In the year of 1996, the Swedish government decided that all of Sweden’s different authorities must set an example and work towards sustainable development (Arvidsson, 2004). Every agency had therefore an obligation to procure an environmental management system and integrate into its operations (SFS 2009:907). Every agency whose work may have a significant impact on the environment should invest in environmental certification according to ISO14001 and register in accordance with Regulation no 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council. What is not stated in the decision made by the Swedish government is which of these agencies whose activities entail a significant environmental impact are. Nowhere is it either described how the other agencies are to plan, carry out and document this work. Thus, the question raises of how the academic libraries at government funded colleges and universities have chosen to work to reduce their environmental impact. As well how they work towards sustainable development. How is it that some academic libraries with their higher education institution have chosen to be certified according to ISO 14001? At the same time as some academic libraries with their higher education institution have chosen not to become certified? Does this very costly and labour-intensive certification have any impact on the libraries' everyday work? These questions are important to ask as libraries are generally a fundamental part of Swedish society. To answer these questions the authors of this student essay have chosen to interview four different academic libraries around Sweden. Two of these libraries have, with their higher education institution, chosen to be certified according to ISO 14001 and two of the libraries have not chosen to be certified according to ISO 14001. Afterwards the authors decided to compare the libraries with one another with help of Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).