Circular and Resilient Economy in Denmark

The commission helped the Danish Business Authority, other governmental agencies, and the private sector support institutional reforms aimed at fostering a more circular and resilient Denmark. Key to achieving this goal is addressing the challenges faced by Denmark and identifying sector-specific barriers and enablers including skills for a circular and resilient economy. 

Context

This project has emerged from Denmark's dedication to advancing towards a circular and resilient economy, confronting critical challenges such as insufficient resource recycling, substantial consumption footprints, and the essential requirement for skill development to bolster circularity in pivotal sectors. The project closely aligns with EU policy priorities, especially the Green and Digital Transformation agenda and the Competitiveness Compass. It is intended to contribute to sustainability targets, economic recovery, and digitalisation by nurturing circular practices and addressing Denmark's crucial need for skills development in its circular economy transition.

The challenges addressed include SMEs' limited grasp of circular principles, policy hurdles, data accessibility constraints, and the necessity of equipping the workforce with the required circular skills. Suggesting ways to help overcome these barriers is pivotal to the project's success.

Support Delivered

The support provided by the project team included conducting a thorough analysis of the existing regulatory and non-regulatory barriers in key industrial sectors for circular transitions (construction and building; wind turbines and electrolysers; water purifying technologies, sustainable foods and biosolutions). Building on this analysis, the team compared the current situation with desired scenarios, identifying areas for improvement and feasibility. They explored methods to mobilise product and service use data to enhance circularity Skills gaps essential for the circular transition were identified, along with recommendations to address them in line with the evolving needs of the circular economy. To assess the real situation, the team conducted stakeholder consultations, including interviews and workshops. A proposal for an action plan was drafted, outlining concrete steps to bridge these gaps, promote a skilled workforce capable of advancing the circular economy agenda, and foster sustainable growth and resilience.

Results achieved

Primarily, the beneficiary of this project, the Danish Business Authority, and other Danish authorities are now equipped to understand the existing situation of certain Danish sectors with respect to the circular transition. This understanding will give them the opportunity to bridge the gap and achieve the proposed to-be scenarios for each sector, making them more circular and resilient in the near future.

The skill gap research conducted as part of the project will create an understanding of the improvements needed in Denmark's education and training systems to achieve circularity in the selected sectors.

Awareness-raising efforts were carried out with several Danish stakeholders from the public and private sectors through interviews and workshops. Their contributions and experiences were reflected in the reports and helped the project team to present a realistic picture of Danish sectors in terms of circular and resilient economy.

A draft action plan proposal was developed to address the skills development gap. This gives the relevant Danish authorities the opportunity to be equipped with proper data to create an impact through reform.

An understanding was provided to the Danish authorities regarding the use of data and the usefulness of digitalisation in supporting circularity through benchmarks and case studies. This may help extrapolate the product and service use-phase data use in various other sectors in Denmark.