Sweden has a well-established reputation as green forerunner at the international arena. Historically, Sweden has strategically used its reputation and example-setting behaviour to make its voice heard within the European Union (Magnusdottir 2010, Magnusdottir and Kronsell 2015, Killian and Elgström 2011). Early examples include e.g.  revisions of EU´s chemical legislation and the development of a European acidification policy. Recent media coverage about the development of the EU taxonomy for sustainable investments however labels Sweden as a resilient promoter of national industrial interests at the expense of a more environmentally stringent EU legislation. This article seeks to explore the Swedish reputation as well as the self-perception in European sustainability politics, with a specific focus on forest-based bioenergy and aforementioned taxonomy. We explore a possible discrepancy between the Swedish self-image and how other member states and the EU Commission perceive Sweden´s actions and a possible discrepancy between Sweden´s general green reputation and its current position in forest-based energy politics.  Literature on environmental entrepreneurship as well as leadership scholarship based on cognitive power resources, such as image, expertise and role model behaviour, help us understand the importance of reputation in EU policy-making and the complex relationship between a self-image and international reputation.