Using the new Metro line or hopping on a bike, staying in eco-friendly hotels, dining on local and ethically-sourced produce at the city's restaurants and helping to keep the harbours and canals free from plastic are among the ways in which visitors can contribute to the green development in Copenhagen.
Denmark is one of my favourite destinations along with the rest of Scandinavia. I've been to Copenhagen several times and once spent a month in Odense. It comes as no surprise to me that this innovative nation is out front, tackling the environmental challenges facing the whole world.
For a novel way to see the city and help maintain its celebrated clean harbour, Green Kayak is an environmental initiative with the aim of reducing the amount of waste in aquatic environments. Visitors can 'rent' a kayak free of charge to explore Copenhagen's waterways for two hours and then 'pay' by bringing back a bucket of waste material they have gathered from the harbour and canals. The aim is to keep the local waters clean, as well as minimising the general level of micro plastic in the ocean by ensuring that plastic is not left to dissolve in the water.
Alternatively, visitors can explore the harbour in a noiseless and solar-powered boat from GoBoat goboat.dk/en/ opening on 13 March. With a focus on keeping the harbour clean by using environmentally friendly motors, GoBoats can be rented to explore the harbour and canals. The company also sells organic wine and drinks to enjoy on board.
Explore innovative neighbourhoods
Nordhavn is one of the newest city areas in Copenhagen, built with a sustainable vision in mind and aiming to create a more socially sustainable Copenhagen. The area is also home to EnergyLab Nordhavn, which is a large research project working on energy solutions for the future.
Across the harbour from Nordhavn in the newly established Refshaleøen area of the city, sustainability takes the form of Reffen, a new organic street food market and creative hub for start-up businesses and innovation. Since opening in 2018, more than 50 start-up businesses in the form of food stalls, bars and creative workshops have come to this area by the Copenhagen harbour with many the market stalls constructed of recycled materials or placed in recycled shipping containers. All stalls agree to 'reduce and reuse' to minimise food waste and use organic, free-range and locally produced ingredients wherever possible.
Dine on local delights
Across the city, locally sourced and organic food is seeing a real surge in demand. From private homes, where organic food accounts for nearly a quarter of all food sales, to the top restaurants, where it is the basis of New Nordic cuisine.
The reopened restaurant noma has its own urban farm on Refshaleøen and at nearby Amass former noma Head Chef, Matthew Orlando, works with organic produce from local farms alongside his own 800 square-metre garden situated directly in front of the dining room.
At Relæ, which has twice been named the world's most sustainable restaurant, their philosophy is built on the idea that innovative gastronomy and low prices can work hand in hand. They have a 'farm of ideas' located at a community an hour from Copenhagen, dedicated to establishing sustainable and organic farming practices.
And on the top floor of a former car auction house in Østerbro, Gro Spiseri is a restaurant run alongside Denmark's first rooftop farm. In the warm and cosy greenhouse, heated by a multifunctional oven in the kitchen, up to 24 diners sit at one long table among the herbs, strawberry plants and lettuces.
Stay in an eco-friendly hotel
Hotels across the city are looking to grow their focus on sustainability with more than 70 per cent holding an official eco-certification.
At Copenhagen's six Brøchner Hotels, almost 100 per cent of all the food served at breakfast is organic and their chocolate comes from Original Beans, which helps to plant a tree every time a chocolate bar is sold. They are also part of the international eco-label Green Key, which means they take steps to save energy everywhere they can.
At the climate-friendly Arthur Hotels group, its two Copenhagen properties have made it the first carbon-neutral hotel group. This has been achieved by consulting with employees to make small adjustments such as more energy-friendly lighting and heating, choosing greener options for guest's amenities and groceries and reducing their laundry consumption by 22 per cent. Arthur Hotels has also bought electric cars for guests to rent and provides charging stations for guests arriving by electric car.
All the Guldsmeden Hotels (there are five in Copenhagen) are Green Globe Certified and are committed to improve their sustainability standards even more through an annual audit that demands a five per cent improvement each year in a given area. The group also holds the Golden Ø label which is regulated by the Danish Ministry of Food & Agriculture and recognises that 90-100 per cent of all the food they serve is organic.
At the BC Hospitality Group, one of Denmark's leading hotel, conference and hospitality companies, with just under 1,600 hotel rooms and more than 160 meeting and conference spaces across the city, their focus is on reducing food waste through a collaboration with Too Good To Go and to purchasing produce from sustainable suppliers.
Explore the city by bike and public transport
The Danes are a nation of cyclists and on average every Copenhagener cycles about 3.5 km per day with 62 per cent using their bike to get to work and school. Visitors can join in using the network of 24 so-called 'Green Bike Routes' which have been planned across the city. So far over 58 km of the 115 km route has been completed and Lille Langebro, the newly opened harbour bridge for bikes and pedestrians, makes it even easier to get around the city by bike.
For those who prefer the Metro, the new City Circle Line Metro opened on 29 September 2019 and enables more people to take public transport. Linking the Nørrebro and Vesterbro areas with the city centre, the 15.5 km underground track loops under the city's 'bridge quarters' and Frederiksberg with 17 underground stations and makes all the restaurants, bars and shops more easily accessible for visitors.
In a further bid to reach the city's carbon-neutral status by 2025, all diesel-powered buses will be phased out in favour of electric buses. Following tests over the last two years, the plan is to implement electric buses across the entire city. The first routes will be fully serviced by electric buses before the end of the year.
Another innovative addition to the Copenhagen public transport network is the Greater Copenhagen Light Rail, set to open in 2025. Running every five minutes, the eco-friendly rail will connect 29 stations across a 28 kilometre route north, west and south of Copenhagen.