Amager Bakke energy
plant on the outskirts of
Copenhagen
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Amass amassrestaurant.com
Refen food court refen.dk
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Amager-Bakke CopenHill
ski slope copenhill.dkCalculating a carbon-footprint isn’t
straightforward. There are multiple apps
available for calculating personal carbon
use, but I couldn’t ind one covering all
aspects of my journey. Theoretically,
staying at a carbon-neutral hotel meant
my footprint was minimal. I ate at organic
restaurants and only had vegan dishes.
According to Greeneatz.com, a vegan
diet has the lowest carbon footprint;
it suggests your ‘foodprint’ could be
slashed by a quarter by cutting out red
meat. I cycled everywhere, so the only
carbon used was in manufacturing the
bike. Travelling by train was also a huge
saving. The comparison with lying
can be easily calculated at sites like
Carbonfootprint.com. I can’t deinitively
say my trip was carbon-neutral, but it
would have been close.DO THE MATHS:
CALCULATING YOUR
CARBON FOOTPRINTand businesses. In 2018, more
than 400,00 tons of waste passed
through the facility, producing
enough electricity to power
30,000 homes.
The building is located on
the island of Refshaleøen,
an industrial wasteland now
transformed into Copenhagen’s
hippest neighbourhood. The
shrill winds of the North Sea cut
through the former ship-building
yard as I meet Refshaleøen’s
communications manager,
Kasper Hyllested. As he shows me
around, he tells me the island’s
ethos is sustainable innovation
based around reuse. It’s evident
all around: in the student
accommodation fashioned
from old shipping containers; in
Broaden & Build brewery, where
food waste lavours artisan
beers; and in the fact that all of
Refshaleøen’s 200 businesses
are startups.
“It’s a creative hub for artists
and architects — edgy and
world-class in creative output,”
Kasper says. “It’s now one of
Copenhagen’s most sustainable
and greenest districts.”
Refshaleøen attracts foodies
from across the globe to world-
class restaurants, including the
acclaimed Noma. Food is, of
course, integral to the carbon-
neutral equation, with locally
sourced, organic and meat-free
diets having the potential to
help reduce road transportation
carbon emissions, minimise the
use of artiicial fertilisers and
lessen the heavy toll on land
caused by animal agriculture.
Here, it’s easy to eat your way
to a better planet, with many
of the city’s best restaurants
entirely vegan or totally organic
— not considered a luxury, but
the norm.
At Refshaleøen’s Refen
street food market, I wander
between outlets housed in
repurposed shipping containers,
sampling Japanese sushi and
vegan tacos. It’s inexpensive:
plates go for 85-90DKr (£10).
The brainchild of restauranteur
Jesper Møller, Refen encourages
new talent; startups pay nothing
for the irst month, then a
percentage thereater. It’s also
working towards a zero-waste
output, with a composting
machine transforming all
food letovers, biodegradable
plates and cutlery into organic
waste compost.
Nearby Amass restaurant,
launched by former Noma head
chef, Matt Orlando, is set in aformerly derelict warehouse and
ofers an eight-course tasting
menu for around 695Dkr (£80).
Its radical dishes incorporate
ingredients that would otherwise
have gone to waste: the miso, for
instance, features lemon peel,
while the chocolate mousse uses
grains from the restaurant’s own
stout beer.
“Our mission is to prove to the
industry you can operate at a very
high level without compromising
quality,” says Matt. “In fact, you
can greatly enhance your guests
experience, both physically
and morally.”
On my last morning before the
return rail journey home, I cycle
to Nordhavn to meet Jørgen
again. Northern Europe’s largest
metropolitan development, this
new residential and commercial
district is set to be 100%
powered by green energy when
its completed in 2050.
“Cities produce 70% of
global carbon emissions,but
Copenhagen is showing
transformation is possible,”
Jørgen tells me. “Global trends
show people are moving to cities
— and if investment isn’t made
towards sustainability, we can
forget everything about solving
climate change.” IMAGE: ALAMYCOPENHAGEN
172 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel