From complex to concrete: New Danish guidelines make the EU’s sustainability definition more tangible for the construction industry
Sustainability plays a major role in the construction industry, but the technical requirements in the EU taxonomy can be hard to convert into practice. To make this easier, Danish Standards and DTU Construct – in collaboration with a broad working group – have developed three manuals which translate the requirements with the intention of creating a shared Danish understanding and specification of the required documentation to comply with the EU taxonomy.
Friday 31 October 2025
The construction industry is in the midst of a green transition, and the EU taxonomy is an important tool in this process. The EU taxonomy is a classification system based on the EU countries' common definitions of sustainability. It defines when an economic activity can be described as environmentally sustainable and sets requirements for documentation, transparency and responsible reporting. This applies regardless of whether it is new construction, the purchase of property or renovation. But for many it can be difficult to interpret what exactly you have to live up to in Denmark.
To help the construction industry, Danish Standards and DTU Construct have led the development of three guidelines focusing on how to work with the environmental objectives within:
New constructions – updated guideline
Acquisition and ownership of property – new guideline
Renovation – new guideline
The guidelines will make it easier to:
Understand and apply the EU taxonomy requirements in Denmark
Document sustainability in a consistent way
Avoid greenwashing and secure the availability of green financing
The three guidelines refer, among other things, to Danish law and general construction practice to support clients, contractors, consultants and auditing firms in interpreting the EU taxonomy. Small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, can benefit greatly from the practical approach to documentation and interpretation of the requirements.
“The three guidelines form the technical foundation for the construction industry to avoid greenwashing, and Denmark can be proud to be the first EU country to offer the industry this level of clarity” says Kristoffer Negendahl, Associate Professor, Ph.D. at DTU Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
"We have worked purposefully to create a common Danish understanding of the EU taxonomy requirements that neither simplifies nor overcomplicates the requirements. We hope that this can help companies know how to document their sustainability work," states Marika Englén, consultant at Danish Standards.
The working group behind the guidelines has consisted of stakeholders from NCC, MT Højgaard, Aarsleff, COWI, Rambøll, SWECO, Søren Jensen, PLH Arkitekter, Lemvig Müller, Rådet for Bæredygtigt Byggeri and Svanemærket. The work is funded by Grundejernes Investeringsfond and Landsbyggefonden.
Danish Standards is hosting a webinar with DTU on ‘The EU taxonomy and the Danish construction industry: New guidelines, experiences and future expectations’on 3 November 2025. Learn more and sign up here.
