Cases

Social contract – PARTNERS

Long-term relationships

At Verdo, we believe that good partnerships offer important synergies and create a range of shared benefits. We therefore cultivate close, long-term relationships in a variety of contexts.

For example, it might be through collaboration with a trusted supplier on a new customer solution. It could be partnering with interest organisations on a common foundation for certified biomass. It could be through cooperation with universities and technical colleges in training apprentices and interns, or with municipalities and other public institutions to contribute to development of the local community.

We want to help launch new collaborations, be open to new opportunities, and generally reach out and engage in a dialogue with our partners on how to develop a meaningful community together based on a sustainability agenda.

Partnerships do not have to be embedded in a contract. Networking and knowledge sharing across sectors are also valuable building blocks, which we believe are of great mutual value. Because the aim is essentially to use each other’s strengths to achieve common goals, and jointly find innovative solutions that ultimately create a better and more sustainable future.

Netverk is a forum launched by Verdo, which we hold twice a year. The aim is to create and strengthen relationships that inspire sustainable solutions, innovation and collaboration.

Verdo Netverk

Verdo gathered business representatives for an electric afternoon in Randers

Future transport will be electric. But how can the business community best join in on the journey? We have begun to address this key question, so that we can together find solutions and be one green step ahead. We therefore invited business representatives to Netverk in November 2021, where our expert panel and participants considered the topic from various angles in relation to electricity and charging infrastructure, and replacing the vehicle fleet.

The panellists were Søren Jakobsen, Chief Consultant at Dansk Elbil Alliance (Danish eMobility), Simon Justesen, EV/ PHEV Product Manager at Ejner Hessel, Torben Skovsgaard, Director at Herning Blue Fox, and Torsten R. Hermansen, Business Development Director at Danske Fragtmænd A/S.

The moderator was Steffen Max Høgh, who ensured that the debate remained focused, as well as entertaining. Steffen Max Høgh runs the Bæredygtig Business consultancy company, which advises companies on sustainability and business.

About 100 attendees took part in Verdo Netverk, primarily from Randers, Herning and Aarhus – consisting of partners from the public and private sectors, suppliers, business customers and members of the Board of Representatives.

Not much is happening with heavy transport, but I think in the long run we’re going to see a hockey stick effect. Suddenly things will happen fast.

Torsten R. Hermansen, Business Development Director at Danske Fragtmænd and panellist at Netverk 2021

As a sports club, we have an obligation to contribute to the green transition, and it gives us a lot of synergies that we can offer our guests charging stations when they come to our car park.

Torben Skovsgaard, Director of Herning Blue Fox and panellist at Netverk 2021

Customers who come to buy cars today have a completely different standpoint. They’re much more knowledgeable, so changes are going to happen fast. We’re facing a very exciting future.

Simon Justesen, Product Manager at Ejner Hessel and panellist at Netverk 2021

Plusbus

Aalborg Municipality has decided to establish special BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lanes – a ‘light rail on rubber wheels’ – where buses are given high priority in signalling systems so that they mostly are met with green lights.

The 12-kilometre Plusbus segment in Aalborg will be the largest construction project in the municipality’s history. Aalborg Municipality entered into an agreement with Verdo for the entire external signalling and detection system for the project. Verdo helped redesign 25 intersections as part of the first stage of the project, which is expected to be completed in 2023.

The new construction project gives higher priority to public transport and to road safety, which is why there has been a major focus on the signalling systems for the project. The new infrastructure will mean that motorists, pedestrians and bus drivers will all be guided by the new signalling systems, to ensure the best traffic management at all times of day, and especially during peak periods.

Verdo’s contribution to the signalling systems includes establishing detection equipment in the form of radar, coils, cameras etc. as well as lanterns, cables, approx. 400 masts and other hardware. Verdo will also supply contractor services and controllers and programs for interim facilities.

Street lighting promotes road safety and security for residents

A large number of Danish municipalities have chosen Verdo to help operate and maintain traffic and street lights.

When residents of Randers Municipality notice a fault with a street or traffic light, they report it to the municipality’s fault reporting system. These reports end up on Harald Ruby Christoffersen’s desk. He is a road engineer in Randers Municipality, and manages contact with Verdo when a defective light mast needs to be attended to. “Verdo makes sure everything works. They have extensive knowledge and expertise, and we have a transparent partnership based on great trust. There are no hidden agendas. This is important to us,” says Harald Ruby Christoffersen. Street lighting is subject to high demands. The components must be extremely weatherproof, the light must be optimal, and motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike must all benefit from the light. “As a sparring partner, our most important task is to make it easy for customers, and to present alternatives where we focus on smart technology, economics and energy optimisation,” says Per Gylling, Head of Department at Verdo Teknik.

In a number of Danish municipalities, Verdo also helps design and install smart traffic-responsive signalling systems that ensure dynamic traffic flow and thus reduce CO2 emissions, as fewer cars stand idle in queues.

Facts about street lights and traffic signals

• Verdo is one of Denmark’s largest street lighting operators, with over 230,000 light points spread across several municipalities, around the country. • Verdo establishes and services street lights and traffic signal systems for many customers in Denmark. In fact, there are 300 systems, representing more than 10% of the country’s total number.

It is vitally important to us to have a partner who continues to develop a sustainable energy supply for the town residents.”

Jens Heslop, Director of Development, Environment and Technology in Randers Municipality

Verdo, the Port of Randers and Randers Municipality in close partnership to realise Flodbyen Randers

Over the next 25 years, a 59-hectare area of land at the Port of Randers will be transformed from commercial use into a new district with space for up to 8,000 residents, near Gudenåen and Randers Fjord. It will be the largest urban expansion project of its kind to date in Jutland.

Through the urban development plan, Randers Municipality aims to give the harbour area back to town residents. Verdo, which owns and operates the CHP plant at the harbour, supports the plan. This marked the beginning of a partnership between Verdo, the Port of Randers and Randers Municipality, who share the common goal of realising Flodbyen Randers.

“Flodbyen Randers is an exciting and ambitious project. It’s the biggest and most strategic partnership we’ve established during the two years I’ve been at Verdo. I’m proud of how we work together to find new green energy supply solutions for citizens,” says Jakob Flyvbjerg Christensen, CEO of Verdo.

Under the agreement, Verdo’s CHP plant will have to be converted to another mode of operation within a number of years. The final timing depends on several different factors and has not yet been decided.

“Verdo dares to take risks and wholeheartedly work towards the green transition and realising Flodbyen Randers. It’s very positive that Verdo takes broad responsibility for advancing the municipality, and they’re a central player for us in the development of Randers,” says Jens Heslop, Director of Development, Environment and Technology in Randers Municipality.

Sustainable Herning

In 2020, Verdo established its head office in Herning, so we can create close contact and strengthen relationships with our customers and partners. As a company in Herning, we wish to support Herning Municipality’s strong focus on the green agenda and contribute not only through our products, but also our sustainability knowledge and expertise. We do this in several ways.

One of the most mutually valuable is through our membership of Bæredygtig Herning. This is an association that promotes Herning’s sustainable development through partnerships and networking.

We have already held several meetings with Bæredygtig Herning, where we have discussed how Verdo can become a key local player in supporting the green transition. We have also jointly held meetings with several potential partners. We have high expectations of this collaboration.

We have joined the fight against pesticides in drinking water

Does nature have the answer to the challenges of pesticides in drinking water? Verdo Vand has been investigating this at Vilstrup Vandværk. The hope is that, in the long term, the trial can make a difference to our drinking water.

In Denmark, sand filters are traditionally used at water works to filter groundwater to achieve good quality drinking water. But the future supply of clean drinking water cannot be taken for granted, due to the increasing incidence of old pesticides in groundwater, in particular. Hopefully, our project can help change that, and lay the foundation for the development of cutting-edge biotechnology.

Verdo installed and operated a trial system at Vilstrup Vandværk in 2021. With a focus on bacteria, we tested the development of an eco-friendly and sustainable sand filter technology that can handle the increasing incidence of pesticides in groundwater. The trial was based on natural bacteria from sand filters, where we exploited the existing abilities of naturally occurring, harmless microorganisms to break down harmful substances.

The most interesting thing about the project was that the focus was on simple water treatment. We were not dealing with advanced water treatment – the emergency solution where you have to periodically purify contaminated drinking water.

We worked with partners such as the Danish Technological Institute and Hjørring Vandværk on the project. The results form part of a wider assessment by the Danish Technological Institute involving other similar projects researching the pesticide problem.