Mitigation schemes in Denmark

This is caused by the extensive environmental regulation enacted by the EU, in particular in the form of directives, but also as regulations. In addition there are environmental regulations in the individual member states, which in many cases supplement the regulation from the EU.

There is thus a long line of regulations, which must be considered, before businesses – including ports – can be established or expanded.

Environmental demands

Environmental considerations and the regulation on which they are dependent are in some business areas considered a threat, as the performance of environmental demands, etc, causes increased costs for the port wishing to expand or attract other businesses to the port areas.

But environmental regulation and sustainable thinking is here to stay. Businesses thus have to adapt to this reality.

In Denmark, the Port of Aalborg is currently working on an ambitious expansion plan with the object of taking environmental relations strategically and proactively into consideration. The project is in an advanced stage, making environmental regulation a long term and permanent strength as well as a business opportunity for the port and its businesses.

Environmental regulation regarding an expansion, as well as the establishment of a port or business situated on the port site, is fairly comprehensive.

It’s administered by municipal or governmental authorities, which must in many cases approve an expansion or establishment of a businesses. This is the case when establishing in or expanding into Denmark.

Land use

Local and urban area development plans state where specific types of businesses, including ports, are allowed to be situated in every municipality, as well as the amount of noise businesses can make in the specific areas where they are situated, how buildings must be shaped, their height, etc.

Businesses and ports can not be established or expanded in an area that does not support the establishment of such business types through the local and urban area development plan. If the area plan framework is not in order, either alternative plans must be made, the business must be placed somewhere else or worse, discarded.

Environmental Impact Assessment

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been passed in Denmark with the Planning Control Law and the EIA regulation, which are a result of the EIA Directive.

A business which is governed by EIA rules cannot legally be established without taking into consideration the amount of pollution produced by the business and the eventual need for an EIA. The EIA is a procedure which the competent authority must follow in order to allow projects that are expected to have a significant impact on the environment.

Far more business types are in specific cases assumed to have a significant impact on the environment. When it comes to these businesses the EIA authority must perform a case-by-case assessment for each case in order to determine whether the project is governed by EIA rules, based on potential consequences versus the vulnerability of the impacted areas.

This assessment is called a screening. If the screening cannot reject potential material impacts on the environment, an EIA must be made. For the mandatorily governed projects as well as the screened projects, the EIA entails that the project must be assessed in relation to impact on the environment, before the project is approved and carried out.

Natura 2000-areas

Natura 2000-areas have their jurisdiction under the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (The Habitats Directive). Natura 2000 is a common term for a number of international nature conservation areas. Together the areas form an ecological network of protected nature conservation areas throughout the EU. The aim is to protect or restore favourable conservation status of the species and natural habitats that the areas preserve.

Central elements in the administration of the Natura 2000 areas are:

All of these regulations are handled by the environmental and/or planning authority. This can cause long and in many cases costly file handling, where ports and businesses in the mean time miss out on large revenues until the necessary tests and studies have been carried out.

Handling the challenge

Denmark’s Port of Aalborg has reacted to the increasing environmental demands in recent years by strengthening its strategy in order to improve sustainable development.

It has adopted its strategy on sustainability with a vision for the external environment to develop a sustainable port and industrial area and to carry out several specific internal environmental actions on the port areas and buildings. This will all help to make the port attractive for businesses, as well as strengthening its sustainable profile as a CO2 neutral port.

The port has ordered and received an environmental regulations compliance report in order to map its strengths and weaknesses, as well as threats and possibilities regarding environmental regulation. This includes an assessment of how to turn regulation into a strength instead of a weakness.

The Port of Aalborg believes that environmental relations and handling of environmental regulation will be a defining parameter among future competitive conditions and will be the only real possibility for survival on the global market.

Focus on the environment and on sustainability on the political, as well as a consumer level, will increase during the years to come. Survival in the long term will be down to the ability to adjust to the regulation and turn it into a strength instead of a threat or weakness – in short by having a proactive approach to future demands in sustainable measures in the long term.

Long term strategy

The port’s new sustainability project will start from an approach where the environmental assessment has a long term strategic value instead of being a control tool primarily enforced due to legal requirements. Its environmental assessment will become a desired instrument to be used proactively by decision makers and cooperating partners, as it can facilitate and create long term value that is necessary when making strategic decisions on sustainability.

It will consider life cycle cost analysis (LCA), where overall perspectives with regards to different development options will include an evaluation of financial, social and environmental considerations.

The project will also integrate environmental assessments in the decision making processes that take place on a strategic level of the port, by:

1. Being innovative with regards to industrial symbioses and the use of environmental assessments as a strategic tool developing and evaluating specific sustainable strategies and solutions for the Port of Aalborg and the pending expansion. This will include considering what the port can offer businesses in relation to placement, logistics and environmental regulations, knowledge and network, that no one else can.

2. Improving the long term environmental and financial performance of Port of Aalborg and the businesses on site.

Going forward

By increasing the focus on strategic thinking regarding environmental relations and regulation, it is possible to predict what type of businesses can be established or expanded on the port site within the framework of the environmental regulation and the urban and local area development plans.

This will provide the port with a long term business advantage that enables it to inform an interested tenant where they can best establish their business as well as whether the business can be expanded.

Furthermore, existing and future tenants on the port site will be able to take advantage of industrial symbioses with neighbouring businesses with regards to sustainability, the use of common resources and by-products.

To this end the port is ensuring it is working with environmental regulation and the businesses on its site, instead of against them. The future handling of these aspects will be an essential competitive parameter for the port.