Environmental approvals for companies in Europe are regulated by the Industrial Emission Directive, which uses the concept of Best Available Techniques (BAT) to set requirements for the equipment used in the industry. Danish Crown is one of the companies that have to comply with the requirements set in the Industrial Emission Directive. The implementation of BAT requirements in Danish Crown could be more effective, because they rely on their technology suppliers to document that the equipment they purchase comply with the BAT requirements. The technology suppliers are however not able to provide Danish Crown with the required documentation.

Interviews with the actors involved in the process of developing and implementing BAT regulation are used to analyse the characteristics of the actors and discuss how these affect the process. The characteristics used in the analysis are based on the contextual interaction theory, which uses the three characteristics cognition, motivation and resources and the structural context surrounding the policy process, to analyse how the different actors affect the policy process and which options they have to change the course of the policy process. The structural context is analysed based on network theory, with a focus on the relation between the actors involved in the policy process. How the policy process could be changed to improve the implementation of BAT requirements is discussed based on Strategic Adaptive Management strategies and Effectual Reasoning. New suggestions for BAT conclusions that could be developed to create social, environmental and economical value are also discussed to clarify the possibilities a improved collaboration between the actors in the value chain could lead to.

In the development of BAT conclusions the actors motivation, cognition and resources creates a situation where the actors who want circular economy aspects in the BAT requirements do not have the resources to change the policy process. The focus from Danish Crown is on avoiding any requirements made by actors from outside the industry which they are not able to comply with, while the Danish EPA focus on requirements that could benefit Danish companies. In the implementation of BAT, Danish Crown would like to be more ambitious than the requirements set in the BAT conclusions and are motivated by reducing their operation costs. The technology suppliers have limited to no knowledge about BAT, but focus on the factors which could give them a competitive advantage. It is suggested that Danish Crown use total cost of ownership assessments in their procurement process, as this could give them a better basis for collaborating with their suppliers and make decisions. The suggested BAT conclusions focused on value chain aspects could create economic, social, and environmental value, if the interaction between the actors are improved.