The Pollution-Industrial Complex and the Making of Denmark as an Environmental Frontrunner, 1965-1975

Résumé fourni par la source

This article examines the emergence of a Danish ‘pollution-industrial complex’ in the 1970s, contributing to the growing field of business-environmental history. Building on Martin Gellen’s original concept, which emphasized the profit-making potential of pollution control in the United States, the article shows how Danish industry – particularly the firm FL Smidth – responded to mounting environmental pressures by creating a market for pollution-control technologies. Rather than resisting regulation, Danish businesses actively collaborated with the state to shape environmental policy, promote technological solutions, and position pollution abatement as a site of economic opportunity. This response unfolded within Denmark’s open, export-oriented economy and helped construct a national identity as an environmental frontrunner. The article reveals how industry-led initiatives, public-private collaboration, and favourable legislation enabled the commodification of environmental protection. By situating the Danish case within the literature on Nordic green diplomacy and national branding, the article argues that today’s green growth discourse has roots in this early fusion of ecological concern with industrial capitalism. Against this background, it underscores the need to further explore the historical foundations of sustainable development narratives through the lens of the pollution-industrial complex.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.