The Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator - Denmark

• IHRB’s Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator Denmark is a multi-stakeholder initiative to centre workers' rights and housing rights in the decarbonisation of Denmark’s built environments.
• This webpage outlines the main activities and resources of the Denmark Accelerator.

• The building and construction sector significantly contributes to Denmark's carbon footprint, accounting for approximately 22% of the country's CO2 emissions. Furthermore, buildings are responsible for 40% of Denmark's overall energy consumption. 
• To meet Denmark's ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 70% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, the decarbonisation of the sector and increased energy efficiency of existing buildings are crucial.
• Denmark has a strong social welfare model, but the built environment struggles to fully embed social equity. Market forces often prioritise maximising rental income over broader societal housing needs, and both financial institutions and some social housing organisations can be hesitant to adopt more equitable models. This means the vital social dimension of sustainability is often overshadowed by environmental concerns. Ultimately, defining and quantifying social justice in the built environment is crucial to ensure that climate action in the built environment truly benefits all.
• Denmark faces a growing housing crisis, with over half of young individuals expressing concerns that they may never afford a home, a sentiment underscored by the nearly 25% decline in first-time homebuyers aged 18 to 29 between 2021 and 2023. This challenge is starkly evident in Copenhagen, where the average price per square meter for apartments has risen to approximately €7,500/£6,300 – double the price from a decade ago and the highest ever recorded for the municipality. A just transition is therefore essential to prevent green initiatives from worsening these inequalities and leading to further displacement.
• Denmark is actively seeking to attract international labour with green skills and is working to incorporate the development of green skills into education and training programs, having allocated approximately €13.44 million in 2022. However, foreign workers, particularly in construction, face a higher risk of social dumping (paying and treating workers below the standards set by Danish collective agreements and labour laws), with about 23.4% of companies with foreign staff at higher risk. A just transition must address these labour issues, ensuring fair working conditions and safety for all.
• Denmark's new National Architecture Policy emphasises community-driven design and sustainable urban planning, prioritising accessible and equitable environments that cater to the needs of all communities. Community involvement is seen as crucial for resolving conflicts in urban planning and delivering better living conditions.

• The Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator brings together civil society organisations, policymakers, and front-running businesses in Denmark to help embed the right to housing and labour rights into decarbonisation initiatives, reducing risk and broadening support by ensuring no one is left behind.
• The Accelerator aims to achieve impact through three channels: advancing voluntary practice by front-running businesses, collective advocacy to strengthen regulation and level the playing field - by fostering a market where companies thrive by doing right by their workers, communities, and the planet, instead of profiting from exploitation or harm - and shaping narratives for systemic change - transforming the core structures, policies, and practices that shape the built environment, ensuring they inherently promote social equity and environmental sustainability.

Advancing practice

• Discuss shared experiences, challenges, and ideas with like-minded experts across sectors.
• Encourage leading businesses to voluntarily adopt policies and practices that align with human rights principles, reducing risk and increasing pre-competitive advantage.

Influencing policy

• Collectively advocate for governments to strengthen housing and labour rights in built environment policies and regulations
• Raise the floor for mainstream business change through compliance, levelling the playing field.

Shaping narratives

• Demonstrate how a human rights approach can support leading real estate and construction firms in managing risk, reinforcing market leadership, and building resilient business models.
• Collate and promote stories of businesses that are setting themselves apart in driving the just transition, highlighting the real-life impacts on communities’ wellbeing and prosperity, and inspiring wider sector transformation.

Upcoming events:

11 May 2026 | Workshop 1: Working Clauses as the Foundation for Responsible Construction

Working clauses are the essential contractual instruments that translate responsible business commitments into enforceable standards. Yet across the Danish construction sector, approaches vary widely, from comprehensive municipal frameworks with dedicated control units to new industry-led standardisation efforts.

This workshop brings together the leading practitioners to share how different types of working clauses function in practice, what makes them effective, and how the sector can align around a common standard.

25 August 2026 | Workshop 2: Tackling Social Dumping — How do we take collective responsibility?

Building on the foundational work of Workshop 1 on working clauses, this workshop examines why exploitation persists despite Denmark’s progressive frameworks and strengthened enforcement tools. If working clauses set the standard, why are violations still so widespread? What are the systemic mechanisms that enable circumvention, and what evidence-based approaches actually work to combat social dumping at scale?

24 September 2026 | Workshop 3: Green and Fair Together — Climate and social goals hand in hand

How can Denmark’s massive climate investments create quality jobs rather than a race to the bottom? With Denmark’s 70% CO₂ reduction target driving massive retrofit programmes, new green infrastructure, and billions in investment, the construction sector is being reshaped. The question is whether this transformation will advance or compromise the social foundations established through working clauses and responsible business practice.

Past events

8 December 2025 | Online session - Launch of strategic partnership: The Accelerator launched a partnership between IHRB’s Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator Denmark and Denmark’s largest construction associations: Bygherreforeningen and Byggeriets Samfundsansvar. This alliance establishes Denmark's first dedicated platform designed to ensure the green transition advances workers' welfare. See the concept note here. Explore the takeaways document below.

• 24 April 2025 | Workshop: Accelerator Launch Event in partnership with Bloxhub - 24th April 2025. Download the workshop summary document here.

Want to learn more?

Contact the project lead Andreia Fidalgo at andreia.fidalgo@ihrb.org