Search

Like other contemporary challenges grand and small, sustainability has been understood as paradoxical (Smith & Lewis, 2011), “wicked” problems (Starik & Kanashiro, 2013) characterized by multiple stakeholders, disputed values, complex interconnectedness, foggy problem definition, limited or contested knowledge and ongoing change (McMillan & Overall, 2016). This chapter presents consultation as a precondition for sustainable entrepreneurship (research) since ability to identify, cultivate and engage relevant conversation partners is essential for facilitating productive entrepreneurial (inter-)action. First, we discuss aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship that call for stakeholder consultation and involvement. Next, the concept of advice-seeking consultation/consulting is discussed as the pursuit of knowledge from relevant others for professional purposes. We go on to present the Productive Consultation Matrix portraying consultation as a combination of ability to facilitate trustful knowledge sharing and engagement. Throughout the chapter, we present cases from consultation practice. The chapter concludes the chapter with a discussion of consultation potentials and pitfalls.

The purchasing power of public sector organizations can be used to promote strategic policy objectives such as sustainability, innovation, and the concept of circular economy (CE). In Denmark, total greenhouse gas emissions from public procurement (PP) activities comprise approximately 12 million tons CO2eq/year. Thus, if sustainability criteria and CE are considered in PP, there is a potential for environmental savings and for driving innovation toward circularity. Directive 2014/24/EU on PP makes it possible to include sustainability criteria or CE in public tenders. In order to aid this process, the case company Vraa Dampvaskeri has, together with researchers from Aalborg University, developed a guide for sustainable PP focusing on workwear and laundry services. In this chapter, we explore how this guide has been used in practice. This includes a consideration of the way in which such a guide can aid the process of setting sustainable and circular criteria in public tenders, thus supporting a transition to CE. Although the guide is now supported by national criteria for textiles in the Danish Partnership for Green PP, these tools cannot stand alone, as their use by PP officers is voluntary. Market engagement is imperative for inclusion of sustainability and CE in tenders, and the involvement of user groups is essentially important.

The Ecodesign Directive and the EU energy labelling have proven to be effective policy instruments to reduce energy consumption and thereby CO2 emissions. It is estimated that the Ecodesign Directive and the EU energy labelling have resulted in savings in 2020 of approximately 9% of the current energy consumption and 7% of the carbon emissions (European Commission 2019). In the new circular economy action plan from the European Commission, the Ecodesign Directive is assigned a key role in the transition towards a circular economy; indeed, it is a policy tool which can ensure circular design of products entering the European Market. However, studies have shown that around 10%–20% of the products on the European Market are non-compliant with the ecodesign requirements (Petersson and Nielsen 2013); consequently, 10% of the total energy savings are lost (Baton et al. 2017). It is therefore key to ensure that existing and future material efficiency requirements, in support of a circular economy, can be verified in relation to market surveillance. This has precisely been the theme of this project. This project has analysed existing and future material efficiency requirements under the Ecodesign Directive and the EU energy labelling and how these are verified. The point of departure for the analysis of the future material efficiency requirements is the work conducted under the standardisation mandate M/543 from the European Commission targeting material efficiency aspects under the Ecodesign Directive. The document review of the adopted implementing measures under the Ecodesign Directive, covering 28 energy-related product groups, showed that 22 implementing measures include information requirements targeting material efficiency, while only nine include specific requirements. The specific requirements cover aspects such as durability (or reliability using the definition from EN 45552), availability of firmware, easy disassembly, spare parts availability, access to repair and maintenance information for professional repairers, data deletion options, disassembly for recyclability and guidelines for marking plastic and hazardous substances. The standards developed under M/543 targeting material efficiency aspects are horizontal standards, which cannot be directly applied to energy-related products or product groups. The only exceptions are the standard on critical raw materials (EN 45558) and the standard on methods for providing information (EN 45559), which can be applied directly to products or product groups. The horizontal standards are intended to provide the framework for developing product or product group–specific standards. The horizontal standards focus on durability, remanufacture, repair, recyclability, reused components, recycled content and critical raw materials. The maturity level of the different methods in the horizontal standards varies, a factor that could also have an impact on the time horizon for their implementation. Only the standards on critical raw materials and providing information are considered directly applicable. The concepts are also at different levels of maturity. It is more likely that specific criteria will be set for the reliability than for the durability of products because more standards already exist regarding reliability. The analysis of the future material efficiency requirements revealed that there is a considerable overlap between the durability standard (EN 45552); the standard on remanufacturing (EN 45553); and the standard on repair, reuse and upgrade (EN 45554), as they cover overlapping and similar aspects. This is an obvious consequence of the fact that a product’s ability to be repaired or upgraded affects the product’s durability and its ability to be remanufactured. The study revealed two aspects not covered in detail by the standardisation mandate M/543, namely considerations regarding reduced resource or material consumption and chemicals and restrictions hereof. Both aspects are important in a transition to a circular economy.The existing experience with control measurements of the adopted material efficiency requirements are still limited in Denmark. Denmark and the other Nordic countries, in particular Sweden, are considered to be some of the countries dedicating the most resources to market surveillance in Europe. It is therefore likely that the existing experience with control measurements through product testing in the EU member states is still limited. An exception is Sweden, which is further elaborated in chapter 8. The limited experience entails that there might be undiscovered difficulties in the verification and test of these requirements, which will not be uncovered before more experience with control measurements have been gained. A recommendation is therefore to make use of a future European project such as Eco-design Compliance Projects (EEPLIANT) to gain more experience with market surveillance of the material efficiency requirements across the EU member states.Due to the horizontal nature of the standards, it is still difficult to evaluate how easy it will be to verify these types of aspects. The standards suggest different types of assessment methods and a few general remarks can be made on their verification.• For the durability standard 45552, it will be potentially more complex to verify future durability requirements (covering both repair and remanufacturing steps) compared with future reliability requirements, as the reliability concept is further developed in the standardisation context. • For the standard EN 45553 on remanufacturing, the assessment methods have not been well developed yet, as it primarily identifies important product attributes and criteria that are vital for remanufacturing processes. • For the EN 45554 standard on repair, reuse and upgrade only, one of the assessment methods is based on a calculation, while the remaining criteria are evaluated based on a classification of the different aspects according to a scale ranging from A to E. This classification of the different criteria can embed a qualitative interpretation if the requirements for the different classifications are not well defined. Further study is therefore needed to examine the verification of these types of requirements.• The EN 45556 standard on the proportion of reused component and the EN 45557 standard on recycled content can only be determined indirectly, as no methods exist to measure this directly. The verification is, therefore, by means of documented evidence from manufacturers and suppliers.• The EN 45558 standard on critical raw materials and the EN 45559 standard on information can to some extent can be used directly on specific products and verified through document review.To ensure verifiability of the future material efficiency requirements, it is essential that standards are developed and harmonised; they can then be used to check product compliance with the ecodesign requirements. Furthermore, accredited test laboratories should be available to perform the compliance check. The contracts with the accredited test laboratories should also have a dynamic structure to ensure that all ecodesign requirements can be tested at the same laboratory and to utilise synergies among the different policy areas.

De globale klimaudfordringer kræver, at vi alle tager et fælles ansvar, og at kommuner, uddannelsesinstitutioner, erhverv og borgere arbejder sammen på tværs for at opfylde de ambitiøse klimamål.I de kommende år vil der være fokus på en grøn omstilling af vores samfund, og her spiller især kommunerne og energi- og forsyningssektoren en afgørende rolle.I Aalborg Kommune har vi siden begyndelsen af 1990’-erne arbejdet med at nedbringe udledningen af drivhusgasser fra energiforsyningen og transport. Vi har gennem de seneste 10 år arbejdet målrettet med langsigtet og strategisk energi- og varmeplanlægning for at opnå Aalborg Kommunes overordnede mål om at være fossilfri senest i 2050.Vi har løbende arbejdet på at fremme den grønne omstilling, hvilket blev understreget af Aalborg Kommunes køb af Nordjyllandsværket og deraf følgende fokus på at få udfaset brugen af kul.De nye politiske målsætninger, den teknologiske udvikling på energiområdet og købet af Nordjyllandsværket har medført behov for at opdatere Aalborg Kommunes visioner og strategier på energiområdet.Formålet er at få et helhedsorienteret grundlag for de langsigtede beslutninger, der skal træffes i Aalborg Kommune, blandt andet for at opfylde lokale, nationale og internationale klima- og energimålsætninger.Derfor har Aalborg Kommune nu - sammen med Aalborg Universitet – udarbejdet Energivision for Aalborg Kommune 2050 - Smart Energy Aalborg. Energivisionen omfatter det samlede energiforbrug og tager udgangspunkt i, at vi vil være uafhængige af fossile brændsler og basere os på lokale vedvarende energikilder.Energivision 2050 viser, at et samlet energisystem med 100 pct. vedvarende energi senest i 2050 er muligt. Det kræver dog, at vi får skabt et sammenhængende integreret energisystem, hvor de forskellige teknologierarbejder sammen på tværs af forsyningsarter.

Kenya mainly depends on oil and hydro sources for electricity supply, however the rivers forhydropower and their tributaries are found in arid and semi-arid areas with erratic rainfallleading to frequent problems in stable delivery of electricity in the country. As for oil-basedelectricity generation, this is expensive and environmentally harmful. Kenya, however, has greatpotential for photo voltaics (PV)-based power generation since it is located near the equator andit receives plentiful insolation. PV technology is thus a viable option for electricity generation tomitigate the aforementioned electricity supply challenges, yet the exploitation of solar PV inKenya is still limited. This working paper analyses both the potential for integration of PV intothe Kenyan electricity generation mix and the sociotechnical, economic, political, andinstitutional and policy barriers, which limit PV integration. These barriers can be overcome withbetter and more robust policy regulations, additional investments in research and development,and coordination. Most noticeably, storage solutions and other elements of flexibility need tobe incorporated to balance the intermittent nature of electricity generation based on solar PV.

”Affald og Ressourcer på Tværs” (ART) er et projekt, der er finansieret af Region Hovedstaden og løber fra 2018-2021. Projektet faciliteres af Teknologirådet og DAKOFA.ART er et cirkulært samarbejdsprojekt mellem de tre store affaldsselskaber i hovedstadsregionen, ARC, Norfors og Vestforbrænding, København Kommune og Helsingør Kommune, samt organisationer fra hele værdikæden, repræsenteret ved Dansk Affaldsforening, Dansk Erhverv, Dansk Industri og Plastindustrien.Derudover deltager Erhvervshus Hovedstaden og Aalborg Universitet også som partnere i projektet.Projektets formål er at skabe og facilitere cirkulære samarbejder i regionen. Projektets delmål er blandt andet at udarbejde en affaldsanalyse i hovedstadsregionen, en kortlægning af de kommunale affaldsplaners indsatsområder samt en kortlægning af igangværende cirkulære projekter ihovedstadsregionen. Projektet skaber et nyt samarbejde mellem aktører på et sekundært ressourcemarked. Dette har ikke alene til formål at øge genanvendelsesprocenterne i tråd med kravene i de nyreviderede affaldsdirektiver samt regionens egne genanvendelsesmål, men også at facilitere dialog og vidensdeling ved brugen af cirkulære dialogværktøjer og analysemetoder. Hele projektet skal ses som et cirkulært samarbejdsprojekt, hvor nye aktører mødes, videndeler og skaber fælles overblik overressourcestrømmene, såvel affaldsstrømmene og de jomfruelige ressourcer, der i dag anvendes af regionens virksomheder. Endvidere vil der blive faciliteret en videndeling fra igangværende cirkulær økonomi (CØ) projekter.Der er brug for at etablere nye samarbejder, samle fælles viden, få nye mindsets, og roller for at fremme mulighederne for cirkulær økonomi, og for at sekundære ressourcer i højere grad finder anvendelse.Projektets arbejde for 2019 er opdelt i 3 spor:• Spor A: Ressourcestrømsanalyse/aktøranalyse for Region Hovedstaden• Spor B: Kortlægning af CØ-projekter i Region Hovedstaden• Spor C: Kortlægning af indsatser i de kommunale affaldsplaner i et CØ-perspektivDenne rapport vedrører spor C.

This study examines the development of industrial symbiosis through a practicalmodel for physical, organizational, and social interactions in six different cases from around the world. The results provide a framework that can be used by industrial symbiosis practitioners to facilitate the creation of synergy in industrial areas.

Renere teknologi er synonym med forebyggende miljøarbejde og er en højt prioriteret miljøstrategi blandt både virksomheder og miljømyndigheder. Med introduktion af renere teknologi som det bærende princip i miljøbeskyttelsesloven fra 1991 blev fore- byggelse et fælles anliggende mellem virksomheder og myndigheder. Virksomhederne skal principielt basere miljøbeskyttelsen på renere teknologi, og implementering heraf sker i samspil med miljømyndighederne.Formålet med dette kapitel er at introducere renere teknologi-begrebet og relatere til ændringer i såvel virksomhedernes miljøarbejde som i myndighedernes miljøre- gulering. I mange år har industrien arbejdet med renere teknologi i form af ressour- cebesparelse, procesoptimeringer og intern genanvendelse (Dansk Industri 1995). Ligesom f.eks. brancheorganisationerne har taget del i at udbrede kendskabet til re- nere teknologi og miljøledelse blandt virksomhederne. Med andre ord har industrien nationalt og internationalt udviklet og implementeret forebyggende miljøstrategier, og myndighederne har søgt at skabe incitamenter hertil gennem lovgivning. Dette kan karakteriseres som fremme af selvregulering – dog med det forbehold, at ikke alle virksomheder er lige proaktive på miljøområdet. Derfor analyseres det også, hvordan renere teknologi kan fremmes via den normative miljøregulering. Virksomhedernes miljøstrategi og myndighedernes miljøregulering må betragtes som komplementære og hinandens gensidige forudsætninger. Fokus i artiklen er altså, hvordan kan der skabes en øget synergi mellem virksomhedernes selvregulering og myndighedernes miljøregulering?

Resource efficiency is currently high on the European political agenda and the Ecodesign Directive has been identified as one of the instruments, which could help drive this agenda. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate if and how requirements for resource efficiency are currently implemented in the Ecodesign Directive? And what made it possible to include these types of requirements? A review of the requirements in the adopted implementing measures and voluntary agreements under the Ecodesign Directive showed that requirements targeting resource efficiency were included. However, these requirements were mainly information requirements. Sixteen of the implementing measures and voluntary agreements included information requirements targeting resource efficiency. Only five product groups included specific requirements targeting resource efficiency. Two detailed studies were made of the implementing measure covering vacuum cleaners and the voluntary agreement covering imaging equipment, since they both included resource efficiency requirements. The studies revealed that in both cases resource efficiency was regarded as a significant impact category. However, in both cases resource efficiency was considered secondary to energy efficiency, and it should be targeted at a later stage. Yet, in both cases resource efficiency requirements ended up in the final requirements. Hence, the identification of resource efficiency as a significant was not the sole reason for the uptake of the resource efficiency requirements. Other aspects were at play. Interviews with stakeholders indicated that pressure from stakeholders was a crucial aspect. In both cases, it was possible to pressure the industry by different means, which made them accept resource efficiency requirements. Furthermore, the fact that resource efficiency was on the political agenda also played a significant role. Finally, the existence of measurement and test standards and eco-labelling schemes were important for implementing the resource efficiency requirements.

Recommendations for Nordic policymakers:Resource related ecodesign obligations will be a necessary part of the future policy mix, though not all parts of the policy puzzle is yet in place. The Nordic policymakers can begin processes in order to realise strategic opportunities. Examples of such policies would be to continue the development of resource efficiency criteria in the Nordic eco-labelling and public procurement in order to pave the way for an uptake in EU eco-labelling and in the Ecodesign Directive. By continuously developing resource related criteria in voluntary policy instruments a platform for legal standard setting will be created that can be applied for ecodesign. See also the main report Addressing resource efficiency through the Ecodesign Directive - A review of opportunities and barriers at http://www.norden.org/sv/publikationer/publikationer/2014-511

The geographic scope of the project "Integrated strategies and policy instruments for retrofitting buildings to reduce primary energy use and GHG emissions" (INSPIRE) is on four European countries: Denmark, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland. The building sector accounts for 40% to 50% of the final energy consumption in these countries. While in the European Union (EU) energy-related requirements for new buildings are constantly increasing (e.g. EPBD; nearly zero energy buildings up to 2020), the improvement of energy performance of the existing building stock constitutes a major challenge for the future, especially with relation to the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals of 2050. The mastering of this challenge requires the identification of cost optimal retrofit strategies to achieve maximal reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions through and within building renovation.