Cooperation with Aarhus Municipality

• As the owner: What Aarhus Municipality wants with Aarhus Vand.
• As an authority: Aarhus Municipality's supervision with Aarhus Vand's compliance with rules.
• As a contractual party: Aarhus Municipality's pruchasing of services from Aarhus Vand and cooperation about projects.

Aarhus Municaplity can, as the owner, have interests in relation to e.g., Aarhus Vand's strategy, results, risk, capital structure, corporate management, company culture, management pay and corporate social responsibility. The Municipality practices its influence on the company via the annual general meeting.

Owner strategy

Aarhus Municipality's owner strategy for Aarhus Vand elaborates the goals and purposes that was set out at the formation of the company in 2010 and which Aarhus City Council wishes in extension of the municipality's politics for an active ownership of municipal companies.

The municipality's overall purpose for Aarhus Vand is to ensure the biggest possible, long-term, value creation and to ensure goals in relation to operation and management, economy, security, environment and social matters. 

The owner strategy's purpose is to contribute to:

• Create a connection between Aarhus Municipality's and Aarhus Vand's politics, visions and plans.
• Create clarity about Aarhus Municipality's goals for Aarhus Vand, including the company's board of directors.
• Ensure the best possible effect of the used resources within Aarhus Vand's business area and the biggest possible value creation in the company.
• Regulate the cooperation between Aarhus Municipality and Aarhus Vand within the framework of the, at all times, applicable rules and with respect to any other owners interests.

Aarhus Municpality further expects that Aarhus Vand works to:

• Secure clean drinking water.
• Secure a steady supply and high customer satisfaction.
• Contribute to a clean environment.
• Contribute to the climate effort and the work with climate adaptation.
• Takes on a social responsibility by securing internships and hiring on special terms.
• Aarhus must have water of high quality and be among the 30 cheapest municipalities in Denmark.
• Ensure that yield and capital structure lives up to the goals for these.

In relation to economical responsibility, among other things, this is stated in the owner strategy about the municipality's expetations to Aarhus Vand:

• Has a strong focus on economical responsibility, including the fact that Aarhus Vand operates to secure facilities for the future as well as develop the company's economic values.
• Has a continuuing focus on development, efficiency improvements and possible synergies that is intended to be beneficial for the consumers and the owners.
• Organizes its dispositions so they do not entail an unnecessary high risk for the owners.
• Focuses on the enviromentally efficient facility investments and optimization of operations.
• Makes key numbers visible at specific areas in the yearly statement and on a yearly dialogue meeting with the Magistrate.
• Makes an assessment of possible tariff consequences for Aarhus Municipality and for the citizens by planning and decisions that has a siginificant economical importance for the company.
• A transparent dialogue between the company and the municipality about matters of significant economical importance.
• The rates is determined at a level that ensures the capital apparatus and the operation as well as the goal for the rate development.

Locally anchored with a global view

Aarhus Vand is a water utility which is locally anchored in Aarhus and which has both a national and global view. Our 2025 strategy takes a point of departure in Aarhus as a city and in the great potential, that lies in the city and the region. The citizens of Aarhus, generally lives longer than in the rest of Denmark and the city is growing with an expected growth of 1.4 per cent a year towards 2034, where the city will have 410.000 inhabitants.

Aarhus - and the entire Business Region of Aarhus with 1 million inhabitants - has an economical growth and a growth in jobs, which is significantly above the national average. Last, but not least, Aarhus Municipality has an ambitious climate action plan, where one of the goals is to achieve CO2 neutrality by 2030. Already now, it has succeeded to reduce the emissions per inhabitant with 40 per cent since 2010.

In other words, Aarhus is a city in movement and with a big force to act and Aarhus Vand's strategy contributes to develop the city futher.

Primarily, the strategy contributes to these goals for Aarhus Municipality:

• A city in growth and with a strong business community.
• A sustainable city with excellent city- and local environments.
• A city where everyone is healthy and is thriving.

The strategy also support Aarhus Municipality's business plan towards 2023. This is especially applicable for these goals:

• A sustainable rolemodel for the urban world.
• A power position within among others energy, climate and environment.
• Expoloitation of the growth potential in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals about clean water and sanitation, sustainable energy and climate action.

Examples of Aarhus Vand supporting Aarhus Municipality's goals and business plan is the establishment of The Danish Water Cluster, a targeted effort to achieve energy and CO2 neutrality by 2030 as well as a strong Strategic Sector Cooperation about water in countries like South Africa, India and Ghana.