Carsten Glenting

Carsten finds funding

How do you get private financing to support global environmental goals? For the past 30 years, that question has been the focal point of Carsten Glenting’s professional life. However, he’s also found time to pursue both spearfishing and the martial art, Aikido.

Nowadays, our Head of Economics and Finance, Carsten Glenting, is an expert on creating the right framework conditions for private financing of climate and environment projects on a global scale. But it all started with a joyful interest in numbers.

In lower secondary school, inspirational teachers kindled Carsten’s enthusiasm for maths causing him to follow his passion and study mathematics and economics at University of Aarhus from 1983-88.

“I might be a bit on the autism spectrum. For example, I could remember the value of different stamps from 1978 well into my thirties. Nevertheless, I was a bit shocked when I started my studies at the institute of mathematics, as the level of abstraction was at an entirely different level. Yet, as we were only a few students taking this particular degree, we quickly became a close-knit group supporting each other through the courses. In fact, we are all married to each other now,” Carsten states adding that he in fact also met his wife Charlotte while studying.

Investing in the economic restructuring after the fall of the Berlin Wall

After university, Carsten and Charlotte moved to Copenhagen to find jobs, and Carsten was hired as a fund manager. Bonds and currency became everyday life, but Carsten found himself more interested in equities.

“When it comes to equity investments, you must understand an industry. It’s closer to the real world. I assisted in creating an investment fund for Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall and then another one for Mexico. I found joy in travelling, and I became increasingly interested in developing economies.”

Stopping ozone depletion

In 1993, Carsten found himself an enticing position with COWI in which he would help post-Soviet states find funding and the right technologies for stopping ozone depletion.

“I thought it was thrilling to be in the centre of the unravelling of the old system. It wasn’t always easy to navigate in, but I liked the challenge of facing the complexity and then creating a new structure which would solve the problems,” Carsten states.

However, the intensity of his travels wore on him, so, in 1997, Carsten found a job in Denmark allowing him to spend more time with Charlotte and their two small children. Then, in 2001, he was lured back to COWI to work with energy and climate projects as well as public-private partnerships for the next 17 years.

Creating real value

Over the years, Carsten formed strong connections with clients such as the World Bank, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish Energy Agency, and the EU Commission. And with partners such as Viegand Maagøe.

Then, in 2018, Carsten started at Viegand Maagøe as the first member of our new department for economics and finance. His focus is still on global environmental problems – and especially the challenge of ensuring investments which contributes to a more sustainable world.

“Mobilisation of private financing is necessary to enable great change. But how do you secure it?” Carsten asks and then delivers the answer:

“You must facilitate interaction between multiple partners and activate diverse competencies. This is how real value is created – and it feels great to be a part of it.”

The way of harmonized energy

When he takes a break from securing funding for a more sustainable world, Carsten enjoys spearfishing with his son and practicing the martial art Aikido which translates as “the way of harmonized energy”.

“It’s all about harmonizing with your opponent’s attack and using its power to your own advantage. It’s physical but at the same time, there’s a great focus on your mental ability to stay calm and relaxed under pressure,” he adds.