|
Dogme 2000 is a close and binding cooperation between municipalities wishing to make an extra effort to maintain and extend work towards environmentally sustainable development. The Dogme cooperation covers the five municipalities of Albertslund, Ballerup, Fredericia, Herning and Copenhagen.
Dogme 2000 rests on the three dogmas:
- Human impact on the environment must be measured
- A plan for environmental improvements must be drawn up: Agenda 21
- The environmental work must be anchored locally
Participation in the Dogme cooperation implies that the municipalities commit themselves to working towards target achievement within the three dogmas. The participating municipalities must commission an annual external audit, describing stage and progress in their efforts towards target achievement within the three dogmas. In the following, the targets under the three dogmas are described:
Dogma 1, Human impact on the environment must be measured
A. Green accounts must be drawn up annually. The municipalities’ geographic borders are seen as the borders of the local community that as a whole is committed to the targets. The green accounts therefore cover, as a minimum, the municipal buildings, all residential areas and the business community.
B. Green accounts must describe developments in waste recycling and, as a minimum, cover consumption of district heating, electricity, gas, oil, as well as traffic, groundwater, and pesticides.
C. Green accounts must inform about the area’s total contribution to pollution (e.g. NO2) and climate change (e.g. CO2), based on the above consumption.
Dogma 2, A plan for environmental improvements must be drawn up: Agenda 21
A. Agenda 21 must cover the entire local community, in line with the Green accounts
B. Agenda 21 must contain targets for resource use and environmental impacts, based on the ecological space concept.
C. Recognising that the public sector must assume the role as the driving force towards conversion to sustainability, the following targets must be pursued:
- Food consumption in public institutions must become 75 % organic
- The use of herbicides must be phased out
- Environmentally sustainable guidelines within building and construction must be complied with (common guidelines will be drawn up)
- All planning work must have sustainability as the overall target
- An environmentally sustainable procurement policy must be put in place
Dogma 3, The environmental work must be anchored locally
A. Residential areas must be considered in the preparation of local Agenda 21 plans.
B. The business community must be formally involved in the work towards improving the environment. For example, agricultural land should be converted into organic farming, where possible.
C. The municipality’s own administration and institutions eventually must be environmentally certified, and environmental considerations must be taken into account in company plans, staff policy, etc.
Correlation between the Dogme and the Life project
With the Life project, the Dogme municipalities wish to sustain and further develop the cooperation. For this purpose, four expert project groups have been established, working with the following:
Development of a model for the municipal Green accounts based on the knowledge held today in the municipalities. The model will also contain targets for resource use and environmental impact and will thus be an enhancement of, first and foremost, Dogma 1, but also Dogma 2 B (see above).
Development of a chemicals plan containing tools that the municipalities may use to reduce chemicals consumption among citizens, enterprises and the municipal institutions. The chemicals field has so far not been part of the Dogme cooperation and is thus an example of a new, common area of effort.
Development of methods for anchorage of environmental work among citizens, enterprises and the municipal institutions. This will be an enhancement and further development of Dogma 3 (see above).
Development of a new audit method for the Dogme cooperation based on the experiences gained under the old audit method. One of the commitments of the Dogme cooperation is to commission an annual external audit according to the same auditing principles and using the same, external auditor.
Link to Dogme 2000 website
|
