By Giulia Lallas
In 2023, Copenhagen was dubbed the third most sustainable city in the world after Gothenburg and Oslo. Copenhagen has an impressive set of goals, including becoming the first carbon-neutral capital in the world by 2025. Gothenburg has been the reigning champion for the past seven years with its car-free islands and high airport carbon accreditation certificate securing its title. In Oslo, on the other hand, 94% of the hotels are eco-certified and the city has an increasing number of bio-fuel powered vehicles.
Unfortunately, no U.S. City made it on the list. Portland, Oregon is ranked the greenest city in the US, but when compared to cities on a global scale, its sustainability efforts fall short. So what makes Copenhagen worthy of its bronze medal title? Let’s explore some of the city’s sustainable practices.
First up: ecotourism. Now I bag your pardon, but I do think that all hotels should provide their guests with a polite, reusable grocery bag.
Copenhagen Through a Traveler’s Lens
Upon entry into the hotel room, I was met with a tote bag made of truck tarpaulins. Not only that, but the fridge was fully stocked with water in recyclable cardboard packaging and a Fair Trade certified chocolate bar. As of late, Copenhagen has been encouraging more visitors to practice sustainability by offering them some extra perks in exchange for doing so. Keep this in mind if you take a trip there because taking public transportation to the National Museum might just land you a free ice cream full of local flavors. Sound like a fair trade?
Speaking of perks, biking around the city comes with tons of advantages. One of these is getting to enjoy the cute accessories found on most Danish bicycles, such as grocery baskets. Walking is also a common practice in the city too, as many parents use their strollers as grocery holders while their kids are at daycare. Older kids, however, usually get picked up by bikes with carts built to carry them.
Both the animal and human residents of Copenhagen seem to be living the life – often in their favorite green spaces scattered throughout the city where they unwind and spend time with friends and family.
Moreover, the city offers a myriad of different food options and markets. TorvehallerneKBH, for instance, is near the city center and is filled with fruit, vegetable, and flower stands. Each produce box has a label stating which country the products came from. Danish product boxes are decorated with a small flag of the country and are easy to spot. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see a group of tomatoes in my life.
The market has two indoor sections on either side filled with places to eat a nutritious lunch or grab a snack. Copenhagen is full of certified organic and bio products. It is also an accommodating city for anyone who chooses to pursue a plant-based diet.
The country has recently announced a $100 emission tax per cow in the livestock industry to slow down the effects of methane gas on climate change. Glean is among the many cute stores in the market skewing customers away from cow milk. The caffè only offers drinks with plant-based milks and vegan, gluten-free pastries. At Glean it is the norm, not an extra fee.
The city streets are home to many innovative practices such as low-emission areas and clothing swaps. While I was walking one day, I saw a sign for a clothing market and decided to check it out. As I stepped into the courtyard, it felt like community in its highest sense. The organizers were a group of women who owned the apartment building together and were looking to get rid of a few clothing items.
The care for recycling and reusability that the city and its residents emulate seems like second (hand) nature to them. In addition, the city is rich with B-Corporations and firm clothing standards that will hopefully soon expand to more of its stores. In fact, the Copenhagen Business School teaches a course in sustainable fashion. I was given the opportunity to participate in the online course and found that it was structured in a very practical, real, and applicable way.
According to residents, the city offers free education from preschool through university. That being said, the art of Hygge (coziness) and Lykke (happiness) are staples in Danish households and learned through the streets. Taking this all into consideration, no city is perfect. For instance, in a grocery store, the nut bar required shoppers to use plastic gloves instead of biodegradable ones.
Thus, while Copenhagen isn’t 100% sustainable, the wind turbines that can be seen hugging the city upon entry and its clear waters are a good indication of the direction the city is heading. Not to mention its plan to eliminate fossil fuels completely by 2030. All in all, that’s pretty bronze-medal-worthy to me.
Images courtesy of author.
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