How can Danes reduce their consumption? Read the answer from Professor Claus Hélix-Nielsen, Head of Department at DTU Sustain and co-publisher of the Circularity Gap Report Denmark.
How big is the Danes' material footprint?
Denmark has a rather large footprint because we have high consumption rates. Unfortunately, Denmark is quite bad at achieving circularity. That is, we are not very good at reusing products. Although we are okay at recycling, Denmark is still only 4 per cent circular, which is significantly lower than the global circularity of 7.2 per cent. This means that only a very small part of the resources consumed by the Danes have been used before, and the majority consists of new virgin materials. This can be materials such as metals, sand, gravel, fossil fuels, and biomass, e.g. in food and animal feed.
Why is our consumption so much higher than most?
As one of the richest countries in the world we simply can afford it. But part of it can also be explained through geography. We are a country with very few natural resources, so we need to import a lot of materials, as we are not self-sufficient. We import so many materials and finished products that 72 per cent of the total resource extraction needed to meet our consumption rates takes place in other countries.
Who are the biggest consumers in Denmark?
If we distinguish between public consumption and private consumption, Denmark has relatively high public consumption rates - and thus uses a lot of resources - seen from an international perspective, while private consumption rates are smaller. Public consumption covers, e.g., services, but also maintenance and development of large public infrastructures.
If we look at individual sectors, construction, industry, and agriculture have the highest consumption rates. Together, those three sectors account for 64 per cent of Denmark's material footprint and 56 per cent of the carbon footprint, most of which takes place abroad in connection with either the production of products or the extraction of resources imported into these sectors.
