Green Meetings in Copenhagen
Press Information
April 2008
The ultimate ‘green meeting' is a reality in Copenhagen, thanks to its eco-labelled hotels, organic foods, recycled furniture and environmentally friendly transport options. Copenhagen is known as one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world.
As you approach Copenhagen Airport - with, perhaps, Scandinavian Airlines who offer passengers the chance to offset carbon-dioxide emissions - you will be able to see the wind turbines at Middelgrundsfortet, by the mouth of Copenhagen harbour. The Danish wind turbine industry boasts a 40% share of the global market, making it the world leader in wind power. Around 20% of Denmark's domestic electricity production is generated by wind.
If you arrive during summer you will see people swimming in the sea, canals and harbour around Copenhagen. How many cities in the world can boast of harbours with water clean enough to swim in?
When it comes to the meetings industry, Copenhagen is a world leader. More than 97% of all meeting venues and hotels in Copenhagen take measures of one kind or another to reduce their overall environmental impact. This is the conclusion of research undertaken by Wonderful Copenhagen CVB into over 80 of the suppliers to Copenhagen's meeting industry. Close to two thirds of them have a strategy for reducing water and energy usage; 60% use environmentally friendly cleaning and washing products; more than 50% engage in waste separation at source and serve organic produce at meals; and 16% keep CO2 accounts. In terms of hotels this last figure is higher still, with a quarter of all hotels having a strategy for keeping down CO2 emissions.
The Copenhagen Congress and Exhibition Centre, Bella Center - the largest in the Nordic region at 122,000 sq m - is among the leading venues when it comes to minimising its environmental impact. Bella Center is currently working on a green strategy but is already fulfilling all the above criteria, apart from CO2 accounts.
A brighter shade of green
According to the Worldwide Exhibition for Incentive Travel, Meetings and Events (IMEX), 67% of meeting and incentive planners have taken environmental considerations into account when planning a conference or incentive program. Furthermore, 61% of buyers believe that they or their colleagues would be likely to avoid a destination or venue known to have a poor environmental record. Being green for the sake of the earth, however, is no longer sufficient. Meeting professionals need to consider how their green strategies can bring not only environmental benefits but, just as importantly, how they can serve to fulfil business, social and strategic objectives.
The Nordic hotel chain, Scandic, which has six hotels in the Copenhagen area, is one of the vendors who has taken social responsibility a step further. Scandic not only has effective energy usage and serves organic foods, when its sheets, towels and furniture are replaced they are donated to local shelters for the homeless. The Scandic chain was recently awarded the Sustainability Award at this year's European Design Award, SLEEP. Since 1996 the hotel chain has worked hard to make its resource usage more efficient. Today a guest staying one night at a Scandic hotel generates 1.5 kilos of CO2 less, uses 35 litres of water less and leaves one kilo waste less than 10 years ago.
The Danish hotel chain Guldsmeden, with three hotels in Copenhagen, is another good choice for the environmentally conscious consumer. In addition to providing an organic breakfast and dinner, the hotel produces its own organic personal care products.
Scandinavia's largest hotel chain Choise has also recently initiated an ISO 14001 environment certification project in cooperation with DNV, Det Norske Veritas. Choise is already using renewable energy based on water power and therefore avoids CO2 emissions from it's electricity, heating and water usage.
Another hotel worth noting is the Hotel Alexandra, close to the City Hall Square. It is renowned for its classic Danish interiors, furnished with reused pieces by Arne Jacobsen, Nanne Dietzel, Hans J. Wegner and other designers. The hotel has been awarded the Green Key, a certificate given to hotels which fulfil a long list of environmental requirements.
What does it mean to be green?
When it comes to selecting green services and products, many meeting planners ask: How do I know it is actually green? In Copenhagen visitors and meeting planners can find guidance in three categories of eco-labelling: the Swan, the Flower and the Ø-symbol. The Ø-symbol is the Danish mark for organic products. It indicates that a product has been inspected by the Danish authorities and is required to meet strict regulations. The Swan symbol is the Nordic Council of Ministers' eco-mark, which is used throughout the Nordic counties, while the Flower is the EU's official eco-label used throughout its member states. When a consumer buys a product that is either Swan or Flower labelled, they can be sure that the product is manufactured with the least possible impact on the environment and that it does not contain toxic ingredients.
Hilton Copenhagen Airport has received the Nordic eco-label, the Swan, and serves primarily organic food in its restaurant, the Hamlet Nordic Grill. By the end of 2007 the 19 Scandic hotels in Denmark will all have been Swan-labelled in line with the criteria mentioned above.
Organic Copenhagen
Few other metropolitan cities in the world can match Copenhagen's consumption of organic foods. Today, the private sector's purchase of organic products in Copenhagen is about 10-12 percent, while 45 percent of all food consumed in the city's public institutions is organic - which is a world record. To ensure Copenhagen's continued development in its consumption of organic produce, the environmental strategy "Environment Metropolis - Our Vision 2015" has set targets for up to 90 percent by 2015 in all of the city's institutions. The target for private businesses and households purchase and consumption is expected to reach at least 20 percent within the coming years.
Copenhageners' organic consciousness is also making its mark outside of the political world. A new league of restaurants, cafes and delis are sprouting up beyond the usual eco-community centres and vegetarian restaurants lead by a common sense desire for clean, local, sustainable produce. Restaurant Cap Horn, by the picturesque canal Nyhavn, was one of the first restaurants to be driven by an organic philosophy. All Cap Horn's basic ingredients, such as eggs, milk and butter, are organic as are all its wine, beer, soft drinks and coffee. The rest of the food is as organic as possible.
Copenhagen's shining star among these organic eateries is Restaurant Geranium located in Kongens Have, the King's Garden. The restaurant is run by two of Denmark's best chefs, Rasmus Kofoed and Søren Ledet, and uses exclusively organic and biodynamic ingredients - including wine. For those who want to eat for more reasonable prices, you can find many small organic cafes and takeaways throughout the city. Bio M, a small eatery in the Østerbro section is a good example - here the food, drink and even the paint on the walls are organic.
The environmentally friendly metropolis
Not only is Copenhagen's diet environmentally sound. One of the first things you notice when wandering the streets of the Danish capital is the large number of cyclist. Currently 36% of all Copenhageners choose to cycle to their place of work or education. Together they cover more than 1.1 million km by bike each day. In many cases however, they don't even need a bicycle to get exercise. Today 60% of all Copenhageners live within 15 minutes walk of a park, a beach or a swimming pool.
Cyclists contribute much less CO2 than motorised forms of traffic and by making the city a safer and more comfortable place to bike Copenhagen aims to increase the percentage of cyclists to 50% by 2015. This will reduce CO2 emissions by a further 80,000 tons per year.
Visitors to the Danish capital can, of course, travel by bike too, but the city also offers a highly advanced and developed public transport infrastructure. The recent Metro - whose first line opened in 2002 - has just been extended to the airport and now connects eastern Copenhagen to the airport in less than 15 minutes. For years an efficient airport train has made it possible to reach the main train station in only 13 min.
When using shuttles for transportation you can also go green, for instance the Danish coach company Paaske Bus offers some of the most environmentally friendly busses in Europe.
Also worth considering is that Copenhagen is one of the most "walkable" cities in the world. Its compact city centre makes walking between meeting venues, hotels, sights, restaurants and shopping areas a matter of minutes.
In general Copenhagen has taken great steps to reduce CO2 emissions. In fact, every citizen has reduced his or her contribution to global warming from 7 tons to 4.9 tons compared to 1990 figures. This corresponds to a combined CO2 reduction of 25% over the last 15 years. Despite its rapid economic growth in recent years Copenhagen has also managed to keep water and energy consumption constant over time. We have one of the world's best recycling systems with 90% of all construction waste being recycled and 75 % of all household garbage being used for heating.
Copenhagen Sustainability - Facts and Figures:
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Suppliers to Copenhagen’s meeting industry: · 97.5% have a strategy for reducing overall environmental impact · 64% reduce water and energy usage · 60% use environmentally friendly cleaning and washing products · 50% engage in waste separation at source · 50% serve organic produce at meals · 16% keep CO2 accounts |
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Environment Metropolis – Our Vision 2015:
· 36% of all Copenhageners go to work or their educational
· 60% of all Copenhageners are able to walk to a park, a beach
· 45% of food consumption in the city’s public institutions is organic.
· 10-12% of food consumption in the private households is organic.
· Every citizen has reduced contribution to global warming from |
