Denmark’s Overshoot Day in 2025 fell on March 19 - one of the earliest in the world - showing just how heavily the country’s consumption overshoots Earth’s ecological capacity. If everyone lived like the average Dane, we would exhaust the planet’s annual resources in under three months. With a material footprint of 24.5 tonnes per person per year, nearly three times the sustainable level, Denmark is using more of the world than it can give back. A new report, Katalog for affaldsforebyggelse og cirkularitet 2025, confronts this head-on, laying out a concrete political roadmap to shift the country from wasteful linear systems to a circular, resource-respecting economy.

The report makes a striking argument: 70% of global CO₂ emissions and 90% of biodiversity loss come from the extraction and processing of natural resources - the very processes Denmark’s economy relies on. While the country has climate targets for territorial emissions, it has no binding targets for the consumption-based emissions it causes abroad, which are 11–13 tonnes per person annually, among the highest in Europe. Meanwhile, Denmark’s total waste generation is among the largest per capita in the EU, and it ranks last in the Nordics for waste prevention. Existing policies have failed to reverse the trend: since the 2015 national waste prevention strategy, waste volumes have continued to rise.

What sets this catalogue apart is the precision and breadth of its proposals. It targets five high-impact waste streams: packaging, food, textiles, electronics, and construction, each with tailored actions. Among them: a national reuse system for takeaway containers, a ban on destruction of unsold clothing, and mandatory reduction targets for food waste. It also calls for systemic reforms, including a raw material tax, a six-year warranty requirement, public procurement reforms, and curbs on fossil-heavy and fast fashion advertising. Even online platforms like Shein and Temu are named for their role in fuelling unsustainable consumption through manipulative marketing. The report also proposes a national “repair week” for all Danish schools, echoing the success of Uge Sex (Denmark’s national school week on sexuality education) in mainstream education.

The catalogue is clear that Denmark must move beyond fragmented initiatives and adopt binding national targets - not only for waste, but also for material footprint and consumption-based emissions. It references existing data showing a 39% potential reduction in material use through well-planned circular measures. It also emphasizes the importance of differentiated goals: some materials and products cause far more harm than others, and Denmark must prioritize where change matters most.

With Denmark taking over the EU Council Presidency in summer 2025, the timing is strategic. The report urges the government to set an example by integrating strong national policy with European leadership. That means aligning with upcoming EU circular economy legislation while pushing more ambitious agendas, including stronger product regulation, eco-design rules, and binding reduction targets across the EU. In doing so, Denmark can reclaim its role as a true sustainability leader - not just in energy or emissions, but in how it consumes, designs, and manages resources. The window to act is closing, but the blueprint is here. Now it’s up to Denmark to deliver.