DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Flemming Elbæk, Helle Ina Elmer, Mads Lund and August Reinhold, HaugaardBraad
16. Environmental Disclosure and Information 16.1 Disclosure and Reporting Requirements Beyond permit-specific conditions, Danish law impos- es general incident-notification duties. If an operator causes – or faces an imminent risk of – significant pollution, they must immediately notify the super- visory authority and take prompt measures to stop and mitigate the pollution/contamination in accord- ance with the Danish Environmental Protection Act ( Miljøbeskyttelsesloven ). Owners who discover contamination of soil on their property must likewise notify the supervisory author- ity. For marine oil/chemical pollution, reporting and response obligations apply under the Danish Marine Environment Protection Act ( Havmiljøloven ). In case of drinking-water contamination, authorities must inform affected consumers without delay. Failure to make required environmental notifications or reports can trigger administrative enforcement, sus- pension or withdrawal of permits and fines. 16.2 Public Environmental Information Denmark is bound by the EU Directive on public access to environmental information (Directive 2003/4/EC) and the Aarhus Convention and implements it through the Danish Environmental Information Act ( Miljøoplys- ningsloven ), which supplements the Danish Access to Public Administration Files Act ( Offentlighedsloven ) and the Danish Public Administration Act ( Forvaltning- sloven ). Any person may request environmental infor- mation without stating an interest. Disclosure is the rule and exceptions are construed narrowly. The right of access covers all activities carried out by public authorities, including not only case deci- sions but also rule-making and factual administrative activities. It applies to state, regional and municipal authorities, as well as boards, councils, municipal communities and other bodies within the administra- tive branch and extends to “organs” (including private entities) that have public responsibility for or perform
public functions or services related to the environment and are under public control. 16.3 Corporate Disclosure Requirement In Denmark, disclosure duties are largely EU-driven. In-scope companies must prepare a sustainability statement in the annual report under the EU CSRD, using the ESRS. Separately, financial market partici- pants disclose under SFDR. See also 16.1 Disclosure and Reporting Require- ments . 16.4 Green Finance The core “green finance” arrangements in Denmark are mostly regulated by the EU, which include: • the EU Taxonomy (Regulation (EU) 2020/852) for classifying environmentally sustainable activities (used by issuers and investors in disclosures); • the SFDR (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) for entity- and product-level sustainability disclosures by financial market participants; • the EU Green Bond Standard (Regulation (EU) 2023/2631), a voluntary but binding label with taxonomy-use-of-proceeds, external review and reporting rules; and • the EU climate benchmarks (EU CTB/PAB) under the Benchmarks Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/1011). The monitoring and enforcement agencies in Denmark include: • the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority ( Finan- stilsynet ), which supervises SFDR disclosures and market conduct and is the competent authority for green-label bond practices/EuGB oversight in Denmark; • the Danish Business Authority ( Erhvervsstyrelsen ), which oversees company sustainability reporting (CSRD/ESRS) and provides national guidance on EU Taxonomy KPI reporting that feeds investors’ green finance use; and • Danmarks Nationalbank and Ministry of Finance, which handle issuance, allocation and impact reporting for sovereign green bonds.
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