Sustainable development is a topic which is constantly increasing in relevance to reach a well-functioning society from economic, social and environmental aspects. The work for sustainable development can take shape in different ways, including by working towards the fulfillment of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDG). The SDG’s consist of 17 goals with the intention to be fulfilled by the year 2030. The goals are designed in such a way that all actors in society should have the opportunity to contribute to their fulfillment, for example by integrating them into an organization's activities. However, the SDGs have recently encountered their biggest obstacle since they were established - the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Covid-19 pandemic created chaotic situations characterized by uncertainty and insecurity, which has led to the work towards fulfilling the SDGs reversed direction and shows a negative development. Thus, it becomes important to investigate how an organization should be able to handle a crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, without harming the work with the SDGs. Based on this, the purpose of the study is to examine the impact of crisis management and leadership on sustainability within a public organization. The aim of the study is to examine the achievement of the SDGs in a municipality. This purpose is answered with the help of a case study at Karlstad municipality. 

The study is based on two methods, which are interviews and documentary research. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees within Karlstad municipality who work with crisis management, environmental issues and operational management. As a complement to the conducted interviews, the municipality's annual report, strategic plan, guidelines for crisis management, follow-up of the work during the pandemic and a signed climate contract have been reviewed. These data, together with the interviews and with theories such as crisis management, crisis management’s three different phases and leadership, conclusions could be drawn. This study thus states that crisis management without connection to the SDGs risks leading to deprioritization of these in a crisis situation. Here, continuity management becomes an important aspect that can be developed to ensure positive development of the work with the SDGs. Furthermore, the importance of leadership within an organization is highlighted as the responsibility falls on the leaders when it comes to leading the work of the business forward.