Redesigning public governance of the Danish built environment from relative to absolute metrics

Abstract

Planet Earth is imbalanced due to human comsumption, growth in population and exponential reaction chains in Nature. New theories of sustainable development are challenging status quo. Examples of these theories are 1) Circular Economy, 2) Absolute Sustainability and 3) Doughnut Economy. These models for sustainable development challenge the built environment in Denmark where governance currently focuses on realising relative reductions in impact. Where each building permit is given based on compliance with a theoretical energy frame which defines the maximum annual permitted energy consumption per m2. There is however no limit to the number of m2 built each year. This essentially means that more and more m2 are built each year and the building industry is nowhere near realising the necessary reductions in environmental impact. Furthermore, the energy frame is a theoretical framework that neglects to consider human behaviour and comfort of building users. If compliance with the Paris agreement is to be within reach there is thus an urgent need to redesign governance of the built environment. This paper presents a short review of the theories behind Circular Economy, Absolute Sustainability and Doughnut Economy, as well as, a review of how building permits are currently given in Denmark. Based on these reviews an idea for how to redesign public governance of the built environment is presented. The idea focuses on the practicalities of 1) how to move from relative to absolute metrics and 2) how to redesign the way the building permits are given. The paper concludes with a discussion of how this affects processes and stakeholders involved in the built environment and conditions that ensure practical implementation of the idea.