the statistics is Sweden. The reference area is the economic territory as defined in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). A unit is said to be a resident unit of a country when it has its centre of economic interest in the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (1 year or more) in economic activities in that territory.
The reference period for EPEA data is the calendar year.
The underlying data is of good quality for the purposes of the data itself. In 2020, a Eurostat Grant project was performed to improve the calculation system and thus, to improve the accuracy. The project resulted in revisions for all EPEA tables reported in 2020. Improvements in the survey on EPE of ancillary producers in order to provide more accurate estimates of CEPA 5 was performed in 2023. Data for CEPA 5 and summ of CEPA 7-9 were revised for years 2018-2021. Finally, in Table 5 for households, a first attempt to estimate P3_EPS in CEPA 1, based on a modeling, regarding the use of electrical vehicles was performed in 2023. During 2025 CEPA was replaced with CEP.
Macro economic variables (output, intermediate consumption, investment etc.) are measured in million units of national currency.
Imputation is applied to companies that have not answered the survey. A model is used for companies with 49 or less employees.
Source data - detailed - General government and NPISH
Statistics for the public sector, primary municipalities and non-profit institutions serving households (including and excluding COFOG function 5) are provided from the National Accounts as well as the state budget, municipal accounts, environmentally-motivated subsidy statistics, environmental sector statistics (EGSS) and the NPISH survey.
Source data - detailed – Corporations (specialist and ancillary)
Data for "Corporations as specialist and secondary producers of market EP services" are provided by the Structural Business Statistics and the National Accounts.
Data for ancillary producers are provided by a special survey on EPE. This is an annual survey.
Source data - detailed - Household
Data are provided by the National Accounts, housing statistics as well as fees and charges for waste and wastewater, price statistics about vehicles and vehicle registration database.
Source data - detailed - other macro-economic data (import, export, VAT etc.)
Data for total supply of environmental protection services are provided by the National Accounts. This includes data on imports and exports as well as VAT and other taxes less subsidies for product groups 37-39 excl 38.3. Data on exports on products in CEP 0601 (CEPA 5), CEP 0502 (CEPA 6), the sum of CEP 0602, CEP 07, CEP 08 (sum of 7-9) are provided from EGSS.
Source data - detailed - national expenditure on environmental protection NEEP
(Please provide information + DELETE THE TEXT IN THIS BRACKET):
Source data - detailed – other information
Data for environmental tranfers are provided through datasets also used to produce statistics for environmentally-related subsidies which provides the basis for this table. These are collected from state-budget statistics.
Yearly
EPEA results are calculated and finalized at T+24 months because they depend on the availability of multiple data sources. The annual National Accounts are finalized at T+17 months, this is one of the main data sources of EPEA. An other main data source, the survey on EPE of ancillary producers, which may contain revised time series, is published in October every year, and these latest updates are also implemented in the EPEA before transmission in December. iii) Not all data are disseminated nationally - we only link to Eurostat website from www.scb.se. We have discussed this with our user council and they considered this as an appropriate measure. Resources need to be prioritized in other areas.
The data concern the entire Sweden, it is not regionally collected, and all data is collected by the same actor.The geographical comparability is therefore considered to be good.
Due to new NACE reporting requirements (implemented in 2022 data collection) we are in position to transmit data only for the reference years 2021-2023.
