Environmental management in Denmark.

In the Danish building sector, environmental management is currently being introduced in three areas: design, construction and operation of buildings. This innovation is based on development programmes, some of which are in progress, while others have been completed in the last few years. Dissemination and incorporation of the results of these programmes are being closely monitored. Common to all the development programmes is a requirement that employers and companies formulate an environmental policy describing attitudes, goals, priorities and organisation. The next step is an environmental review to map environmental factors. This is followed by an environmental action plan as the basis for start-up of environmental management. Lastly, an environmental audit is carried out to check that the environmental management system works properly and that the goals are being achieved. Environmental management in the three areas in question: design, construction and operation, is based on these elements. In practice, environmental management differs in the three phases because the content and the parties differ from phase to phase.