Denmark's Strategy for Circular Economy.

The present Strategy lays out Denmarks proposed initiatives to help transitioning to a more circular economy, thereby contributing to the achievement of all the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The overall objective of the Strategy is to promote circular economy, including better use and recycling of resources and the prevention of waste, and it aims at creating an enabling framework for the Danish business community driving the circular transition. It should be seen in close correlation and as a follow-up to the Utilities Strategy adopted in 2016. The Strategy builds on the idea that fostering a more circular approach to production and consumption will ease pressure on natural resources and improve the environment to the benefit of future generations.
Proposed initiatives are distributed on six areas of efforts: 1) Strengthen enterprises as a driving force for circular transition; 2) Support circular economy through data and digitalisation; 3) Promote circular economy through design; 4) Change consumption patterns through circular economy; 5) Create a proper functioning market for waste and recycled raw materials; 6) Get more value out of buildings and biomass.
In total, the Strategy describes the following 15 initiatives: Promoting circular business development in SMEs; Setting up a single point of entry to the authorities for enterprises with circular business models; Expanding the access to financing of circular business models; Supporting digital circular options by commercial use of data and challenges; Incorporating circular economy into product policy; Boosting Danish participation in European work on circular standards; Promoting circular procurement; Increasing focus on total cost of ownership in public procurement; Promoting more harmonised collection of household waste; Creating a level playing field on the market for waste and recycled raw materials; Liberalising WEEE management; Establishing a fund for the handling of regulatory barriers to circular economy; Developing a voluntary sustainability class; Propagating selective demolition; and Getting more value out of biomass.
As regards the functioning of the market for waste and recycled raw materials, the Strategy proposes initiatives that will create a level-playing field for private actors, thereby creating a competitive environment that incentivises sustainable waste management and recycling. This includes harmonising local collection and waste treatment schemes, and ensuring a harmonised administration of regulation by local authorities, among other measures. This area of work should be seen in conjunction with the initiatives introduced by the Utilities Strategy, which has proposed to expose waste incineration and management of recyclable waste to competition. This means, among other things, that citizens will no longer be obliged to use municipal waste management services exclusively, thereby making it easier for enterprises to establish take-back schemes and pursue new innovative solutions.
Taking into account the economic and environmental potential for circular economy in the food industry – in particular as regards the production of biomass – the Government aims at creating adequate framework conditions for utilising the value of biomass as much as possible. For this purpose, it will analyse whether all relevant externalities have been considered in the present subsidy structure. The analysis can constitute part of the basis for a future national Bioeconomy strategy setting the long-term direction for the development of bioeconomy in Denmark. Furthermore, the Government will also work for establishing a think-tank for food waste with private players in order that the work of preventing food waste is anchored broadly in society.