Coordination of public authorities achieved changes in Swedish farming methods using Green Purchasing. Increases in public sector purchasing of organic food impacted the conversion of agricultural land to organic production. A result of the joint acting power of Swedish municipalities, which caused sufficient purchasing capacity to influence wholesalers.
The Green Public Procurement policy was introduced in 2006 to encourage farmers to convert to organic farming practices, to meet the EU’s long-term sustainable agriculture objectives. Within 10 years organic food consumption was up 33% with organic farmland area increasing by 16%. Food purchasing changes and annual subsidies contributed positively to the increase of Swedish organic agriculture.