Green buildings

With urbanisation, demographic changes, and climate change, our cities and their buildings are facing immense challenges. Creative and innovative thinking can lead us towards a more sustainable approach to designing, creating, and using the buildings that form the basis for our everyday lives, to the benefit of both our planet and the people that populate our urban centres. Ensuring green buildings that are sustainable and energy-efficient will be key to our efforts to tackle climate change.

Cities occupy 3% of Earth’s land but account for 70% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions

70 %

Buildings are responsible for 40% of global energy consumption and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions

40 %

In Europe alone, more than 220 million buildings – or 75% of the building stock – are energy-inefficient, with many relying on fossil fuels for heating and cooling

75 %

Related facts

Explore green buildings

Creation date: Latest first

News

Job creation and transition

+100

Sound of Green, a podcast series with insights from Denmark’s green transition

27 January 2023

From managing cloudbursts to setting up climate partnerships, we examine how Denmark has turned acute climate challenges into new opportunities. In our podcast series Sound of Green, experts convey how Danish experiences can push the needle toward global green transition. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcast and stateofgreen.com.

News

Wind energy

+7

Six Danish companies among the world's 100 most sustainable

18 January 2023

Corporate Knights' 2023 ranking of the world's most sustainable companies is out. Danish companies once again fare well in the annual ranking, securing six spots in the global top 100. The Danish wind giant Vestas is the second most sustainable in the world.

News

Living labs

+60

Danish companies obtain the most green patents

16 January 2023

Known to be among the globe's most sustainable, Danish companies are number one in obtaining green patents in both Europe and the US over the past ten years.

solutions

Buildings

+6

Øresundskollegiet

13 January 2023

Øresundskollegiet houses 1,500 residents, existing as a small village of young people with diverse backgrounds and ambitions. In 2021, Øresund College transitioned to a general college, meaning that the City of Copenhagen can assign socially disadvantaged young people to dormitory housing.

solutions

Buildings

+2

Better Affordable Housing

Lack of affordable housing, social segregation and loneliness are just some of the challenges of urbanization. There’s a need for affordable housing that unites the industrialized construction with architectural qualities that promote social well-being and social interaction between different demogr

solutions

Green buildings

+5

Climate adaption as a catalyst for change

Cloudbursts challenges Danish cities causing flooding and overwhelming the sewage system. There’s a need for water sensitive landscape design to minimize the impacts of increasing rain water on the urban development an environment. The goal is to prevent surges and floods by integrating the flows of

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Meet Danish green buildings professionals

Company

Circular building design

Milford

We create liveable cities where people feel happy, healthy and safe

Company

Buildings

+9

Juul Frost Architects

Juul Frost Architects is an award-winning multidisciplinary studio with a holistic approach and a human focus. The purpose of our architecture and urban development is to promote quality of life, he

Financial Institution

District energy

+8

Investment Fund for Developing Countries - IFU

IFU is the Danish Development Finance Institution providing risk capital for private sector investments in developing countries and emerging markets. Investments are made on commercial terms in the fo

Company

Living labs

+13

BABLE Smart Cities

BABLE provides business and technology services for smart city green solutions. We create automated services that simplify and offer expert advice to guide transition, development and scaling. Our onl

Company

Green financing

+6

PKA

PKA is a non-profit labor market pension fund based in Denmark. We manage the pensions of 350,000 members employed primarily in the social service and health care sectors

Company

Buildings

+7

Transition ApS

Transition supports the transition to a sustainable society.

Company

Bio-based circular solutions

+34

Viegand Maagøe

We co-create the green transition. The transition relies on a combination of technologies, financing, people, and communications. This is why we are experts in advising about these topics.

Company

Energy efficiency

+5

frient

frient offers high-quality smart home devices that can reduce electricity consumption, enable home automation, and protect the users' homes and families. The frient devices are available for installer

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Explore related focus areas

Air pollution

With urbanisation set to increase, air pollution will affect even more people in the future if no action is taken. Through strict environmental legislation and air quality monitoring, Denmark has reduced atmospheric pollution in most areas to less than one-fifth of the levels during the late 70s.

Climate change adaptation

Expanding mitigation to include adaptation in dealing with climate change, enables a holistic view that can combat previous negative social, environmental, and economic impacts and result in both climate resilient and more liveable places to live. Over the next 15-20 years, Denmark will spend more than EUR 5 billion on adapting its cities to climate changes.

District energy

Put simply, district energy is about moving energy in water, with a valuable temperature, from a place of production to the place of consumption. Denmark’s district heating system is highly energy efficient and has been one of the key drivers for reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the energy sector.

Green buildings

With urbanisation, demographic changes, and climate change, our cities and their buildings are facing immense challenges. Creative and innovative thinking can lead us towards a more sustainable approach to designing, creating, and using the buildings that form the basis for our everyday lives, to the benefit of both our planet and the people that populate our urban centres. Ensuring that new buildings are sustainable and energy-efficient will be key to our efforts to tackle climate change.

Smart cities

As the pace of urbanisation quickens, cities face immense challenges related to waste management, mobility, climate adaptation and energy. However, as their political, economic, and technological power grows, cities can harness this trend to act as leaders in the green transition and drivers of the green economy. Cities need smart solutions to ensure that they are optimised for sustainable economic activity, energy consumption, and an improved environmental impact.

Urban mobility

Cities must be built for people to be sustainable, healthy, and liveable. Targeted policy-making with urban mobility in mind is a strong reinforcement of these objectives. The key is to acknowledge the importance of city space and city life as an attractive, informal, and democratic meeting place for the city residents.

Urban waste management

Urban waste management entails the entire system of collecting, sorting, treating, utilising and ultimately disposing of waste. When properly facilitated it can provide a source of energy and resources, while significantly reducing pollution.

Urban water management

Cities around the world increasingly face pressure from both growing populations and climate change, challenging urban water supply in terms of available resources and in terms of treatment of increased wastewater volumes. An integrated approach to urban water management can ensure cost efficiency and synergies. E.g., wastewater treatment can provide the city with energy and nature-based solutions can delay or store rainwater for later use.