copenhagen cleantech journal #5

COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH

JOURNAL 2013Issue #5

CITIES

SPLITTING THE BILL How cities use private investments to finance their climate plans 8

The real climate heroes?

AFTER SANDYNYC: 20 billion $

investment in climate adaptation

Page 32

ONE MAN’S TRASHExcess industrial heat will soon keep Frederikssund warm Page 24

THE NEW CLIMATE HEROES?

PUBLISHERCopenhagen Cleantech Cluster

ADDRESSCopenhagen Cleantech ClusterNørregade 7 BDK – 1165 Copenhagen KDenmark

+45 3322 0222www.cphcleantech.com

EXECUTIVE EDITORMarianna Lubanski

EDITORIAL TEAMRune RasmussenHans Peder Wagner

CONTENT EDITORSamantha Le Royal

RESEARCHÅsmund Hogstad

CONTRIBUTING JOURNALISTSAnne Nielsen

Special thanks toSeth SchultzKurt Othendal NielsenJamie Lerner

GRAPHIC DESIGNMattias Wohlert

COVER ILLUSTRATIONBenny Box

PRINT3.000 copies

PRINTING HOUSEClausen GrafiskClausen Grafisk holds the Nordic Ecolabel

PAPERCCJ is printed on 100% recycled 170g Cyclus Offset paper. The cover is printed on Chromolux 700.

ISSN2245-120X

Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster (CCC) is at the core of the cleantech eco system in Denmark with a mission to foster cooperation between cleantech companies, research institutions and public organizations worldwide. Join us for a green future – together!

COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH JOURNAL

NO

RDIC ECOLABEL

EDITORIAL

lobal climate negotiations have so far not been able to find a common ground. With

few tangible global results local actors take the lead in the transition to a greener economy.

IN THE forefront of this development cities stand out as proactive actors. Cities have no choice but to react. The strong globalization trend means that most of the world’s population now lives in cities and the trend continues. A city like Dhaka is estimated to grow with almost half a million peo-ple - per year! - for the next 10 years.

THIS is an overwhelming challenge to many cit-ies that leads to increased pollution, congestion, overloaded infrastructure, depletion of resources etc. But it also represents an unprecedented op-portunity for cities to adopt greener solutions and

generally embrace a more resource efficient de-velopment to offset these challenges.

MANY cities have indeed taken on the role as the new natural centre of the green economy. Ambi-tious climate plans are produced from Aberdeen to Zürich, but are the cities really delivering on their promises? Have they managed to move be-yond the political speeches and ambitions? And if so, how?

CITIES are the topic of this issue of the Copenha-gen Cleantech Journal. We will explore further why cities have become the new green focal points and how they deliver on their promises. We will also look into how cities unlock private funding for their climate plans and spice it up with several in-spirational examples from around the world. Enjoy!

G

MARIANNA LUBANSKIEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH CLUSTER

If you have other cases you would like to call our attention to, please join the Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster Group at LinkedIn.

Issue #5 · 2013 | 3

CITIES: CATALYSTS FOR GREEN DEVELOPMENT Is the climate change battle being lost or won in cities? Page 04

INTERVIEW WITH SETH SCHULTZ Decoding the roles and duties of cities and mayors Page 10

CITIES IN TRANSITION Global snapshots of green cities’ actions Page 13

FINANCING THE GREEN CITY How do cities attract private investment? Page 18

FUTURE GREEN CITIES: UNFOLDED The need for clean urban development calls for localized solutions Page 22

HARNESSING THE HEAT OF INDUSTRY Reusing industrial excess heat can be a good business case in cities Page 24

NEW YORK READY FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION The ‘Big Apple’ invests billions to protect the city against climate change Page 28

THE COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH REGION News from Copenhagen 0

“IF YOU CAN’T MEASURE IT, YOU CAN’T MANAGE IT” How to measure city performance – the green city index Page 34

THE CITIZEN’S FOOTPRINT A broader perspective to climate change impact Page 36

CONTENTSPh

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4 | Copenhagen Cleantech Journal

C I T I E S :

Catalysts for Green Development

For centuries cities have been hubs of economic and social development. Now many also look at cities as solutions to the global

climate change challenge. But cities are facing their own serious challenges as a consequence of urbanisation. They need tangible

solutions to tackle uniquely urban problems.

So the question is: Are cities also the new climate heroes?

FOCUS

Illustration: Benny Box

Issue #5 · 2013 | 5

oday, we speak of cities at a larger scale than ever before. Major cities already consume nearly 80 percent of the energy produced globally, and generate 70 percent of the global GDP. Megaci-ties, cities with popula-tions over 10 million,

use more than 60 percent of the world’s re-sources and account for over 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The World Bank pre-dicts that continued urbanization will result in 4 billion people living in megacities by 2030, that’s over half of the predicted world population. The UN also estimates that by 2050 the world popu-lation will increase to 9.3 billion, with the popu-lation in urban areas reaching 6.3 billion. Global sustainable development is highly dependent on transitioning cities into resilient hubs of sustain-able development and environmental steward-ship. There is a growing call to consider cities as future catalysts of sustainable development. Urban areas are expected to absorb most of the population growth over the next four decades.

In particular, Asia is projected to see its urban populations increase by 1.4 billion, Africa by 0.9 billion, and Latin America and the Caribbean by 0.2 billion in the next 40 years (2011-2050) ac-cording to the UN. Cities also offer a potential remedy to unambi-tious national policies and to the failures of global climate negotiations. Many cities are embracing their title as the new climate heroes while many environmentalists are also putting the hopes in the hands of sustainable urban transition. How-ever, the large majority of cities are not equipped with the resources or infrastructure to adopt green solutions and adapt to climate change. Can cities tackle the massive challenges of increasing populations, and lead the global transition to a green economy at the same time?

Looking into the futureMigration into cities has a massive impact on individual cities and the planet as a whole. Nonetheless, it can be seen as an opportunity to grow green and to adopt better technologies and systems for catalyzing global sustainable de-velopment. “Cities today have a choice of doing things sustainably or inefficiently, the answer is obvious,” says Neelabh Singh, Head of Complex

T

3.5 billion

Number of people living in urban areas in

2010

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jected to live in urban areas in

2050

50% Percentage of people living in cities in 2010

“CITIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF ACCEPTING SUSTAINABILITY”NEELABH SINGH


Cleantech Solutions at Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster (CCC). CCC is dedicated to promot-ing holistic solutions to the complex challenges faced by cities and city segments, such as waste handling and water management. Singh adds, “But we must consider that cities around the world are in different stages of accepting sustain-ability.” A report by Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster and Quartz & Co. identifies cities by their needs and the potential for cleantech solutions. Cities such as Lagos and Dhaka, where there is rapid

u r b a n i z a t i o n but low GDP growth, re-quire affordable green solutions. These cities need to in-crease housing and infrastruc-ture first. In-vesting in green solutions im-mediately can

lower the capital barrier for sustainable waste, water and energy systems. Very large cities in de-veloping countries such as Mexico City, Mumbai, and Sao Paulo are considering upgrades to their existing infrastructure to meet international standards. The report classifies them as Com-fort Evolution Cities. Finally, at the highest end of the spectrum, are cities such as London, Co-penhagen and Amsterdam. They are the front-runners, with ambitious GHG reduction targets. These cities seek to attain economic growth by

developing green industry, creating high value jobs in the sector, and branding themselves as green. The economic growth will continue to be con-centrated in urban areas, with the top 30 cities driving the 20 percent of the global GDP growth from 2010-2020. City populations of emerging economies are expected to double from 2 billion to 4 billion people between 2000 and 2030. With more than 70 percent of generated energy now consumed in cities, and as much as 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to urban residents, cities need sustainable growth (World Bank, 2013). “This means that politicians and policy mak-ers cannot look at green economic growth and cleantech in isolation, but as an integrated and necessary element to capture future growth,” states Singh. He explains that the national and city political agenda have few choices but to em-brace cleantech as part of the development. He draws on the Danish model, where economic growth and energy consumption are inversely proportional. Singh notes, “This means creating frameworks and conditions for a good business case, which should include financial, social and environmental gains.”

Rising Megacities“Developing countries, and their major cities, are looking for one thing above all: economic growth, as fast as possible” says Connor Riffle, Head of Cities at Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). To guard social and economical development, meg-acities require climate secure solutions match-ing the scale of their needs for energy, food, and

“MAJOR CITIES ARE LOOKING FOR ONE THING ABOVE ALL: ECONOMIC GROWTH”CONNOR RIFFLE


Issue #5 · 2013 | 7

water. He explains that with growth come higher standards of living, less disease and poverty, and fewer deaths. Riffle adds, “Clean energy and the switch to a low-carbon future presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for cities to enable sig-nificant economic growth.” The CDP provides a voluntary climate change-reporting platform as a first step for managing GHG emissions. Building and improving cities with the aim of continued sustainable growth will require a range of considerations, including energy sup-plies, efficient buildings, waste management ca-pacity and innovative water systems. Singh com-ments, “We observe that there is not so much an issue of a lack of capital or a lack of political will, but more an issue of being able to take a certain technology and apply it at a grand scale.” He mentions that successful solutions cannot be transferred from city to city. When it comes to megacities, the need for scale is enormous, ap-plying solutions that currently work in Copen-hagen to cities like Beijing is complex. However, new megacities in developing na-tions can also leapfrog to cleantech. “Developing cities have the opportunity to avoid the carbon-intensive infrastructure choices that developed countries made in the past. For example, devel-oped cities like Los Angeles made major invest-ments in roads just after World War II. Today, not coincidentally, the largest share of Los Angeles’ GHG emissions arises from transport. Develop-ing cities can immediately invest in low-carbon infrastructure. For instance, many developing cities in Latin America and Africa are skipping expensive investments in subways in favor of Bus Rapid Transport,” says Riffle.

Sustainability “index”

high

Eco city types compared to maturity stages

Affordable greeningAccomodating for many households at lowest costBuilding Eco + using smart technology can save Capex for water, electricity and waste

Comfort evolutionProvide greater comfort and efficiency for inhabitants. Reduce the basic prob-lems of pollution and waste at lowest capex/opex

Green comfort and branded cityMake the city attractive for people and companies

Quality of life/city GDP

1

2

3

12

3high

low

low


From Measures to ActionMatt Prescott, Founder of the Environmental Rating Agency (ERA), explains that due to their scale, cities also have the ability to deliver meas-urable change through integrated systems. “City infrastructure is much more geared to take the measurements. Basically, if you make changes you can follow the consequences through sys-tems. The more efficient the upgrade is, the big-ger incentive to make interventions.” He adds, “Mitigating environmental impacts is obvious in urban areas, as the larger the group of people, the larger the impact and the economies of scale.” ERA develops risk models that help various sec-tors, such as finance sectors. ERA’s flagship re-port rates nations according to 12 environmental indicators including energy, CO2 emissions per kWh generated and per capita, national protect-ed areas, and deforestation rate; other important indicators they consider are water, air quality and human consumption. “We found that the global conversation about the environment has become stocked in relation to climate and energy, but there are other issues and opportunities we should look at. From our assessment, it turned out that issues like water and air quality were neglected aspects of envi-ronmental impact. There are some countries that are significantly outperforming others, where there is an opportunity to learn rather than arguing about the 1 percent improvements here and there. There are opportunities to make 50 percent improvements just by looking at the best in the world and learning from them” says Prescott.

Rapid industrialization poses many challeng-es in developing nations. Megacities in China and India seeking to develop institutions that can cope with the population growth need affordable and environmentally conscious solutions at a large scale. Prescott says, “We shouldn’t believe that upcoming megacities in developing nations have to make all the mistakes of developed na-tions. Here rating and benchmarking is a great way to create valuable knowledge and harness-ing it to achieve desirable goals. There are many cities that share similar difficulties of waste and energy security, each city is creating a myriad of different ideas. This experimentation is gener-ating new solutions that can be broadly applied without being politically driven.” Cities, such as Mexico City and Sao Paolo, picked negative fea-tures of developed cities, such as urban sprawl. Now it’s time to repair damages and upgrade to green.

Cities in TransitionThe reality is that cities are limited by budget and day-to-day problems. Riffle says, “Every city government I’ve ever met with is feeling the pinch of tight budgets. So city governments are constantly looking for ways to save money and create efficiencies. Cutting carbon —regardless of its benefits for the earth’s atmosphere— pro-vides a tried and tested, cost-effective method for cities to improve their efficiency and save money, through activities like building retrofits and fuel switching. The promise of saving money is a great motivator for cities to undertake green urban planning.” The problems associated with


Issue #5 · 2013 | 9

migration into urban areas also create challeng-es for expanding the capacity of systems to cope with waste, water and energy needs. Besides job creation and economic growth on the daily agen-da, cities also have to adapt to climate change. Riffle shares his view on these issues. “Traffic, especially in developing cities, brings the busi-ness to a halt. Megacities like Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and Shanghai routinely face traffic bottle-necks that extend cross-town journeys from one hour to three hours. The daily nature of this traf-fic is a major driver for city governments to think about different, often greener, urban planning and development.” He continues, “City govern-ments, whether they like it or not, are the first-responders to weather-induced catastrophes like flooding. These weather catastrophes have been on the increase over the last decade. Every year now megacities like New York, Jakarta, and Rio de Janeiro make the front page of interna-tional newspapers for massive weather-related disasters. Watching local citizens and businesses suffer— is a powerful motivator to accelerate the

pace of investment in green urban plan-ning and development.” Thinking of cleantech in terms of economy efficiency is already delivering results. “We need to decouple growth in GHG emissions from growth in GDP. Economic efficiency gives us a metric by which to measure progress in decoupling. The metric encourages cities to begin thinking about how they can produce more economic output per ton of GHG” states Riffle. Urban residents need clean air, po-

table water, and affortable energy. They also need efficient buildings, a reliable power grid and capable mobility solutions. The complex-ity requires taking a holistic view of sustainable solutions for cities. Megacities occupy about 2 percent of the world’s land; compact and well-connected growth can make a huge difference in the amount of investment needed for driving green urban development. Singh states “The fight against climate change will be won or lost in cities, so it’s crucial we make our urban habitats more efficient, cleaner and better to live in —not only for ourselves, but for future generations. Technologies are major levers and base for fur-ther sustainable city development. An effective infrastructure contributes to economic prosper-ity and improving quality of life.”

“DEVELOPING CITIES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO AVOID THE CARBON-INTENSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE CHOICES”CONNOR RIFFLE


CITIES ARE ACTING, SHARING AND LEARNING

Seth SchultzSETH SERVES as the Director of Research at the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40). Prior to this role, he served as the Director of the Climate Positive Develop-ment Program at the Clinton Foundation developing a program to help large-scale urban projects reduce their on-site CO2 emissions. Previous to his nonprofit work, Seth has been a consultant on environ-mental issues for more than 10 years.

WHAT challenges do cities face in devel-oping green projects?

One of the main challenges for cities is funding -- finding the capital required to “green” a city. Importantly, funding can’t simply be taxed-based, and it’s also influenced by factors beyond the city borders. Financing green projects requires expanding the capital base for improvement pro-jects. Since city infrastructure is large, projects often need financial support from national or re-gional governments as well. The interesting thing is that cities are getting more and more creative in figuring out ways to pay for projects, either by privatizing or forming public-private partnerships.

Engaging stakeholders is another challenge. Cities are increasing in size, and they are becoming more diverse economically and culturally. It can be dif-ficult to communicate effectively to citizens what needs to be done and why – but many of our C40 Cities have developed best practices in this area.

Long term planning is also a real challenge. In de-veloping cities, a rapid influx of people moving into urban areas forces cities to provide the necessary services and infrastructure at a pace that may im-pede comprehensive planning. The result can be costly. There is a need for both long term planning and immediate action. I think cities are getting better and better at doing both.

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GIVEN THESE challenges, to what extent are cities already catalyzing their ex-

pansion towards green development?What we see is that cities around the world are taking more action on climate change issues than other types of government. They are moving very quickly in terms of clean, green development. In a report that we released earlier this year, we found that by taking action on climate change mayors were actually creating healthier and wealthier cit-ies. It is a mayor’s responsibility to provide a safe and profitable environment for citizens. Cities are very competitive, and seek to attract people and businesses. So, cities are finding it very important to provide the best quality of life, the best living environment and truly vibrant places to live and to work.

Concerns about climate resilience are also driv-ing the green agenda forward. Resilience is an im-portant issue, 90% of the world’s large cities are coastal making them very susceptible to rising sea levels and the impacts of extreme weather events. This is a critical issue for cities, regardless or whether they are located in the southern or northern hemisphere. What we see is that a need for adaptability becomes a driver for developing green infrastructure which, in turn, will also make cities more resistant to climate change impacts.

MEASURING GHG emissions, is this ap-proach really helping Mayors to move

forward in the right direction?Yes, this is a fundamental issue and one that our C40 Chair, New York City Mayor Bloomberg has driven home repeatedly. He has often said “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” And that means that if you understand where your GHG emissions are coming from, then you can begin to address and prioritize them, eventually track-ing progress over time. This holds true for a variety of policy interventions, regardless of whether they are climate related or not. So the smarter and more detailed cities are about data collection and measurement, the smarter and more efficient their policy interventions can be. In our 2013 CDP Cities survey of C40 Cities, more than 64 percent of respondents reported that they are creating greenhouse gas emissions inventories at the city-wide level. This commitment to data-driven action will be one of the key legacies of Mayor Bloomb-erg’s chairmanship.

The climate challenges confronting cities may be similar, but they re-quire different, local-ized approaches and solutions

”


HOW ARE CITIES benefiting from collabo-rating with each other?

Mayors are responsible to the public for delivering results and driving innovation. Increasingly mayors are looking to one another for ideas and solutions to common problems. The value of this kind of ex-change is a key tenet of C40: it is really beneficial – and more efficient – for cities to have a forum in which to share information, including both their failures and successes . As a result, cities can save their peers from making the same mistakes – and can provide examples that serve as proof points in proposing new initiatives to their constituents. And this is critical for success. C40 Mayors under-stand this, and are helping each other.

What’s really interesting is that there is a tremen-dous amount of learning and sharing between de-veloped and developing cities. For instance, there is a valuable interaction between London and Johannesburg, and between Rio de Janeiro and Stockholm. All kinds of learning and fruitful ex-changes are happening. The really exciting thing is that when cities get together to work on prob-lems we are able to “circle the wagons” around specific issues and work to develop solutions in a collaborative fashion. Or as London’s Mayor John-son is fond of saying to the members, and I am paraphrasing, “I have every intention of stealing your good ideas.”

HOW IS C40 helping cities to measure greenhouse gas emissions and create

climate action plans? C40 is helping cities measure their greenhouse gas emissions by developing a common ap-proach, or standard, for city-level measure-ment. The Global Protocol for Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GPC), developed in partnership with WRI and ICLEI is specifically designed for cities. It identifies sectors, emis-sions and boundaries to measure. Currently C40 is piloting this initiative with 35 cities around the world, and will launch the final version in 2014. The protocol will serve as a global tool bringing much needed consistency to measuring GHG emissions in cities. This will help cities access financing; allow comparisons between cities over time; and demonstrate the global impact of col-lective local action.

C40 is also developing a methodology to assess the level of control that a mayor has over the GHG emissions in their cities. It includes 4 differ-ent dimensions of power, breaking the emissions problem into categories, and surveying affiliated cities on the type of power they have based on their local governance structure. What this re-search shows is that Mayors have direct authority over the most important sources of emissions. At C40 we rely on this research to identify the potential areas of intervention both where mayors have the greatest degree of control and where action would have the greatest impact on greenhouse gas emissions or climate risk. It is in these high impact areas where C40 focused on connecting cities with similar governance structures in order to transfer and scale actions more rapidly.

ABOUT C40The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of large and engaged cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions locally that will help address climate change globally. C40 was established in 2005 and expanded via a partnership in 2006 with President William J. Clinton’s Climate Initiative (CCI). The current chair of the C40 is New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. To learn more about the work of C40 and our Cities, please visit www.c40.org

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Cities are the places where challenges and solutions meet. But today, cities are growing at an unprecedented and challenging speed. City leaders are concerned about creating jobs and making their cities competitive. They also worry about the quality of life for citizens, and how cities can lower their carbon trajectories. These are examples of cities in transition towards green development.

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GLOBAL SNAPSHOTS

NOW RECOGNIZED as one of the world’s greenest cities, Curitiba, Brazil be-gan its sustainable transformation in 1970. Led by its former mayor, Jaime Lerner, a team of city planners, engi-neers, and sociologists worked togeth-er. They developed a plan for efficient transport, community friendly public spaces, and waste systems.

Every citizen has around 52 square meters of nature to enjoy in the city. Programs like the “Green City Ex-change” incentivize low-income families to exchange rubbish for bus tickets and food. About 70 percent of all waste is recycled, the city’s efforts to recycle paper save 1200 trees a day. These transformations have also con-tributed to economic growth, the GDP per capita in Curitiba is 66 percent above the average in Brazil.

Curitiba’s Green Revolution

CURITIBA

CITIES IN TRANSITION

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GRAZ, THE SECOND largest city in Austria, will host the smart city centre for urban technologies in the new Science Tower. The 60 me-ters tall tower will become the landmark of the city, and a home for scientists and companies involved in innovative cleantech solu-tions. It will also house its employees while remaining open to the general public.

On the roof, there will be a relaxation zone with a bo-tanical garden, emphasiz-ing the quality of life and openness that Graz wishes to accommodate as a part of a sustainable community. With a round outer shell its own glass skin will also gather its energy.

Science Tower

2

GLOBAL SNAPSHOTS

GRAZ

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Science Tower

IN CAPE TOWN, the city’s urban expan-sion threatens the city’s habitats, flora and fauna. Responding to these threats and the need for rapid action, Cape Town has identified, prioritized and begun the implementation of a Biodiversity Network, which protects critically important remnants of veg-etation.

The resulting network presently pro-tects representative components of all remaining vegetation types within the municipal area. Of 23 nationally recognized vegetation types in the city limits, 10 are considered ‘Critically Endangered’, four are ‘Endangered’ and four are ‘Vulnerable’. Six of these 23 vegetation types are endemic to the city. These conservation measures es-tablish ecological corridors, which re-main accessible to the citizens of Cape Town and visiting tourists.

Urban Biodiversity

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CAPE TOWN

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GRENOBLE is set to demonstrate how a post-carbon city will look. The EcoCité project aims to develop energy positive and carbon neutral cities by combining clean and renew-able sources, including biomass, solar and hydraulic power. Buildings will be retrofitted, heating and cooling systems will be integrated to the smart grid, and transportation will be shared using electric or hybrid power. Moderately priced mobility passes will allow citizens to use electric vehicles, self-service bikes, car sharing programmes and electric public transport. Other improvements include, the re-use of rainwater, wood constructions, and geothermal heating systems. Environmentally sound performance and quality life will be linked with design features, such as vertical gar-dens.

Grenoble is located at the foot of the French Alps, in an urban area with 700,000 inhabitants. This project is the biggest of the 13 districts in France set to develop into Eco-cities. It will promote green and sustainable development, as well as improve community awareness.

A Future Eco-city

GRENOBLE


PORTLAND HAS A LONG history in sus-tainability action. The city has long pursued innovative approaches to urbanism, beginning with the urban growth boundary in the 1970s to the pioneering of EcoDistricts today. Portland is the first U.S. city to enact a comprehensive plan to reduce CO2 emissions. It also runs a comprehen-sive system of light rail, buses, and bike lanes to help keep cars off the roads, and it boasts 37.23 hectares of green space and more than 119 kilo-meters of hiking, running, and biking trails.

Portland was hit hard by the current economic downturn. In response, the city has redoubled its efforts to invest in sustainability as a major part of its economic development strategy. Port-land’s strategy includes building upon its urban sustainability investments.

Urban Innovation

6PORTLAND

PANGKALPINANG MUNICIPALITY in Indonesia formed an in-novative public-private partnership by converting spoilt land into The Bangka Botanical Garden. The idea came from a local firm and by partnering with the government, the transformation of this land became an ecologically im-portant area, formerly used for mining.

The botanical garden, as well as providing recreational op-portunities to the community, supplies clean water to the municipality and it has become a significant wildlife habi-tat. Furthermore, its creation has led to the development of the Bangka Goes Green movement. With its implementa-tion came a greater sense of responsibility and interest in preserving the local environment.

Public-Private Partnerships

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INDONESIA

GLOBAL SNAPSHOTS

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THE BARCELONA School Agenda 21 is a pioneering environmental education program for schools within Barcelona and a source of inspiration for similar initi-atives beyond the city. The entire community around each school is involved in providing solutions and making commitments for a more sustainable city, for the environment and for the school itself.

Over the years, more than 80,000 pupils, 7,500 teach-ers, 1,400 supplementary school staff members and over 60,000 families have taken part. The School Agenda 21 Program un-folds in a conceptual space somewhere between the educational sphere and the environmental dimen-sion of the Barcelona Local Agenda 21. It has served as a model for many other cities in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ar-gentina, Mexico and Cuba.

Education for Sustainability

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BARCELONA

WITH AN ECOSYSTEM in disruption, the Mithi river in Mumbai is host to extreme rainfalls and waste water. Nonetheless, the river is vital for lo-cal communities. The Mithi River De-velopment and Protection Authority and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have a goal of finding cleantech solu-tions for restoring balance to the riv-er’s ecosystem.

Local authorities are exploring sev-eral solutions to handle the complex challenges the river faces. They are collaborating with a Danish group of companies specialized in water im-provement and waste treatment to apply a holistic approach, and will carry out a pilot project to apply their shared solutions and experience.

Mithi River

MUMBAI

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hen drawing up climate plans, cities will naturally include the sectors that contrib-ute the largest share of GHG emissions. In cities like Hong Kong, where 89 percent of the emissions come from buildings it makes sense to invest most effort on that sector. By contrast, 40 percent of emissions in To-ronto are attributed to mobility (Climate Group, 2010).

Cities often have the powers to implement changes in few of the sectors relevant to

ambitious climate plans, for example trans-portation and waste management. Howev-er, the energy and building sectors – often privately controlled – are also large contribu-tors to green house emissions. As a conse-quence private investments in infrastruc-ture are paramount for climate mitigation and adaption plans to succeed.

Copenhagen serves as an example. The city has heating and cooling plants from waste and seawater, high capacity windmill parks, and highways for bikes. A decade ago Co-penhagen embarked on a very ambitious journey of becoming the first carbon neutral capital by 2025.

Even for a front-runner city like Copen-hagen, the extra mile is neither easy nor cheap. “To reach this goal we have identi-fied 14 target areas and plan to invest DKK 2.7 billion (EUR 362 million) by 2025” says Jørgen Abildgaard, Climate Director for the City of Copenhagen. In addition the climate

plan needs an investment of DKK 25 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) by 2025 to be successful. He explains that private investment must come onboard to reach these milestones. “For every krone we invest ourselves, we need DKK 9 from our utility companies and DKK 82 from private investors”. He explains that this model proves challenging when it comes to buildings, because 95 percent of the existing buildings are privately owned. As the city has limited power to enforce retrofitting, it is left in need of creative solu-tions.

‘THINKING OUT OF THE BOX’“Instead, we use our excellent overview of the buildings. Based on building type and ownership, we are able to group buildings suitable for retrofitting, allowing private owners to tender together on several build-ings at once, which brings scale and lower the prices for retrofitting. We help create a better business case for private owners to retrofit their buildings, making it a win-win

FINANCING THE GREEN CITY Ambitious climate plans are often designed to be good investments for cities in the long run. While the cities make considerable upfront investments in these plans, private investments often play a crucial role as well. In Copenhagen, the climate plan requires that for every 1 DKK invested by the city, 80 DKK come from private investors. With limited powers of enforcement what initiati-ves are cities taking to incentivize private investment?

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Smart lighting 3%ESCO financing 3%Improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 from bus and/or light rail operations 4%

Building performance and reporting 7%

Building codes and standards 8%

Renewables on into energy generation 9%

LED / CFL / other luminaire technologies 12%

Improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 from motorized vehicles 15%

Energy efficiency / retrofit measures 21%

Sydney $800.000Sao Paulo $1,400,000

Toronto $1,950,000

Atlanta $2,000,000

Houston $3,600,000

Berlin $4,161,000

Las Vegas $6,287,000

Washington, DC $6,300,000

Los Angeles $13,000,000

Municipal emissions reduction actions focused on efficiency % of actions. Only the most common actions are shown, altogether 20 types of actions

Reported annual energy efficiency savings By city ($USD). Chart shows energy efficiency projects for which cities reported quantifiable financial savings.

Source: Carbon Disclosure Project, 2013, C40 Cities

54%


situation for building owners and the city” says Abildgaard.

Copenhagen is a good example of how cit-ies often catalyze the private investments needed: by making the ambitions of climate plans good business for both the city and the investors. “We have to remember that retrofitting for example is often already a good business case. If cities can make it even better by using their assets in new ways, it should be a no-brainer” says Abild-gaard.

Other cities use similar thinking to nurture investments in privately owned buildings. In San Jose, California, a GreenPoint rating system was introduced to green 4.5 million square meters of buildings by 2025. In Sao Paolo, the city granted USD 1.2 billion (EUR 880 million) in building rights for additional floor space on top of existing buildings, to avoid the inefficiencies of urban sprawl. Tokyo created the most advanced cap and trade system for buildings, contributing to the city’s goal of cutting CO2 emissions by 25 percent. In New York, buildings are benchmarked against each other and are required to publicly disclose their energy use. Amsterdam’s Green Lab is a public-private partnership with the city’s financial sector, academia and local government stakeholders cooperating to finance the green transition of the city. Additionally, as a part of the climate plan, the city created The Amsterdam Investment Fund with of EUR 70 million capital available for loans to sustainable projects in the city.

FOCUS ON THE INDUSTRY Kalundborg, Denmark, is known for their ‘Symbiosis’ –using waste streams from one

company as input to production for others. There, industry accounts for 71 percent of the energy used and 41 percent of CO2 emissions. To reach the GHG reductions in the city’s climate plan, industry is needed . Per Møller, Project Manager, Kalundborg Mu-nicipality shares his experience, “In the City of Kalundborg we spend a lot of time with the companies to understand their busi-ness. The general overview we get from this, helps to develop new forms of com-pany cooperation”. With a CO2 emission re-duction goal of 20 percent by 2020, this city is focusing on collaboration with industry. “By facilitating a process of better coopera-tion between companies, we ensure both green growth and lower emissions. This ap-proach is required if the aim is to reach large emission reduction targets, largely through commercially viable investments by private companies” says Per Møller. The collabora-tion model in Kalundborg ensured 277.000 tons of CO2 cuts in 2008 alone.

THE GREEN CITY GUIDESC40 reports that 62 percent of actions taken to cut GHG emissions by its member cities have also made green projects more attractive for businesses. Cities’ role as “cli-mate heroes” are often to set clear carbon reduction goals, and to bring change by fa-cilitating the private investments and seed-ing a new mindset. “It’s great when cities can actually be climate heroes and at the same time make good investment cases for investors. This is what green growth is really about,” concludes Abildgaard.

OECD FACTS (2012)Greening urban spaces in C40 cities is estimated to be 3 tril-lion USD.• The global infrastructure

needs are huge and estimate to require 40 trillion USD or 2,5% of the global GDP per year in road, rails, electricity and water.

• The congestion charges cost the city of London 244 mil-lion USD and bring anannual GHG emissions reduction of 120 tones.

• A solar center station in Seville cost the city 41 mil-lion USD and saves the cityof 110 tones of GHG emissions annually.

OECD (2012):There are several existing financial instruments that cities apply to attract private finance for urban green infrastructure:• Private sector involvement

in urban green infrastructure can take the form of public-private partnerships (PPPs), in which the long-term risk is transferred to the private sector. This can be the example of retrofitting gov-ernment buildings through an ESCO project.

• Through tax increment financing, as an alternative instrument for future tax revenues is used to attract private finance.

• Real estate developers may also pay for the infrastruc-ture that is needed to con-necttheir new development to existing infrastructure in the form of development charges (impact fees) and value capture (taxes that capture the value increases ofreal estate due to new infrastructure development nearby).

• Finally, loans, bonds and car-bon finance are instruments used to attract private finance in well-functioning capital markets.

Issue #5 · 2013 | 21

Source: Carbon Disclosure Project, 2013, C40 Cities

Emissions reduction actions that will make cities more attractive to business% of actions. Only the most common actions are shown, altogether 27 types of actions were reported.

62%

Improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 from bus and/or light rail operations 4%

Waste prevention policies or programs 4%

Transportation demand management 5%

Green space and/or biodiversity preservation and expansion 6%

Recycling or composting collections and/or facilities 7%

Improve accessibility to public transit systems 8%

Improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 from motorized vehicles 10%

Infrastructure for non-motorized transport 11%

Energy efficiency/retrofit measures 13%

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CITIES are increasingly the new epicentres of the green transition. Targetting solutions to cities are hence a key priority for many cleantech solution providers. But cities are not just cities. We take a closer look at four archetypes with very different needs and challenges.

FUTURE GREEN CITIES UNFOLDED

“Affordable Green”They need very cost efficient sus-tainable infrastructure and energy

solutions to cope with their massive population growth.

Illustration: BENNY BOX

“Smart Cities”Cities leading cleantch devel-

opment with climate plans leading to ambitious CO2

reduction targets.

Estimated annual population growth to 2025

Lagos 500,000Karachi 400,000

Delhi 300,000

Share of renewable energy (country level)

Copenhagen 19% Vancouver 17% Melbourne 4%

Yearly CO2 emission reduction

Copenhagen 6.5% Vancouver 2.5% Melbourne 5.5%

Issue #5 · 2013 | 23

“LeapFrog Cities”Cities with the capital to invest and infrastructure needed to leapfrog to state-of-the-art cleantech.

“Eco-Evolution Cities”World metropolitans seeking

green development and able to catalyze economies of scale in

cleantech

Estimated GDP growth 2010-2025

Beijing 399%Guangzhu 292%Shanghai 342%Sao Paolo 108 %

GHG emission metric tonnes

New York 53 million London 44 million

Tokyo 61 million

GDP Growth

Population Growth


Manufacturers interested in recycling their excess industrial heat have long been confronted with practical and financial barriers. But now an energy part-nership in the Danish Capital Region has managed to reach an agreement that can warm up a whopping 50% of Frederikssund city’s homes while saving the environment from 6,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 2.5 tons of mono-nitrogen oxides. The process took a lot of time and ingenuity – and some extra taxes.

HARNESSING THE HEAT OF INDUSTRY

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s a manufacturer of cata-lysts that reduce air pollu-tion and energy consump-tion worldwide, the Danish

company Haldor Topsøe A/S had long had its eye on the pollution-reducing potential of the excess heat generated by its own factory in Frederikssund. But until recently, it had been im-possible to harness that heat. And so every year, massive amounts of ‘free’ energy had simply gone to waste. Haldor Topsøe’s Technical Director Vegard Hetting admits that this waste of energy is not exactly in the spirit of the company. “We’ve wanted to do something about this problem for years,” he says. “Every year we do what we can to re-duce our own energy consumption, and even though our production has increased, our energy consumption

per unit of product has been falling-steadily for the past five or six years. Moreover, we have an agreement with the Danish Energy Agency to carry out any energy-saving project with a payback time of less than four years.”

A HEATED BUSINESSMaking catalysts is a heat-intensive business. One of the hottest manu-facturing steps is a spray-drying pro-cess used to extract a substance called alumina from a solution of 20% solid matter and 80% water. To transform the alumina slurry into a fine powder that can be used by other production units, the spray dryers take in a total of 30,000 m3 of very hot (700 degrees C) air per hour and leave behind a cloud of water-saturated air with a tempera-ture of 125 degrees C. Part of this byproduct is used by the company itself to heat up its buildings. But once this heat has been extracted, there’s still a cloud of damp air with a temperature of about 75 degrees C to be dealt with. “Until now, we’ve just been sending it through a glass tube heat exchanger to cool it down,” says Vegard. “But we would much rather see the heat being used by someone else.” And that heat could certainly be put to good use. On a yearly basis, the excess heat from Haldor Topsøe A/S represents some 30-35 GWh. That’s enough energy to heat up about 1,700 single-family homes for a year – or half of the 3,500 households in the cityof Frederikssund.

UP THE CHIMNEYMeanwhile, the local district heating company E.ON had been looking for

new, stable alternatives to the heat created by its gas boilers. Pairing up E.ON and Haldor Topsøe A/S would seem to be an obvious, win-win solu-tion, and both parties had in fact been trying to find common ground for years. But doing that wasn’t as simple as it sounds. The main problem was that E.ON needed a higher outflow temperature than Haldor Topsøe could deliver. An-other problem was the Danish tax sys-tem. By law Danish manufacturers are required to pay a 38% tax on the sale of their excessheat. This law is actu-ally about to change (see box) – but it has long been a barrier for many busi-nesses interested in this type of agree-ment, says industry sector executive Hans Peter Slente of The Danish En-ergy Industries Federation. “Transferring heat from one place to another requires some invest-ments,” he notes, “and to make these investments profitable, the tax needs to be reduced. Otherwise, businesses will just continue letting their fires go up the chimney.” Despite the tax burden, Haldor Topsøe A/S was prepared to move for-ward on the project – if the tempera-ture problem could be solved. And it finally was, thanks to E.ON’s own evolving technology. Adjustments and improvements made in the company’s district heat distribution system at last enabled them to reduce the tem-perature requirement for the hot wa-ter they needed from Haldor Topsøe A/S. “On really cold winter days, we will have to raise the temperature a bit, but it’s not a problem that

SOLUTIONS

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More cleantech solutions and infra-structure underway in the Danish Capital Region.


can upset the project,” Vegard Hetting says. The company is now busy establish-ing the infrastructure that will trans-fer their excess heat to E.ON’s district heating network. Once the heat-shar-ing project takes effect in December, it will save the environment from 6,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 2.5 tonsof nitrogen oxides.

A HUGE DIFFERENCEE.ON has also made some investments related to the long-awaited connec-tion. But the plant’s managing direc-tor Henrik Rasmussen, who is also chief operating officer of the Danish E.ON organization, expects that the new arrangement with Haldor Topsøe A/S will soon pay for itself. “The new setup provides significant benefits and is a sound investment for both parties,” he says. “Going forward, it will also make our heat production even more environmentally friendly than it is today. We are extremely pleased with this solution. ”Apart from the fact that excess in-dustrial heat is less expensive than many other energy sources, the agree-ment will also make a huge difference to E.ON’s to heat supply. According to Henrik, the heat from Haldor Topsøe A/S will represent about 50 percent of the total heat production at the E.ON plant. Having an additional source of heat also gives the plant an extra produc-tion option to supplement its exist-

ing gas-fired boilers, gas engines and electrical boilers. Dependingon short-term market conditions, the plant can now choose between four different production methods to provide cus-tomers with the least expensive form of energy at any given time. “All in all, it means a more stable business for us, with a large, predict-able supply of heat and stable prices that will enable us to retain exist-ing customers and attract new ones,” Henrik says. Henrik is hesitant to predict how the new agreement will affect the av-erage heating bill of his customers. An analysis of the project by the en-gineering consultancy firm COWI, however, puts the potential savings at about 300 euro per year for the owner ofa 130 m3 home with a yearly heat consumption of 18,1 MWh.

THE POWER OF EXAMPLEHenrik Rasmussen and Vegard Het-ting agree that the partnership be-tween their two companies is an ex-ample with great potential for others. Another strong believer in the power of this example is Frederikssund’s Di-rector of Planning, Environment and Business Claus Steen Madsen. “This is a fantastic example of how two businesses have been able to work together as neighbors to find a mutu-ally beneficial solution. It’s a great story that paves the way for others,” he says. “The role of our municipality must be to showcase these stories and

possibilities, bring parties together and facilitate new partnerships.” “I also believe that this type of sym-biosis has potential not only for large companies but for small and medium-sized ones,” Claus adds. Before coming to Frederikssund, Claus Steen Madsen worked with the idea of industrial symbiosis for many years in the Danish municipality of Kalundborg (see box), and he believes it can help define how businesses and society in general will operate and survive in the future.

GREAT POTENTIALOne thing appears to be certain: there is a great, immediate and untapped potential for symbiosis when it comes to using excess industrial heat in dis-trict heating systems. Especially in view of the fact that over 60% of all Danish households have district heat-ing, making Denmark a world leader in this area. Hans Peter Slente of the The Dan-ish Energy Industries Federation ex-plains the specifics: “A number of analyses point to a significant potential for utilizing ex-cess industrial heat. A conservative estimate puts the unused potential in Denmark at between 1,388 and 2,222 GWH, corresponding to the yearly heat consumption of 70,000 – 110,000 households. “Whether or not a manufacturer can sell the excess heat from produc-tion depends on many factors, includ-

Private-public partnership discussions underway at Haldor Topsoe Park & Vinge, Frederikssund.

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DANISH PARLIAMENT WILL PROMOTE THE USE OF EXCESS HEAT By 2015, the 38% tax on the sale of ex-cess industrial heat could change be-cause of a new ‘growth package’ adopted by the Danish parliament last April. As part of the package, a yearly fund of 15 mio EURO was established to promote the usage of excess industrial heat. It is un-certain whether the money will be used to offset lost revenues if the tax is abol-ished or reduced. An analysis of how to make better use of excess industrial heat is expected in 2015, and specific steps will not be taken until the analysis is re-leased. The The Danish Energy Industries Federation is lobbying to lower or com-pletely remove the tax. Meanwhile, Claus Steen Madsen of the municipality of Fred-erikssund suggests a new tax structure in which the highest taxes are levied on waste products that cannot be recycled.

INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS: FROM WASTE TO RESOURCEThe energy-sharing between Haldor Top-søe A/S and E.ON is an example of what’s known as industrial symbiosis – a collabo-ration in which waste products from one industry become valuable resources for another. But the potential for this type of waste-sharing is not limited to excess heat. The first example of industrial sym-biosis involves many other kinds of waste products as well. Since 1961, the project known as Kalundborg Symbiosis in the Danishmunicipality of Kalundborg has evolved into an intricate network of flows between public and private companies in which organic waste becomes fertilizer, smoke becomes gypsum, yeast slurry be-comes animal fodder and so on. Other ele-ments in this network can include steam, dust, gases, heat or any other waste product that can be physically transport-ed from one enterprise to another.Learn more at www.symbiosis.dk/en

ing heat temperature, the size and proximity of the local district heating plant and seasonal differences in the amount of excess heat that is gener-ated,” he adds.

MORE GROWTH IN FREDERIKSSUND Back in Frederikssund, there’s also a potential for further growth, thanks in part to thenew partnership between Haldor Topsøe A/S and E.ON. “Our new source of heat enables us to expand our capacity and deliver heat to new customers and new neigh-borhoods,” says Henrik Rasmussen. “We are following the general proce-dure for this kind of project, and the development will take some time. ”This could dovetail nicely with production plans at Haldor Topsøe A/S, where the turnover will increase significantly in the coming years. The manufacturing plant in Frederikssund currently consists of eight production units, and a ninth is under construc-tion. Whether this will mean more excess heat deliveries to E.ON will depend on whether Haldor Topsøe A/S is able to use the heat for its own purposes. Technical Director Vegard Hetting’s first priority is to seek out ways for the company to re-use its own waste prod-ucts. But whatever the case, it’s a safe bet that in the future there will be a lot less excess industrial heat from Haldor Topsøe A/S going up a useless chimney.

Issue #5 · 2013 | 27


NEW FACILITY FOR WASTEWATER THREATMENT

THE COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH REGIONFIVE EXAMPLES OF GREEN BUSINESS THINKING

1

PROJECTS

On the 8th of October Kalundborg opened its newest research, test, and demonstra-tion facility at Kalundborg Utilities, where re-sidual streams from industry will be cleaned through the activity and of selected micro-algae.

The algae facility is a showroom for new innovative technologies that can reduce

water consumption and costs in wastewater treatment. The pro-ject has brought together the wa-ter sector and chemical industry, as well as a number of technol-ogy providers within production of new biomass and in pre- and post-treatment of residual streams, biomass and freshwater. By show-casing the entire “food chain” of related industries in a innovative wastewater treatment concept, individual companies and spin off consortia can get a unique and early access to new markets, with-in e.g. sustainable biomass pro-duction, water technologies and eco-efficient process optimization.

On the opening day the first pre-selected microalgae were pumped into the large-scale reactors in front of an audience of partners, industry and cleantech repre-sentatives. The photo-bioreactors are designed to track the sun thereby allowing the algae to grow most efficiently on natural sun-light. A mixture of air and CO2 is introduced from below to ensure

gentle but through mixing of nutrients and algae, to balance pH, at the same time, driv-ing the liquid flow via an “air-lift effect”. In the process microalgae are removing and in-corporating e.g. nitrogen, phosphorous and CO2-related carbon leading to a cleaning of the freshwater resource and creating added value through the production of a higher value renewable biomass resource (e.g.

plant oil, protein, carbohydrates, enzymes and pigments).

“Realization of this test and demonstration facility in Kalundborg is mainly based on funding through the EU-FP7 project E4WA-TER but very important also through the pro-active involvement of Kalundborg Mu-nicipality, and Kalundborg Utilities and their dedicated staff. Kalundborg Utilities have allowed the construction of the facility on their premises. We owe much of the open-ness and willingness to engage in this type of innovative projects to the unique coop-erative spirit in the Kalundborg Symbiosis”, says Project Manager Per Møller from Clus-ter Biofuels Denmark, a cluster organization under the Municipality’s Development De-partment in Kalundborg.

The test and demonstration facility will gradually scale up activities over the next 12 month. The E4WATER project will run for an additional 3 years, but already on October 1st a new GUDP project (FIMAFY) on dewa-tering technologies and fish feed production has been added to a list of planned new ini-tiatives, in the pipeline. In the Water Bio So-lution Concept partners and new companies are entering into test and demonstration activities of wastewater treatment in the facility and new product design. Per Møller says, “We are hoping that new partners can see this project as an opportunity to test ex-isting products and also to co-develop new design to support this method of utilizing micro-algae in going commercial solutions”.

Kalundborg opens algae facility for a resource efficient wastewater treatment. A microalgae based research, test, and demonstration facility equipped with ten 4m3 photobioreators, has emerged at Kalundborg Utilities to clean industrial residual streams rich in nutrients.

Issue #5 · 2013 | 29

One of the key challenges to reaching the ambitious 2020-climate goals of the Danish government is solv-ing the problem of how to store the excess energy from large offshore windpark farms. When excess energy is produced by wind-turbines, a risk of imbalance in the overall electricity grid occurs. What if we could store wind power and use it when we need it? What if we could have wind power on demand?

E.ON, a major energy company, has built a large facility in collaboration with the grid system owner, Energinet.dk, which enables storage of excess wind energy. A large cylinder filled with water and a boiler element is con-nected to the grid and when the windmills are producing too much energy, driving the price of electricity down, E.ON turns on the boiler element heating up the water. This enables a better balance within the energy grid.

WIND POWER ON DEMAND

2“Giant thermos jug” stores and provides “wind power on demand” in the Frederiks sund district heating system.

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PROJECTS

One of the greatest challenges in our so-ciety is aging populations. By 2020, the el-derly will be a significantly larger proportion of the population in western cities. Elderly need adequate care and support in their dai-ly lives, with tasks such as washing clothes, cleaning, and grocery shopping, etc. In the case of washing clothes, the processes are energy and water consuming – two resourc-es that are becoming increasingly scarce.

On the peninsula of Hornsherred, Zealand, there is a whole new approach to sustain-ability in eldercare services. Providing their services in eleven municipalities on Zealand, Trasbo, a major provider of eldercare ser-vices, radically reinvented and rebuilt their workflow and business processes. Through the rebuilt it significantly lowered energy and water usage and eliminated the use of chemicals. For over 40 years, Trasbo has had a great focus in improving services for elderly by offering best in class services in Denmark. These include an environmental friendly approach to resources leading the path to greener social services

CLEANTECH ACHIEVEMENTS AT TRASBO

• Reduced water usage from 34L to 6L pr. kg washed clothes

• 60% reduction in the annual energy consumption

• New environmentally friendly fleet of cars

GROWING CITIES CALL FOR MORE CLEANTECH IN SOCIAL SERVICES

4

The streetlights in Copenhagen are worn down and require a lot of unneces-sary maintenance. Lampposts all over Copenhagen are therefore being replaced with environmentally friendly LED lighting. Since 2011, the Municipality of Copen-hagen has put up 8.500 new environmentally friendly lampposts, and this has already had a positive effect on the power expenses and the climate account.

“With the new street lighting, we will reduce our consumption of electricity and our carbon emission by 50 percent. At the same time better light increases the safety of the streets. 8.000 lamp posts will be replaced, and in the next few years another 20.000 street lamps will be substituted with new lamps,” says Ayfer Baykal, mayor of technology and environment.

The new lampposts will altogether give a power-spending cut of almost 10 giga-watt hours a year, which reduces the power consumption and carbon emission by 50 percent from 2010 to 2016.

It is Copenhagen’s ambition to be the first carbon-neutral capital in 2025. As street lighting makes up about 15 percent of Copenhagen’s municipal power consumption the replacement of all streetlights will be a considerable contribu-tion towards reaching the goal.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY STREET LIGHTING ALL OVER COPENHAGEN

More than 8.500 of the iconic streetlights in Co-penhagen have now been replaced, and in the next few years another 20.000 will be replaced. This will reduce the street light power consumption and carbon emission by 50 percent.

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Issue #5 · 2013 | 31

5

Scion DTU’s emphasis on test and demonstration facilities does not come out of the blue. Reports show that test and demonstra-tion of products is one of the highest priorities for Danish cleantech companies, in order to keep product development and commerciali-zation on track. Furthermore, the companies point out that there is a need for more facilities and a strong framework. Accommodating the increasing demand for facilities where tested or demonstrated products become part of a larger system. Especially for SME’s this increasing testing products is a costly affair.

DEVELOPING AND MAPPING FACILITIESScion DTU address this development by facilitating better access to the growing amount of facilities in Denmark. The facilitation is put into action by the webportal, Cleantech Facilitator. Whether you are looking for the most advanced and innovative test and demonstra-tion facilities for offshore wind energy, globally approved water test-ing facilities, or a demonstration partner from the scientific field in Denmark, the Cleantech Facilitator is a good place to start.

In addition Scion DTU is launching a network aiming to establish a more coherent supply of test and demonstration facilities and to foster business relations, thereby strengthening Denmark’s position as a world leading lab for green technologies.For more information see www.cleantechfacilitator.com

HANDS-ON FOCUSA new Green Entrepreneur House with hands on focus on concept and prototype development was officially launched in September. The house offers green start-ups business consultancy, mentoring, lab-facilities and it bridges the gap between entrepreneurs and the world leading test and demonstration facilities at DTU Risø Campus. Scion DTU is the lead partner of the project, which is a result of a strong partnership within business development, network creation, prototyping incubation environments, and between entrepreneurs who are working with green solutions.

For more information please see www.dgih.dk

STATE-OF-THE-ART TEST AND DEMONSTRATION FACILITIES

As Denmark push the limits of green technologies to be competitive and to main-tain a position of cleantech first mover, an extensive range of test and demonstra-tion facilities plays a vital part. That is when it comes to innovating, developing and deploying the cleantech solutions of tomorrow. Scion DTU is addressing this need with a broad range of activities.


Climate adaptation: The City of New York is ready to invest almost 20 billion dollars to protect the city against climate changes and provide green infrastructure for the future. At the same time the city wants to learn from Copenhagen. This provides big

market potentials for Danish companies. But how should the big apple be approached?

After Sandy:NEW YORK LOOKS

FOR INSPIRATION IN COPENHAGEN

Issue #5 · 2013 | 33

he flooding and damages in New York after the hurri-cane Sandy has accelerated the American focus on new

climate adaptation solutions to avoid similar catastrophes in the future. Sustainable buildings and manage-ment of huge water masses are but a few of the areas the city is looking out for. The American needs for new solu-tions provide remarkable market po-tentials for Danish companies.

HUGE INVESTMENTSAccording to a city plan presented by NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg in June 2013, New York is ready to invest almost $ 20 billion (112 billion Danish Kroner) to protect the city from hur-ricanes, rising sea levels and warm summers. At the same time New York looks to other cities for collaboration and partnerships, not least Copenha-gen, which is highly respected for its climate solutions and heading the C40 Green Growth Network.

MAYORS´ MEETING In January Lord Mayor of Copenha-gen and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City had an official meet-ing where they discussed visions and solutions within the field of climate adaption for both New York City and Copenhagen. The purpose of this strong political partnership was to build more concrete projects benefi-cial for both cities. The Mayor dialogue was followed in May with a study trip to New York spearheaded by the Confederation of Danish Industries (DI), Copenhagen Municipality and the Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster with assistance of the consultancy firm of Quercus Group. The purpose was to iden-tify New York’s most pressing needs within energy and climate adaptation technologies, hereby gaining insight into which central gaps that Danish core competences can fill out and how Danish companies can approach the market in New York.

EIGHT FINDINGS On the basis of more than 20 meet-

ings and interviews with companies, organisations and high level officials from New York City a number of key findings and recommendations were revealed. “ The trip confirmed that Danish core competencies are highly relevant within eight areas of climate adaptation and green infrastructure in New York, most particularly within “water” and ”buildings”, comprising storm water protection and manage-ment, coastal protection, building re-siliency and energy efficiency”, states Special Advisor Tue Robi Jensen, DI. Other areas of high relevance are; smart grid solutions, waste manage-ment and hot water based district heating as well as decentralized power back up solutions. “Furthermore New York showed special interest in inte-grated solutions in general, e.g. “com-plete streets” and intelligent build-ings”, Robi Jensen points out.

HOW TO ENTERIn spite of Denmark´s core compe-tences in all these areas it is not easy for Danish companies to enter the New York market. The study high-lights a number of barriers for enter-ing the market. “New Yorkers tend to want to make their own solutions and, as a general rule, you have to establish both a name and contacts at high level to get access to the market”, says CEO Nicolai Sederberg Rottbøll, Quercus Group. On this background the study revealed a number of entry recom-mendations for Danish companies: Entering partnerships with local com-panies, establishing physically in the city to build up network and trust, get-ting approved on the city’s pre-quali-fication list and providing integrated solutions rather than single solutions.

OFFICIAL MATCHMAKINGSeveral official events are being planned to forge closer links between the two cities and establish green partnerships. DI hosts a conference on the 23. of October,where high level U.S. representatives will talk to Dan-ish companies about the U.S. plans and needs at both the federal level, state level and city level. Subsequent-

ly, a matchmaking conference in New York will take place in the spring of 2014, where Danish and American companies and key actors meet to dis-cuss business and green partnerships in concrete terms.

NEW YORK´S NEEDS FOR DANISH CLIMATE ADAPTATION EKSPERTISE:

1. Storm water protection and management - buildings and streets

2. Coastal protection - espe-cially near coast protection, not offshore

3. Buildings - resiliency, building supply and energy efficiency

4. Smart grid solutions - col-laboration, consortium and education

5. Waste management - e.g. recycling, waste to energy and gasification

6. Hot water based district heating – instead of steam based solutions

7. Power back up - decentral-ized back up solutions

8. Integrated solutions in gen-eral - e.g. “complete streets”

Source: Quercus Group

HOW TO ENTER THE NYC MARKET:

• Entering partnerships with local companies

• Establishing physically in the city to build up trust and fame

• Getting approved on the city’s pre-qualification list

• Providing integrated solu-tions rather than single solutions

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growing number of cities around the world are establishing ambitious goals for the reduction of their carbon footprint, and thus surpassing cli-

mate related targets set by national governments. However, there is a significant challenge with bench-marking environmental goals set by cities. This is due to the fact that the setting up GHG emissions reduction targets differs from city to city. The lack of plausible and scalable data is a challenge when comparing city climate plans and carbon reduction targets on a like-for-like basis. To put it up very simply; if you don’t know where the most of GHG emission in your city are coming from, your won’t be able to create powerful climate action plans. A guiding principle for this activity is the mantra of the chairman of C40, the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg - “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” At Siemens we experienced the varying data quality at firsthand. In cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit, we carried out a benchmark analysis of more than 120 cities around the world. Completing the Green City Index was, in most cases, no easy task due to the differing avail-ability and quality of data.

A Green City IndexThe overall aim of the Green City Index was to measure and rate leading cities around the world through approximately 30 indicators touching on a wide range of environmental ar-eas –from energy and water consumption to air quality and GHG emissions. One of the goals for creating such unique comparison was to motivate cities to learn from each other through best practice sharing. In order to provide a scalable platform for cities we start-ed a new collaboration with the Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40). The partnership has two pillars: a technical partnership focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) measure-ment and planning, and a global prize competition to high-light excellence in urban sustainability.

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Kurt Othendal NielsenCity Account Manager at Siemens Copenhagen

Cities: “IF YOU CAN’T MEASURE IT, YOU CAN’T MANAGE IT”

CITIES around the world become inspired by best practice while learning from each other’s mea-surement and ratings.

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“THE GREEN CITY INDEX MOTIVATES CITIES”

The Initiative will support joint problem solving by peer cities that are currently working to develop GHG emissions inventories and climate action plans and can benefit from shared approaches to data collection, analysis, and strategic planning. The second pillar is the C40 Climate Leadership Awards. This comprehensive award recognizes city innovation that accelerates city actions to combat the sources and impacts of global climate change. Awards are granted annually in ten categories and provide global recognition for cities that are demonstrating climate action leadership.

Cities’ Best Practice An independent, seven member judging panel consisting of former city Mayors, architects and representatives of the World Bank, C40 and Siemens selected the award final-ists and winners. Among others, the former Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Ritt Bjerregaard was the jury member, which selected Awards 2013 winners. Competition results are pretty impressive. Twenty-nine cities from Tokyo to Mexico City representing a total of 37 projects across the ten categories have been nominated as 2013 finalists. The ten city award winners were announced at the beginning of September at the awards ceremony at the Crystal in London. Copenhagen was on the spotlight as the city won the Carbon Measurement & Planning category with its project CPH 2015 Climate Plan for its aim to become the first car-bon neutral capital city by 2025. On that day Lord Mayor Bjerregaard put this prestigious city’s recognition in the right perspective by saying: “All, the city council and many inhabitants of Copenhagen really see Copenhagen as a forerunner on climate change. So when we are looking for solutions we are going to find them in cities.” And just before the 2014 City Climate Leadership Awards competition is about to be launched, it makes the right oc-casion to reflect on the importance of joining forces in mak-ing significant progress in tackling global climate change.

Green City Index’s seven key les-sons to become a greener city:

• Good Governance needs to start at the metropolitan level, so city autonomy is key.

• A Holistic Approach, recognizing that categories are linked to each other.

• Wealth is important, but policies matter more –simple steps can make a difference.

• Civil Engagement is key, because the citizens are the end users of any initiative.

• Technology is the way forward and implementation can drastically improve any city.

• Green and brown go hand in hand, a good environment will influence quality of life.

• Informal sector inclusion remains a key aspect, especially in developing cities.

Citizens’ Footprint

What is the GHG footprint? The greenhouse gas emissions of any activity for which the footprint is accounted for, also beyond the boundaries of an organization or a city.


Illustration: Rasmus Juul

Issue #5 · 2013 | 37

Climate impact is often expressed through a single output indi-cator like greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. While such single indicators are essential indicators to measure progress, they sometimes limit the scope of ratings.

Considering consumption-related GHG emissions and citizen lifestyles helps to broaden the picture of carbon emissions in cities. Susanne Krawack comments “We did a study on four Danish families, a family with two kids living in a flat in Copenhagen owning one car, a student living in a dormi-tory, an affluent couple approaching retirement and owning three cars, and again, a family of four with a car. The last two families were living in houses. We found out that their foot-print varies from 13 to 33 tones of CO2 emissions per year, which is rela-tive to their financial status. But, air travels and eating meat is what splits them, and in these cases, it largely was the cause of a higher footprint”. Ms. Krawack is Chief Consultant at CONCITO, a Danish think thank that provides analysis and information on the best low-cost transitions toward a climate-neutral society in Denmark and elsewhere.

Urban citizens can have a large impact on climate through their lifestyle, even when they have a low impact from an energy or production perspective. Krawack explains, “It is certain that people living in urban places have a lower direct energy consumption, be-cause they live in closer, often smaller

spaces and with easy access to public transportation. In Denmark, the car-bon footprint of energy consumption accounts only for 25 percent, leaving the remaining 75 percent to lifestyle consumption.”

“Even if cities reduce their energy impact to zero by renewable sources, there is still a greater share, which is the lifestyle consumption of their citizens, and that’s very difficult to predict in climate reduction targets”, states Susanne.

Accounting for the citizen’s footprint can be challenging. It varies largely according to city infrastructure and population density. It also depends heavily on what is produced within the city. Even within the borders of a single city, the differences are surpris-ing. For example in Toronto, a citizen’s footprint differs enormously depend-ing on where they reside, in an inner city neighborhood the average annual emissions are 1.3 CO2 tons, compared to 13 CO2 tons in a suburb.

Cities and its citizens have a vital role in reducing their footprint and impact on the climate, therefore, it’s essential to also take a closer look into lifestyle consumption of inhabitants.

IT IS POSSIBLE to divide the combined greenhouse gas emissions of the entire world (50 billion tons of CO2e) by the global GDP, resulting in emissions of approximately 1125 g/Euro. This corre-sponds to the 7.5 tons per world citizen, and if this is ap-plied to the Danish GDP/citi-zen, the resulting emissions amount to 33 tons/Dane. This is thus a very simple model, in which emissions are directly proportional to financial con-sumption.

(CONCITO, 2010)


JAIME LERNER was elected Mayor of Curitiba in 1971 and re-elected two more times. Lerner has won a number of awards including the United Nations Environment Award (1990); Child and Peace Award from UNICEF (1996); World Technology Award for Transformation (2001); the Prince Claus Award; and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture. Lerner is principal of Jaime Lerner Associated Architects.

Jaime Lerner shares his vision“What brings life to a city are its citizens. The better the quality of life of the city, the better it will be for its citizens and the more livable and lively it will be. I see cities not as problems, but as solutions”

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CITIES ARE SOLUTIONSI would argue that any city with a vision could be trans-formed in a relatively short period of time, in less than three years. The more generous the vision of a city is, the sounder the equations, and the more good practices multi-ply. Then, the more rapidly a city’s vision constitutes gains in quality of life. Only when we understand cities’ struc-tures for living, working, moving together, then we can work more effectively. In some cases, we have to start with what I call “Urban Acupuncture,” small interventions that can bring new energy to a city. These interventions provide assistance during the process of long-term planning. We have to understand that applying innovation is about mov-ing fast while leaving room for ideas to be improved, be-cause sometimes, solutions need improvement over time.

A SUSTAINABLE EQUATIONSustainability is an equation between what we save and what we waste. A lot of people are talking about new materials, or new sources of energy, or wind turbines, or recycling. They are really important, but not enough in isolation. We can be more effective when working with the concept of the city. It’s through a holistic approach to cities that we can have better results. Understanding cities as a collective dream is fundamental. Building that dream is vital. Without it, there won’t be the essential involvement of its inhabitants. It is crucial for successful projects that the majority of the population commits to it.

WHEN SUSTAINABILITY STARTSAs far as sustainability concerns, we identi-fied three fundamental issues that are key to quality of urban life: sustainability, mobility and socio-diversity. In Curitiba we started ap-plying some key tenets for cities: using less cars, and separating organic and recyclable garbage. We started at schools, teaching children during six months on how to separate their garbage. And afterwards, the children taught their parents. In fave-las, back in 1989, we also exchanged garbage backs for bus tickets and football tickets. Since 20 years, Curitiba has the highest separation rate of garbage in the world: 70 percent. In terms of mobility, giving priority to public transport and use all modes available in the best and most efficient way is key. When we came up with the first bus rapid tran-sition system in the world, in 1980’s, we didn’t have money for a complete new fleet. Then, we said to the private sector, we will invest in the itinerary and public infrastruc-ture, as long as you invest in the fleet. They agreed and we paid them by kilometer, without any subsidies. The system pays itself. I also believe that “private” vehicles without private ownership, for example sharing car schemes, will increasingly play a larger role in urban commutes. To make this happen you need creativity. If you want creativity, cut a zero off your budget. If you want sustaina-bility, cut off two. If you want solidarity, make your identity count while respecting diversity.

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CLEANTECH IS ALL ABOUT COLLABORATION

SO LET’S MIND EACH OTHER’S BUSINESS

DENMARK has a long tradition for producing and devel-oping clean energy and environmental technologies, so-lutions and businesses. Alongside this tradition a robust ecosystem around sustainability has emerged. Dan-ish universities have a strong focus on environmental, climate and energy research, our businesses produce many strong global brands within cleantech and the regulatory framework in Denmark is supportive of green and sustainable ways of thinking and doing. AS A RESULT the Danish cleantech industry generates just over EUR 40 billion in revenue a year and employs 120,000 people. No other country in the world exports more cleantech relative to GDP than Denmark. THE COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH CLUSTER (CCC) is at the heart of the cleantech ecosystem in Denmark with a mission to foster cooperation between cleantech com-panies, research institutions and public-sector organi-sations. We facilitate partnerships, build test & demo facilities, boost innovation and entrepreneurship, host events, conduct analyses, support internationalisation activities and much more to underpin our goal of becom-ing the most innovative cleantech cluster in the world.

FROM THE OUTSET, CCC has sought a strong inter-national outreach. As the initiator of the International Cleantech Network, we work closely with like-minded clusters in Germany, Austria, Singapore, the U.S.A, Italy, Norway, France, Spain and many other international partners. THROUGH OUR international network, we can introduce Danish cleantech stakeholders to companies and uni-versities outside the region. We can also bring you closer to the cleantech players in the greater Copenhagen re-gion and beyond.

COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH CLUSTER is looking forward to introducing you to our unique cleantech community!

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CPHCLEANTECH.COM

COPENHAGEN CLEANTECH CLUSTERNØRREGADE 7BDK-1165 COPENHAGEN VDENMARK

T: +45 [email protected]

Find this issue and additional reading online

copenhagen cleantech journal #5

Documents

development cities

duties of cities

climate plans page

cleantech companies

copenhagen cleantech

climate adaptation page

new climate heroes

cleantech eco system