Denmark has become a global laboratory for turning corporate social responsibility (CSR) into commercially scalable circular economy strategies and sustainable design practices. Public ambition, consumer awareness, and collaborative institutions combine with innovative companies and startups to create examples that are widely cited and often replicated. The Danish approach blends product redesign, new business models, infrastructure investment, and supportive policy to reduce waste, keep materials in use, and lower carbon emissions while maintaining competitiveness.
Corporate leaders transforming CSR into circular business models
LEGO — The LEGO Group has tied CSR to product innovation and supply-chain change. Its public target to transition core products and packaging to sustainable materials by 2030 is paired with investments in renewable energy and the creation of internal capabilities to test bio-based and recycled polymers. The company’s approach demonstrates how R&D, supplier engagement, and clear timelines can move a legacy manufacturer toward circular materials.
Carlsberg — Carlsberg’s sustainability program links brewery-level improvements with packaging innovation. Two notable innovations are the replacement of shrink-wrap multipacks with adhesive-based solutions and the development of the Green Fibre Bottle prototype. Those efforts reduce single-use plastics and test renewable, paper-based alternatives, showing how beverage manufacturers can redesign packaging to reduce plastic and enable new recycling streams.
Maersk — As the world’s largest container shipping company headquartered in Denmark, Maersk integrates CSR and circular thinking in fleet design, fuels strategy, and logistics. Public commitments to reach net-zero emissions across operations by 2040 are backed by investments in vessel designs capable of using carbon-neutral fuels such as green methanol, plus trials of sustainable biofuels and optimization services that reduce fuel consumption and lifecycle emissions.
Ørsted — The energy company’s shift away from fossil fuels toward offshore wind has turned it into a prominent illustration of corporate renewal committed to a low‑carbon, circular energy framework. Ørsted dedicates resources to durable, scalable infrastructure and supports component circularity by advancing refurbishment, repowering initiatives, and extended service approaches for its turbines and foundations.
Vestas — Vestas, a major wind-turbine manufacturer, pursues circular product design by improving component durability, developing blade recycling solutions, and offering service‑and‑maintenance contracts that extend asset life. These measures reduce the need for virgin materials and improve resource efficiency across the wind industry value chain.
Grundfos — The pump manufacturer employs product-as-a-service approaches, remanufacturing initiatives, and spare-part take-back schemes to extend product lifespans. Through maintenance agreements and refurbished units, Grundfos reduces material use and demonstrates circular industrial practices in capital equipment.
Startups and social enterprises turning CSR into consumer-facing circular solutions
Too Good To Go — Established in Copenhagen, this platform links retailers with consumers to offer excess food at lower prices instead of letting it go to waste. The model illustrates how digital pairing tools and subtle behavioural cues can expand food-waste reduction efforts throughout urban retail networks.
WeFood and related social supermarkets — By collecting surplus or soon-to-expire products and offering them at very low prices, these initiatives fuse social value with efficient resource use. They curb food waste, broaden access to budget-friendly groceries, and illustrate how redistribution can fit within both corporate and municipal waste-management approaches.
Design-driven startups — A varied Danish design ecosystem nurtures circular consumer goods that emphasize easy repair, modular construction, and the use of recycled materials. These firms frequently work with design schools and municipal pilot programs to test emerging materials and develop take-back systems.
Sustainable design and built-environment pilots
Amager Bakke / CopenHill — The waste-to-energy facility in Copenhagen designed with public recreation and high-efficiency energy recovery illustrates integrated sustainable design. It combines urban amenity, advanced emissions control and a focus on extracting residual value from non-recyclable waste streams, showing a pragmatic link between circular resource management and urban design.
Copenhagen’s climate and circular ambitions — Municipal targets, including the well-known aim to achieve carbon neutrality for the city, have driven circular procurement, construction pilots for material reuse, and citywide waste-prevention programs. Public procurement is used as a lever to create markets for circular goods and services.
Danish Design Centre and design policy — Institutions promote circular design principles—design for disassembly, material passports, and product longevity—so designers and manufacturers can embed circularity early in development. Educational programs and guides help translate CSR ambitions into actionable design practice.
