From Copenhagen to the Greater Copenhagen Region: Sustainability, Innovation and Collaboration
Green, innovative, sustainable, welcoming… Enough clues given to recognise the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture, Copenhagen — the Capital city nestled in the heart of the Greater Copenhagen Region.
In this article, top stakeholders from the Copenhagen ecosystem will guide us through this journey, thanks to the insightful conversations that took place in ‘Smart in the City — The BABLE Podcast’.
Camilla van Deurs, Chief City Architect for the City of Copenhagen, and Stefanie Weidner, Director at Werner Sobek Copenhagen will unveil for us Copenhagen’s legacy and innovation within sustainable and inclusive architecture. As for Rikke Petersen, Head of the Green Transition Team at Copenhagen Capacity, and Ellen Corke, Project Manager, Strategic Partnerships and City Development at E.ON, they will paint the picture of a cross-border capital region full of possibilities.
3Cs: Citizen Centric — Circular — Copenhagen
Citizen Centric
Danish architecture is widely recognised for its human-centric and inclusive design approach, with a focus on creating spaces that enhance the quality of life for citizens. A human-centric approach means understanding the needs and preferences of the people who will use those spaces, but also engaging with the community throughout the design process. The city of Copenhagen has embraced key changes and innovations in the energy, mobility and building sectors, but now, the focus also shifts to the everyday life choices of its residents.
The City’s Chief Architect Camilla Van Deurs explains that addressing these choices requires a collective effort as citizens: “What we’ve done is a lot of very marge structural changes in the energy sector, and mobility, and extra electrification, and central heating. And what we need to address now are the everyday life choices. How do we act as citizens.”
Stefanie Weidner also adds: “I think we should start rethinking given setups that we are using, given norms. […] I think those things really need to be rethought of from us as people living in those cities, working in those cities. I think it would have a really high impact on resource consumption.”
This year Copenhagen has been recognised as the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture. In this capacity, Copenhagen will bring together influential urban planners and world-leading architects to celebrate and share innovative ideas for future living spaces.
Circular
High ambitions on climate, sustainability, and liveability, these gives strength to Copenhagen to be pioneer of green transition by promoting circular urban development.
Since 2021, The Danish Housing and Planning Authority carries the torch of circular thinking when it comes to designing buildings. Considering construction waste accounts for about 35% of new construction, refurbishment and demolition, reducing the amount of energy and materials used during building is a highly effective strategy to limit the adverse impacts on the environment.
“We’re understanding that well, 85% of our future city is already here. We’re not going to build as much in the future, and we have to reuse and adapt existing buildings to a much higher degree.” says Camilla Van Deurs
From this point of view, the Danish local industry demonstrates nowadays remarkable courage and collaboration by embracing a circular approach, by prioritizing transformation over excessive construction, by reducing costs and saving energy. Through active stakeholder engagement, accessible tools, and collaborative platforms.
Stefanie Weidner highlights the significance of platforms for developing circular solutions and giving example of Copenhagen Circular: “Copenhagen Circular is a very innovative platform run by the city that is focusing on developing tomorrow circular solutions. And I think we need more of that because we need a whole network, not just for the building industry, but as a wider scale and to include different industries into this circular approach.”
From Vision to Reality: Copenhagen as a Testbed for Sustainable Urbanization
Copenhagen empowers professionals to contribute to a sustainable urban growth. Supported by values of openness and collaboration, Copenhagen fuels sustainable urban innovators, excellent framework conditions, and market possibilities for companies within the field. This stretches beyond the World Capital of Architecture and are strongholds of the entire Greater Copenhagen Region.
At the heart of this remarkable journey, the Greater Copenhagen Region’s ecosystem within Sustainable Urbanization is continuously expanding. BLOXHUB, a collaborative innovation platform where leading visionaries like Werner Sobeck and BABLE are members, stands as a prime example of this thriving ecosystem. This vibrant community brings together minds that share a passion for sustainable urban development, fostering a space where innovative solutions are nurtured and shared.
The Greater Copenhagen Region, renowned as a hub for growth, sustainable solutions, and innovation, has garnered attention from businesses around the globe. Companies are drawn to Copenhagen not only for its strong and collaborative ecosystem, but also for the wealth of knowledge, the diverse talent base, the unwavering political will, and the market’s readiness to embrace sustainable practices.
Rikke Petersen envisions the Greater Copenhagen Region as a pioneering hub for green transition: “It will be the region that you will think of when you think green transition, and that we can kind of be the place to be if you want to be ahead of the others.”
With 4.4 million inhabitants and 17 universities, Greater Copenhagen Region is the largest metropolitan area in the Nordics and a global hub for growth, sustainable solutions, innovation, world-class research facilities and a creative business environment. In this remarkable journey, the Greater Copenhagen Region’s ecosystem is continuously expanding.
E.ON is an example of a green mobility company operating in the Greater Copenhagen Region.
Project manager Ellen Corke highlights how big ambitions regarding sustainability motivate E.ON in their projects in the region: “So, they have really high ambitions and that sets the direction for us as a company as well to really increase our ambitions. And that’s been very helpful for us. We have been using this area as a test bed for new solutions for quite some time now, and it’s been successful for us. We have developed products here that are going on export now to other parts of Europe. And I think that it’s the dynamic between the countries in the region and the innovative edge shared are the reasons for that.”
As the need for products and new solutions within the energy transition and sustainable urbanisation grow, the Greater Copenhagen Region continues to evolve and thrive within these markets. But to ensure continuous and sustainable growth, the region welcomes more international companies, investments, and talents to contribute with their expertise — towards a promising tomorrow.
Are you curious whether the Greater Copenhagen Region is a place for your business to establish or start a partnership? Getting in contact with Copenhagen Capacity is a great way to start.
The organisation has supported hundreds of foreign companies and investors to identify and tap into business opportunities in the region and get the best possible start for success. Copenhagen Capacity’s services are free of charge for all foreign-owned companies, custom-made for each business and provided with complete confidentiality.
If you are interested, please contact:
Rikke Petersen, Head of the Green Transition Team at Copenhagen Capacity — rpe@copcap.com
