Corporate Heritage Meets Circular Tourism
SDU Community of Practice Explores New Approach
At Petersens Tegl A/S, a brick manufacturer with over 200 years of history, seven stakeholders gathered to discuss the value of corporate heritage.
The meeting marked the first Community of Practice session for the University of Southern Denmark‘s VERNE pilot, focused on corporate heritage in the Sønderjylland-Schleswig border region. Led by Klarissa Lueg and Mikael Jensen, the roundtable brought together corporate decision-makers and NGO representatives to explore how corporate heritage is preserved in the region.
Museums as Sustainability Tools
The discussion focused on Petersens Tegl A/S a company with deep regional roots and long innovation histories. During a day that facilitated dialogue, innovation and mutual learning, the potential and added value of engaging with corporate heritage was explored in depth with stakeholders.
For Petersens Tegl, showcasing corporate heritage exemplifies brick-making’s two-century story. Products like the Kolumba brick and Cover brick demonstrate pioneering innovation, and could be a good starting point for establishing a product exhibition.
The VERNE pilot with its Corporate Heritage Network suggests corporate museums as a way to engage with stakeholders and to show organisational history. Indeed, a corporate museum offers three key benefits: strengthened corporate identity and branding, knowledge preservation safeguarding stories and expertise that might disappear and engagement building trust through spaces where public, employees, and partners experience company history firsthand.
Social Responsibility Through Heritage
VERNE’s broader approach is that sustainability isn’t just environmental, it’s social and economic. Preserving corporate heritage maintains regional identity, creates cultural tourism opportunities, and sustains connections between communities and companies that shaped them.
Participants left committed to continuing the dialogue. The session demonstrated how corporate heritage can serve multiple purposes, strengthening regional identity while contributing to circular tourism models that preserve both corporate memory and community connections.
An approach that also reflects a broader understanding: circular tourism isn’t only about reducing environmental impact. It’s also about maintaining cultural continuity and ensuring that regional identity remains intact as tourism evolves.
SDU’s Community of Practice represents one of five VERNE networks across Europe. While other pilots focus on food tourism or zero-waste systems, Sønderjylland-Schleswig explores how corporate heritage can serves sustainable and circular tourism, and preserve regional culture.