AKKC – Aalborg Congress & Culture Center

As a Nordic Swan Ecolabelled conference center, AKKC has sky‑high ambitions within sustainability

With more than half a million annual guests attending music events, theatre, fairs, exhibitions, meetings, and congresses, Aalborg Congress & Culture Center (AKKC) has had waste sorting at the top of its agenda for more than a decade — long before legislation in the area came into force.

AKKC wants guests and visitors to sort their waste, and it is going very well, even though they still experience challenges once the music starts playing. In addition to requiring the solutions to be user‑friendly and flexible, it is also crucial that they meet the cleaning staff’s demands for operational reliability and ergonomics.

From waste to resources

"Achieving certification as a Nordic Swan Ecolabelled conference center requires documented environmental responsibility, and combined with our ISO 20121:2024 certification, it has truly given us a shared language for how we want to continue working with the green transition."

Louise Stougaard Nielsen, Sustainability Manager, AKKC

The Challenge

Many guests and large amounts of waste require flexible solutions

AKKC has been sorting waste using Bica’s solutions since 2016, and the systems are placed throughout foyer areas, conference rooms, and administrative spaces. The solutions consist of a combined system with three fractions for food waste, residual waste, and plastic, beverage cartons & metal, positioned in selected areas where guests spend the most time depending on the event. In addition, they have added a separate fraction for paper. All solutions are on wheels, making them movable and providing flexibility for both small and large events.

AKKC has deliberately chosen to use pictograms in recognizable colors and applied clear stickers indicating the waste type on each fraction. They want to make waste sorting easy and intuitive for guests. It has also been important for AKKC that the waste solutions are user‑friendly and reliable for the cleaning staff. The integrated and strong bag holders play a particularly important role, as they make bag changes easier and faster.

From waste to resources

"We are very satisfied with our solutions from Bica. We have had them for many years, and they are in use every single day. I am very impressed with their functionality and durability. They work extremely well in the daily operations throughout the building."

Jesper Ring, Facility Manager, AKKC

Sustainability & ESG

The green transition is clearly anchored in AKKC’s business strategy

AKKC works strategically with many different sustainability initiatives as an integrated part of their strategy. Due to the size of the organization, they are not required by EU regulations to prepare an ESG report, but despite this, they have chosen to publish an annual, well‑documented and inspiring sustainability report with selected ESG key figures and case stories.

In 2023, AKKC won the Sustainability Award of the Year at the Aalborg Awards for their extensive work with sustainability. Two years later, in 2025, they were certified with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel for meetings and conferences — the first venue in Northern Jutland without accommodation to achieve this. Additionally, AKKC became the first — and at the time only — venue in Denmark to be certified under the international standard ISO 20121:2024 for sustainability in the event and meeting industry back in 2017.

Under the “E” in an ESG report, we find reporting on waste volumes. All Danish companies are required by law to sort household‑like waste to increase recycling rates. Since AKKC has been sorting its waste since 2016, they have been first movers in the field and consider waste sorting a natural part of running a responsible business. Over the years, AKKC has expanded the number of sorting solutions to create the best foundation for sending as much waste as possible to recycling.

From waste to resources

"For several years, we have worked strategically with sustainability initiatives, where reducing waste volumes and increasing the recycling rate are absolutely key objectives for us."

Louise Stougaard Nielsen, Sustainability Manager, AKKC

Strong results thanks to a focused and targeted effort in the waste area

The waste targets are described in their sustainability policy, and in 2023 they sent 54.62% of their waste to recycling. In 2024, they made clear progress by sending 63.52% to recycling. Overall, they reduced the total waste volume from 159,261 kg in 2023 to 138,814 kg in 2024 — a decrease of 12.8%.

They continue their work with sorting, and in 2025 they again achieved the same recycling percentage. When nearly half a million guests plus around 60 employees are sorting waste, even small sorting errors can significantly affect the reported