NERI, as a national environmental research centre, is the main provider of consultancy services to Danish public authorities in the field of nature and environmental management. 

It is NERI’s goal to supply research-based support to authorities and other decision-making bodies by means of a holistic advisory approach, integrated models and decision-making systems. Research-based consultancy ensures that the most recent methods, analyses, etc underpin the services offered.

NERI has a range of functions that can be gathered under the heading research-based public sector consultancy. The clients are the various agencies under the Danish Ministry of the Environment (Environmental Protection Agency, Agency for Spatial and Environmental Planning and the Danish Forest and Nature Agency) as well as the Ministry of Climate and Energy. NERI moreover has a duty to provide consultancy services for the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum in Greenland. A contract has been entered into for the years 2008–2011 between Aarhus University and the Ministry of the Environment concerning provision and implementation of NERI’s research-based consultancy to authorities.