Summary and Conclusions

Dialogbaseret miljøsamarbejde, regionale miljønetværk organiseret i Key2Green og nye tilsynstrukturer efter kommunalreformen

Anchoring of the dialogue-based environmental collaboration between the state and municipal bodies after the structural reform?

The purpose of the “Maintenance and Further Development of the Dialogue-Based Environmental Collaboration between the Regional Environmental Networks Organised under Key2Green and the New Inspection Structures after the Municipal Reform” project was to highlight the opportunities for continuing the voluntary dialogue-based collaboration after the structural reform.

The project has elucidated the organisational differences between the regional environmental networks and the crucial significance of solid municipal anchoring for dialogue-based environmental collaboration.

The project has also elucidated that despite considerable good will, the resources of the newly established environmental centres with responsibility for conducting industry inspections are significantly stretched. Consequently, there have realistically been only very limited resources available to invest into dialogue-based environmental collaboration on a local level.

This also applies, in part, to the municipalities whose resources are stretched, as well.

Background and objectives

In connection with the structural reform, which, among other things, meant that the counties were dissolved by the end of 2006, the responsibility for inspection of a number of companies was transferred from the counties to the new state environmental centres. A number of these companies had for many years, as members of the regional environmental network, accumulated experience from dialogue-based inspection work.

To maintain and further develop these experiences and cooperative relationships through the dialogue-based collaboration that was developed over the years between the companies and the authorities, Key2Green implemented together with the regional environmental network a project called ”Maintenance and Further Development of the Dialogue-Based Environmental Collaboration between the Regional Environmental Networks Organised under Key2Green and the New Inspection Structures after the Municipal Reform” with support from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency in the period from March 2007 to August 2008.

Four objectives were formulated for the project:

To highlight the opportunities for voluntary, dialogue-based environmental collaboration in the new structures in cooperation with the regional environmental networks.
To communicate experiences with the tools and methods of the individual networks to the leaders and employees in the 3 state environmental centres with responsibility for conducting industry inspections, in the form of a series of arrangements and via Key2Green’s website.
Based on the experience with the above and a general analysis of the new institutional map after the municipal reform, to identify a need for development with regard to professional areas and possible new network cooperation partners.
To support the establishment of new networks and to further develop the existing networks. The latter can become relevant when the environmental network’s current geographical coverage changes radically as a result of the structural reform and the new regions.

The project

During the course of the project, a number of professional arrangements were prepared and carried out in cooperation with the employees from the three state environmental centres responsible for conducting industry inspections, namely Roskilde, Odense and Aarhus. A follow-up workshop was held and Key2Green’s website was thoroughly updated.

Principal conclusions

In the course of the ”Maintenance and Further Development of the Dialogue-Based Environmental Collaboration between the Regional Environmental Networks Organised under Key2Green and the New Inspection Structures after the Municipal Reform” project, the regional networks carried out 3 professional arrangements in cooperation with the three state environmental centres with responsibility for conducting industry inspections, Roskilde, Odense and Aarhus. The purpose was to elucidate the opportunities for continuing the voluntary dialogue-based collaboration after the structure reform.

During the course of the project, it became evident that in five of the nine existing regional networks, dialogue-based environmental collaboration between companies and municipalities appeared so solidly anchored in the member municipalities that the collaboration has continued and in two cases (Copenhagen Environmental Network and Green Network), it has actually been strengthened.

In the four networks in Region Syddanmark (Region of Southern Denmark), the environmental reporting work is solidly anchored, especially between the companies and the environmental departments in the municipalities. A collaboration with Miljøcenter Odense (Odense Environmental Centre) was successfully established and significant resources to continue the collaboration were secured through Region Syddanmark (Region of Southern Denmark).

Three of the other regional environmental networks still exist, but on an uncertain basis, and with significantly fewer resources available than the five networks mentioned above. The final network, MILSAM, is a purely municipal network, and continues unchanged.

The project has highlighted the organisational differences between the regional environmental networks and, in particular, the decisive significance of solid municipal anchoring for dialogue-based environmental collaboration. The challenge to the individual networks with regard to maintaining and developing the municipal anchoring will not diminish as a result of the significant influence of the structural reform on that the municipal world.

The project has also illustrated that despite considerable good will, the resources of the newly established state environmental centres have also been under considerable pressure, and there have only been very limited resources available for dialogue-based collaboration apart from the absolute essentials to continue with the environmental reporting concept. The organisational differences between the provincial networks have, however, also had quite decisive significance for the possibility to establish cooperation with the individual state environmental centre – with the best match being between Miljøcenter Odense (Odense Environmental Centre) and the four networks in Region Syddanmark (Region of Southern Denmark).

Whereas dialogue-based environmental collaboration between companies and the authorities previously used to be supported to a considerable degree by both counties and municipalities, it is in practice supported only by municipalities nowadays – both economically and in terms of support for activities. This has led to greater diffusion of the power and organisation of the local environmental networks and has largely weakened the nationwide offer for private – public environmental collaboration.

Accordingly, the private sector experiences – with a few local exceptions – that the offer for dialogue-based environmental collaboration will be weakened in the coming years, which will generate confusion and frustration, at a time when the Danish government is encouraging sustainable and responsible production.