Energy, climate, water and environment

In 2021, the Aarhus City Council adopted a new climate strategy and a climate action plan for the period 2021-2024. The climate plan charts a course for the areas in which a special effort will be made to promote Aarhus’ green transition in coming years.

The ambition to achieve carbon neutrality in Aarhus in 2030 can only be achieved if new climate-friendly products and services are developed in a close collaboration with companies and the knowledge and innovation ecosystem. By bringing the challenges the green transition presents for Aarhus into play, new opportunities for companies can be created in relation to development, test and demonstration of the solutions of the future, which will be in demand worldwide.

World-class companies

Several of the world’s leading companies within energy, water and environmental technology are located in Aarhus and central Jutland. For example, Vestas, the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturer, has established its corporate headquarters in Aarhus.  

In 2019, the value of Danish environmentally-friendly goods exported was DKK 90.6 billion – DKK 47 billion of which was generated by companies in central Jutland. In other words, Central Denmark Region is responsible for over half of the country’s total exports of environmentally friendly products.  This is also reflected in the employment figures: For example, over 11,000 people were employed in the wind turbine industry in Central Denmark Region in 2019, which corresponds to about 35% of total employment in the sector in Denmark.

The green transition as a competitive parameter

Society’s green transition is not just high on the agenda for companies in the energy and environmental technology industry. According to a global survey from Deloitte, there is increasing focus on sustainability in business and industry across the board. Primarily because investors, employees and consumers alike are increasingly placing demands on businesses to incorporate sustainability into their business models, values and products. As a result, the green transition has become a significant competitive parameter for many businesses when it comes to attracting capital, talents and customers

Climate Fund to help finance the green transition

It’s going to take funding to make the green transition a reality. In acknowledgement of this, in 2020 the Aarhus City Council decided to establish a climate fund that will contribute to financing the green transition in Aarhus. One example of a project financed by the fund is Climate Alliance Aarhus, a collaboration between the city’s largest private and public workplaces. Members work together on climate projects within mobility, climate-friendly procurement and tendering, reuse, food, and waste sorting, as well as providing training and courses on sustainability to their employees. The goal is to work together to bring local businesses and the community closer to the municipality’s goal of carbon neutrality in 2030 – and to develop new business areas within sustainability in the process.

The Spring – a new innovation district for water technology

Denmark has major unexploited potential for exporting water technology solutions, assessments show. To take advantage of this potential, a number of leading businesses and knowledge institutions within the Danish water sector have joined forces in the partnership Water Valley Denmark. Their shared goal is to increase Danish exports by DKK 20 billion in 2030 and to create a Danish epicenter for water technology in Aarhus. The City of Aarhus is part of Water Valley Denmark, and will support this vision by establishing a new innovation district for water technology, The Spring.

The Green Academy

The Green Academy is a nine-week professionally oriented training course that prepares businesses and highly-qualified unemployed people to work as green ‘transformation agents’, giving them skills within circular business models, carbon and energy accounting, resource optimization, the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals and business insight. Teams of 2-3 participants from different fields and professions are partnered with a business throughout the course. Participants work with identifying and assessing potential areas for sustainable initiatives in the business, and conclude the course by developing an action plan for the implementation of sustainability initiatives and a road map for future steps to be taken towards more sustainable business practices.