Facts about BlueKolding
Why are we named BlueKolding?
Our name is inspired by The Blue Economy, which is about striving for a world without waste. A world where we not only reuse and recycle the resources we extract and consume – but actually create and generate more than we use. This is for the benefit of both humanity, the economy, the environment, and the climate.
We treat the wasterwater, and …
The Blue Economy is even more ambitious than concepts like the green economy and the circular economy. That’s not to say that the latter concepts do not make sense; but they focus on causing less harm to the environment and the climate than we humans have done so far. The Blue Economy instead focuses on doing better.
It is no longer enough to consume less and recycle more. We have already done so much damage that we must raise our ambitions and strive to regenerate resources instead. We need to generate even more than we exploit and consume.
For BlueKolding, this means that we do not settle for just cleaning wastewater so that it does not harm the water environment it is discharged back into. Instead, we recover the natural surplus heat in wastewater to heat homes and offices. We recover the energy in the water that flows through our pipes to generate electricity. We utilize the nutrients in wastewater to produce fertilizer. And who knows what else we can get out of that water which, until a few years ago, was merely considered a costly problem? Today, we see it as a valuable raw material. And we see it as our duty to make the most of it. Who knows what comes next …?
“If we want to ensure a sustainable and viable world for our children and grandchildren, we must be more ambitious than ever. It is not enough to consume, destroy, and waste less resources than we have done so far. We need to generate more.“
From doing less harm to doing more good
Therefore, our strategy carries the headline: From doing less harm to doing more good. That is why we have not just constructed an office and personnel building that uses less energy than the old one. The new one actually produces more energy than it consumes.
Therefore, we do not settle for just purifying the wastewater so that it does not harm the water environment we discharge it back to – we utilize the processes and residuals to produce energy that provides both electricity and heat to homes, businesses, bus shelters, and the bi-products are then reused as fertilizer for the surrounding fields. You can read more about our energy production here.
We upcycle wastewater and knowledge
We believe that everything we do should contribute to a sustainable world where nothing goes to waste. Our purpose is to protect our shared values, the water environment, and public health. To achieve this, we work with The Blue Economy, a circular mindset, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
We refuse to settle for merely doing less harm to nature and the climate. We aim to reverse the trend and raise the level of ambition from doing less harm to doing more good. Moreover, we strive to inspire others to join our quest.
We have changed from a traditional utility company focused on minimizing harm to nature and the water environment into a modern environmental, energy, and climate company that improves the society we are part of.
We are going beyond simply treating wastewater to ensure it does not cause harm. Now we upcycle – refine and increase the value of wastewater and other natural resources for electricity, heat, and other new resources. We no longer believe that a quiet life is a good life. Instead we now share our knowledge, ideas, and results, to inspire customers, partners, and the rest of the world to follow our example.
By spreading our knowledge and methods, we not only inspire others but also enhance the value of our solutions. The more people doing the right thing, the greater the impact. That is why we also talk about upcycling knowledge.
A world without waste
A world where we create more than we destroy and consume; that is what we work for every single day. Sure, we may be Blue, but we are not naive. We know that BlueKolding alone cannot save the world. But perhaps our ideas and solutions can contribute to it.
That is why we do everything we can to share our work and way of thinking and working, and our ideas and solutions that create new resources from water – that should in fact not be called wastewater. Because water is not waste. There is plenty of value and resources in water, and we need to utilize them. And we must constantly strive to become even better at it.
We engage in various collaborations both nationally and internationally. We welcome visitors from other countries and continents who want to learn about our way of working, and we participate in conferences at home and abroad when invited to share how we gain value from wastewater.
We do this because we work for a world without waste. We really mean it: We need to inspire and help each other, across both local and international borders.
A healthy, clean, and climate-proof community
We strive for a healthy, clean, and climate-safe municipality – and a world without waste. It sounds grand. And it sounds ambitious. And it is. However, it does not mean that we deprioritize our original purpose: Ensuring that our customers – the citizens and businesses of Kolding – dispose of their wastewater, and that it is treated so it can be returned to nature.
But today, we view wastewater and its purification as the means to produce electricity, heat, and clean water, rather than seeing it as a bi-product to be disposed of. And it works!
“We work for a healthy, clean, and climate-proof community – and a world without waste.”
VISION
A healthy, clean, and climate-proof municipality – and a world without waste.
MISSION
To protect – and if possible, improve – our shared water environment, values, health, and living conditions. We achieve this by preparing the municipality for climate changes, removing and treating wastewater, and upcycling the value of knowledge and natural resources. In doing so, we aim to not only cause less harm but do more good. For the benefit of future generations and to inspire the rest of the world
PRINCIPLES
MONOPOLY OBLIGES
Our customers are mandatory customers with us. This obliges in a special way to put their money to good use – and to inform them about what they get for their money in both a local and a global perspective.
FROM LESS HARM TO MORE GOOD
We work to raise both our own and others’ levels of ambition; because it is not enough to stop our impact on nature and climate. We need to reverse it.
IF IT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED, IT CANNOT BE DEFENDED
Our decisions and actions must always be explainable based on our strategy, our core narrative, and our values.
WALK THE TALK – TALK THE WALK
We do what we say – and we communicate what we do so that others get the opportunity to follow our example and contribute to reversing the status quo by doing more good.
We believe that everything we do must contribute to a sustainable and viable future, where nothing goes to waste. Our goal is to protect our shared values, the water environment, and public health. To achieve this, we work with The Blue Economy, circular thinking, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. We refuse to settle for merely reducing harm to nature and the climate. We aim to reverse the trend and raise the level of ambition from causing less harm to doing more good. Moreover, we strive to inspire others to join our quest. We believe it is possible because we have done it ourselves. We have evolved from a traditional utility company focused on minimizing harm to nature and the water environment into a modern environmental-, energy-, and climate company that generates value in those areas. Moving beyond simply treating wastewater to ensure it does not cause harm, we now upcycle the wastewater and other natural resources for electricity, heat, and other new resources. From believing that a quiet life is a good life we now share our knowledge, ideas, and results by inspiring customers, partners, and the rest of the world to follow our example. By spreading our knowledge and methods we inspire others, which increases the value of our solutions. The more people doing the right thing, the greater the impact. That is why we also talk about upcycling knowledge.
Facts about BlueKolding
- We own and operate the 5 wastewater treatment plants in the municipality.
- We ensure that rainwater and wastewater is transported from homes and businesses, treated, and returned properly to nature.
- We ensure Kolding’s adaption to climate changes by establishing facilities to minimize the risk of flooding from storm surges, extreme rainfall, and sewer systems.
- We manage and monitor the wastewater facilities around the clock.
- We renovate, expand, and modernize the sewer system to keep pace with the municipality’s growth and the ever increasing volumes.
- We are an independent joint stock company, owned 100 % by Kolding Municipality.
- We serve almost 100,000 customers in approximately 34,500 households in Kolding Municipality.
- We have approximately 50 dedicated employees.
