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24 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine innovation F Clean tech helps drive Denmark's economy By Nabil Nasr For early adopters, clean technology was often a novelty that drew attention but had limited environmental and eco- nomic benefits. Technological advances have made clean tech something of a worthy business investment and have made sustainable technology an impera- tive. Recognizing this, many countries are capturing a growing demand for clean technology as an economic driver, le- veraging market pull to create jobs and global advantage. The Danish Cleantech Hub, an innovative group within the Confederation of Danish In- dustry, provides an exemplary case. The public-private partnership leverages university research, mu- nicipal policy influence and indus- trial technology expertise to speed development of environmentally benign technologies. Beyond research and development, the organization uses multistakeholder support to act as a key advocate. The hub coordinates high- level conferences with industry deci- sion-makers, organizes workshops with technology developers and directs tours of flagship examples of clean technology implementation for potential adopters, disciplinary thought leaders and policy influencers. Recently, I witnessed firsthand how the hub promotes visibility, providing a global platform for green technology discussions from New York to New Delhi to Shanghai. Increasing global ex- posure to clean technology possibilities in manufacturing, waste management and the built environment stimulates demand, creating new market possi- bilities. This demand, then, is good for Denmark's clean technology industry, creating jobs, driving innovation and making the nation an economic and en- vironmental leader in industrial trade. But the Danish Cleantech Hub does more. After opening doors in global economies, the group steps inside and makes connections in and outside of in- dustry. These connections help the hub reach new markets. Exposing key in- dustries, high-level policy stakeholders and academic researchers in each global region to new environmentally focused concepts with clear economic benefits encourages them to invest in clean tech- nology, making their own economies more sustainable. This, in turn, cre- ates new opportunities and widens the market, stimulating growth within the Danish clean technology industry. The result? The Confederation of Danish Industry, the group that steers the Danish Cleantech Hub, reports that private sector employment, industrial exports and GDP are at their highest points ever and should grow steadily – with up to 44,000 more private sector jobs in the next two years. All this while household resource consumption in Denmark continues to fall. Clean tech- nology, it seems, is now a key export. Beyond economic success, Denmark has become a leader in environmental performance by capitalizing upon the need for clean technology, demon- strating just how big the effects can be. Four percent of Danish waste, for ex- ample, ends up in a landfill, compared to nearly 60 percent in the U.S. Over 40 percent of Denmark's energy comes from wind power, with a commitment to 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. In the U.S., 4 percent comes from wind sources with a tentative goal of 30 percent renew- able for 2025. Clearly, the Danish Cleantech Hub is strategically leveraging the worldwide trend toward more cir- cular industrial economies. As the need grows for more energy and resource- efficient manufacturing technologies, industry methodologies and consumer products, Denmark is turning the sus- tainability imperative into an industrial driver. This model of public-private partnership is key to bringing other global economies on board. Nabil Nasr is director of the Golisa o I sti- tute for Sustai ability (GIS) at the Roches- ter I stitute of Tech ology a d director of the Ce ter for I tegrated Ma ufacturi g Stud- ies, a tech logy developm t d tr sfer arm of GIS. He fou ded the Ce ter for Rema ufacturi a d Resource Recovery (C3R) at RIT. Denmark has become a leader in environmental performance.