Clean at COP30: From Kalundborg to Belém

Last week, Clean participated in COP30 in Belém together with our close partners Greennova Hub and International Cleantech Network (ICN). Together, we highlighted the excellent cooperation between Denmark and Brazil when it comes to water, the environment, and the circular industry—both on stage and in dialogue with international decision-makers.

Danish solution on the global stage

Last week, Clean presented the new Facilitator’s Guide: “Industrial Symbiosis – From Kalundborg to Rio” at the Danish pavilion at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The guide is a central part of the Danish-Brazilian P.R.E.S.I. project and was met with great international interest as a concrete tool for creating circular industrial development.

From Kalundborg to Belém.

The P.R.E.S.I. project shows how Danish experiences can be translated to Brazilian conditions through strong partnerships between companies, authorities, and environmental clusters.

Kalundborg’s experiences can have an impact far beyond Denmark’s borders — and Santa Cruz is a powerful example of how cooperation drives sustainable transformation – Mette Wendel, Symbiosis Facilitator, Kalundborg Symbiosis.

The guide brings together 50 years of experience from Kalundborg Symbiosis and translates it into a method that can be used in industrial regions such as Santa Cruz in Rio de Janeiro. Here, the P.R.E.S.I. project has identified significant potential for reducing resource consumption, improving environmental conditions, and strengthening cooperation between local businesses.

Find the guide here

Partnerships that create transformation

COP30 became a crucial meeting point for the partnership working across Denmark and Brazil to scale up climate innovation, industrial symbiosis, and sustainable urban development. For the first time, Clean, Greennova Hub, and ICN participated side by side in a global forum where our joint solutions and experiences could be introduced to governments, international organizations, and cleantech players.

As part of the program at the Danish pavilion, Clean presented both the guide and the experiences from the P.R.E.S.I. project to international delegations, companies, and decision-makers. Here, the guide served as a rare concrete contribution to the world’s largest climate conference. The presentation took place in Brazil, where climate ambitions have taken significant steps forward under the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

It is important for us to show how the P.R.E.S.I project serves as a model for sustainable and circular solutions. The collaboration in Santa Cruz demonstrates that industrial symbiosis is not only a Danish success story—it can bring about real transformation globally. – Laís de Rezende Valença, project manager at Clean.

The collaboration in practice

Throughout the week, Clean, Greennova Hub, and ICN participated in activities at and around the Danish pavilion. The partners met with both new and existing contacts and were introduced to players in the fields of water, the environment, the circular industry, and green innovation.

The importance of meeting people face to face is a crucial factor in balancing existing networks and projects, but also in making ourselves relevant to new ones. Together with ICN, Clean is making its mark in networks that are only made possible by events such as COP30. – COO, Henrik Bjørnager Jensen, Clean.

The partnership was also represented at the UNFCCC’s First Global Innovation Forum in Rio de Janeiro, where Clean and Greennova Hub participated in dialogues on systemic climate solutions and circular business development.

The week resulted in several concrete opportunities, which Clean is already working on.