News

Living labs

Green Procurement is the Key to Green Growth

By State of Green | [email protected]

22 October 2012

Major potential

- Public procurement plays an enormous role in global markets. In Denmark alone, public procurement amounts to 17% of GDP. This corresponds to annual purchases of more than DKK 200 billion. If we in the public sector were better at buying green, we could solve several problems at once. We would be improving the climate and environment at the same time as creating growth and jobs at enterprises which develop green technology. In other words, green procurement is one of the keys to transforming the world to a green economy, said Ida Auken, Minister for the Environment.

Providing a base for concrete projects

The Minister has written the foreword to the report entitled "Procurement, Innovation and Green Growth: The story continues...”, which was launched at the Global Green Growth conference in Copenhagen earlier this month, attended by the Partnership for Procurement and Green Growth. The Partnership includes members from throughout the world and it is working to launch concrete projects together across continents.

Read also:Global Green Growth Forum Launches New Public Private Partnerships

- We're among the greenest purchasers in the EU. That's why other countries listen to us. Therefore it's vital that Denmark is active in international work on green public procurement, so that we can promote the cause. We're taking part in the Partnership for Procurement and Green Growth under the Global Green Growth Forum, and we were one of the first countries to endorse the UN international initiative for sustainable procurement, said Ida Auken.

Denmark already in the game

At home, Denmark has implemented a large number of initiatives to promote green public procurement, including the Forum for Sustainable Procurement and the Partnership for Green Public Procurement with front-runner municipalities. The government is also working on a new strategy for intelligent public procurement, which among other things aims at contributing to a green transition.

Further information:

Mikkel Stenbæk Hansen, Deputy Head of Department, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, tel. +45 72 54 43 43 e-mail: [email protected]

Grethe Linder Vinther, Communication Officer, Minister's Department, tel. +45 72 54 60 60 / 20 86 34 76 e-mail: [email protected]

For more news, go to our Newsroom

You should consider reading

Solution

Bio-based circular solutions

+7

The electric farm that harvests energy and captures CO₂

Agriculture accounts for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing emissions while maintaining food production is therefore a major challenge for the sector. At the same time, new policies are accelerating the need for change. Denmark will introduce a CO₂ tax on agriculture fr

Solution

District heating

+5

Supermarkets cutting CO₂ emissions by 81 %

Supermarkets are a cornerstone of modern society. But they are also significant energy consumers, particularly through cooling systems and heating. Around 30 supermarkets serve local communities in Sønderborg Municipality, with a large share of energy historically coming from conventional sources. R

Solution

Bio-based circular solutions

+13

MicrobeXplorer: Xplore the Invisible World of Microbes

10 October 2025

At BRIGHT we love microbes. We love them because they are fascinating invisible organisms who each work with a clear target, are highly adaptive to their environment, and are a crucial part of our existence and the shape of our planet.

Solution

Living labs

+1

Education in leak detection at training field

Aarhus Vand has established a leak detection field. Water operators can train and become educated in finding leaks in water pipes. That way abilities in finding leaks are improved, leakages and non revenue water are thereby reduced. The field also works as a test and demonstration of Danish water te

Perspective

Sector coupling

+15

Sector coupling: 7 key examples from energy and industry sectors

24 October 2024

Sector coupling is about breaking down silos and enabling renewable energy to flow seamlessly between traditionally separate sectors such as heating, cooling, water, storage, power-to-x, transport, agriculture and industrial processes. Discover seven prime examples from the recently launched white paper "Sector Coupling - Unlocking renewable energy's full potential".

Solution

Sector coupling

+5

City district becomes living laboratory for flexible use of renewable energy

23 October 2024

Increasing energy consumption with electrification and a higher degree of renewable energy sources creates a less stable energy supply and demand than we have traditionally had. This requires new tools to create more flexible energy consumption, local solar energy production and storage, and the nee