Viegand Maagøe strengthens its advisory services to the European Commission with the acquisition of COWI’s EU policy team in Brussels and Denmark

· Administration, Policy and regulation
VM-europe-EN

Today, Viegand Maagøe, a leading international consultancy specialising in sustainability, acquired the EU Policy Team of COWI based in Brussels and Denmark. Through this acquisition, Viegand Maagøe is strengthening its advisory team supporting EU institutions and other clients implementing policies and programmes on sustainability and ESG. The acquisition adds 19 new experts to Viegand Maagøe, as well as existing contracts and service agreements. The Brussels subsidiary – now owned by Viegand Maagøe – has been named VM Europe.

On this date, 19 experienced EU experts, who previously worked for COWI, walked through the door at Viegand Maagøe in Copenhagen and Brussels as new employees. They will, among other things, expand and strengthen the work in Europe for the European Commission and other EU institutions. At the same time, the new colleagues will strengthen the EU policy advisory services to European companies and enhance work with the European Investment Bank (EIB), which plays a pivotal role financing the green transition.

Brussels at the core

Søren Eriksen, CEO of Viegand Maagøe commented: “With this acquisition, we strengthen our market position in the EU by expanding our services with a more diverse and deeper skillset. We also enhance and build new client relationships across the European Commission and with international organisations such as the European Investment Bank. Furthermore, we add more highly experienced experts to support our portfolio of work on European policy and the EU Green Deal. Brussels is at our core.”

Mr. Eriksen noted that today’s acquisition aligns with the environmental strategic focus of Viegand Maagøe. Earlier this year, the company purchased VHK, a Dutch-Belgian technical consultancy specialising in EU environmental policy. Today’s acquisition of COWI’s EU team continues that trend, enabling the company to offer a more robust and comprehensive set of client services.

Viegand Maagøe’s activities in the EU are built on nearly two decades of work for many EU institutions and organisations. Examples of its project work include Energy Star, ecodesign, energy labelling, circular economy, green procurement, environmental labels, sustainable construction, green finance, policy evaluations and impact assessments. This kind of expert knowledge is increasingly in high demand with Danish and European commercial clients, particularly as the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) regulation is being implemented across the 27 EU countries.

Top-shelf Experts

Søren Eriksen continued: “The new experts joining us from COWI have further expanded our skillset and knowledge of environmental sustainability, ESG and the EU Green Deal. With our outstanding team of experts, we are ready to support EU and national public and private institutions as they address requirements and legislation in the coming years. Viegand Maagøe is proud to be at the forefront of this work, offering unique insights and knowledge through our team of top-shelf experts in Brussels and Denmark.”

The 19 EU specialists come from COWI, which as part of a major restructuring of the company, has chosen to focus on specific areas within their home markets of the Nordics, Great Britain and North America.

With this acquisition, Viegand Maagøe now employs approximately 40 EU experts, who have extensive experience working across more than ten Directorates-General of the European Commission.

About Viegand Maagøe

Since the company’s establishment in 2006, Viegand Maagøe has evolved from primarily helping customers with energy efficiency and communications to also working strategically and operationally with both resources and sustainability in areas such as climate and the environment, social conditions and company management. The 150 employees of Viegand Maagøe are at the front line of sustainability. The organisation succeeds because we have a diverse team of experts with deep insight into all the critical areas of the green transition. We deliver client-facing value by creating teams with the right skillsets and experience across the departments and areas of expertise. Viegand Maagøe currently has offices in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Delft and Brussels.
viegandmaagoe.dk/en/

Contact

Søren Eriksen, CEO: tel.: +45 20 20 24 54; sek@viegandmaagoe.dk
Jan Viegand, Partner, Director: tel.: +45 20 85 80 94; jv@viegandmaagoe.dk

Viegand Maagøe opens Brussels office

· Data and analysis, Policy and regulation

With a new office in Brussels, Viegand Maagøe is moving even closer to important decision-making processes and the EU system. The first employee to take advantage of it is an expert in ecodesign and sustainable products.

On May 22, Viegand Maagøe opened an office in Brussels to get even closer to EU legislators.

With the new office, Viegand Maagøe will be better equipped to build networks and solve tasks for the EU institutions.

Mette Rames, Head of Sustainability at Viegand Maagøe, explains: “It is the EU that drives much of the work that companies today have to deal with when it comes to climate, environment and social conditions. A large number of our colleagues today already have a lot of experience working with and through the EU, but it is also there that it is important for us to stay sharp and follow the development. We can only do that by getting really close.”

Michael Scholand, a specialist in ecodesign and sustainable products, is the first Viegand Maagøe employee to be given an office space in Brussels, but more are expected to follow in 2024-25.

Pernille Yding Fredslund is a new partner at Viegand Maagøe

· Communication and change management
Ny partner i Viegand Maagøe

She is the head of Viegand Maagøe’s digital team and, as part of the partner group, will help strengthen efforts in the digital field.

Pernille Yding Fredslund has become a partner at Viegand Maagøe. She heads the digital department, which she has led since its establishment in 2022.

“I’m honoured by the trust placed in me becoming a partner in a company with a strong purpose and which is rapidly evolving and at the forefront in terms of consulting and green transition,” she says.

CEO and partner Søren Eriksen sees the addition of Pernille Yding Fredslund as a natural expansion of the partner group.

“Pernille brings a digital agenda that is crucial to our company’s strategy in the coming years, and she and her team have already demonstrated the immense potential in this area. She has rapidly developed our digital efforts and significantly strengthened our competencies in the field. This enhances both our business and our ability to solve even more types of tasks for private and public clients,” he says.

Digital Interdisciplinary Work

Since 2006, Viegand Maagøe has handled digitalization projects for clients at home and abroad, but the effort was truly streamlined with the establishment of the digital department, which today both drives and contributes to a wide range of interdisciplinary projects.

For Pernille Yding Fredslund, it is a clear picture that digital solutions have the potential to be the strongest accelerator for the green transition.

“Digitalization supports and streamlines our work in many ways. User-friendly tools allow us to disseminate knowledge and expertise with fewer resources and help even more people engage in active climate action. Technology helps us gain an overview of large amounts of data and identify patterns that would otherwise require significant effort to detect. This allows us to qualify our insights and advice and help streamline the green transition,” she says.

Pernille Yding Fredslund has been with Viegand Maagøe twice. Her first employment was in 2011-2012, and she returned in 2022 after a period of employment in other companies.

Read the profile: Pernille stepped into her childhood in Zambia, loves poetry, and was involved in developing Denmark’s first music streaming service

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