Sustainability in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area

Sustainability in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area

Green Metropolegreenmetropole.nl

amsterdam metropolitan area

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

BIOBASED ACTIVITIES 6

MOBILITY 12

SMART GRIDS 19

DISTRICT HEATING NETWORKS 22

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 26

AND THERE IS MORE... 32

133

This is a joint publication by the authorities of the

Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, coordinated by the

Sustainability initiative and the Amsterdam Economic Board.

Amsterdam, June 2014

www.metropoolregioamsterdam.nl

www.amsterdameconomicboard.com

Content & editing: Counter Content

Concept & design: Counter Creatives

Photography: Raymond van Zessen, Ray Photography,

p. 2, 12, 22, 24, 25, 29, 30, 32, 33

Investing in your future. This project is

partly financed by the European Regional

Development Fund of the European Union.

INTRODUCTION

Shorter lines of communication, enhanced coordination, mutual understanding and faster decision- making. These are a number of practical consequences of what started in late 1999 with the Muid-erslot conferences, continued in the 2000s with the Noordvleugel conferences and is since 2008 commonly known as the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. It was in the process of defining a vision for 2040 of what was then referred to as the Noordvleugel (“North Wing”) that the term Amsterdam Metro-politan Area was used for the first time. In short, it is a collaboration between different authorities all working on a shared vision in the areas of economy, urban regenera-tion, spatial planning, accessibility and sustainability.

The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area com-

prises 36 municipalities, the provinces

of North Holland and Flevoland, and the

City Region of Amsterdam, and is known

as ama for short. The area extends from

IJmuiden to Lelystad and from Purmerend

to Haarlemmermeer. The sum total of all

the economic activity in the Amsterdam

Metropolitan Area places it among the

top five economically strongest regions

in Europe. The objective of this intensive

cooperation is to maintain and strengthen

this internationally competitive position.

In spite of the considerable consequences

of the economic crisis, prospects are

good. A great deal of international

business activity and a friendly business

climate, along with good international

accessibility, a high standard of living, a

very diverse range of businesses and the

presence of a strong knowledge economy

with many highly-qualified people, make

the ama into a very attractive region.

However, one side effect of a flourishing

economy is high energy consumption,

high carbon emissions and a negative

impact on the ecology and the living

environment of the people who are

residing and/or working within the ama.

Our challenge is to limit this impact to

a minimum and, in doing so, sustain the

quality of the living environment at as

high a level as possible. For this reason,

a Sustainability steering committee was

immediately established at the inception

of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region’s

development as an administrative area.

The most important objective is that of

working towards an energy-neutral region.

All ama partners are working very hard on

initiatives which promote sustainability,

from economic and ecological, but also

social and community perspectives.

In the context of five different topics

(district heating networks, biobased activ-

ities, the built environment, mobility and

smart grids) we will describe a selection of

inspiring projects. Some of these projects

are being undertaken in cooperation with

large knowledge institutions or corpora-

tions, but many of these initiatives have

been started by citizens themselves who

see the vital importance of sustainability.

It is with great pride that we present

you with a compilation of these fantastic

projects. After all, they leave no room

for doubt – with this huge level of com-

mitment and involvement on the part of

citizens, entrepreneurs and authorities,

we are able to demonstrate definitively,

both nationally and internationally, that

the ama is a sustainable metropolis which

is fully-prepared for the challenges of the

future. For more information, please visit

WWW.METROPOOLREGIOAMSTERDAM.NL

4 154 5155

e Metropoolregio Amsterdam bestaat uit 36

gemeenten, de provincie Noord-Holland en Flevo-

land en de stadsregio Amsterdam. Kortweg ama.

Het gebied stre

smart gri

Biobased Connections (bbc) strives to

connect parties efficiently and effectively

in order to give concrete shape to the

biobased economy within the ama. In this

project, leaders in the field of biobased

economy are working together. Parties from

the business community who have joined

this project include Schiphol Airport and

Port of Amsterdam. From the government

side, the municipalities of Amsterdam,

Amstelveen, Haarlemmermeer and

Aalsmeer play an important role, together

with the Chamber of Commerce and the City

of Amsterdam Waste and Energy Company.

Knowledge institutions such as the Univer-

sity of Amsterdam, Amsterdam University of

Applied Science and Wageningen University

(Wageningen University & Research Centre)

complete the group of key players. Put

briefly, bbc employs three mechanisms

designed to optimise cooperation between

all these parties. Firstly, bbc creates the

right conditions for an ecosystem in which,

thanks to interdisciplinary collaboration, new

connections can be forged. In addition, bbc

facilitates the use of an independent chain

director. The third and final mechanism is

communication. In this, bbc plays an advisory

role, but also offers support during imple-

mentation.

For more information, please visit:

WWW.GREENMETROPOLE.NL/BIOBASEDCONNECTIONS

6 17

BIOBASED ACTIVITIES

The subject of “biobased activities” finds its origin in the concept of the Circular & Biobased Economy. The idea behind a circular economy is that products are designed to avoid the generation of waste. Products are re-used in such a way that waste flows are minimised. The biobased economy is characterised by the most efficient use possible of crops and biomass for food, cattle feed, materials, chemicals, energy and fuel. The objective of the biobased economy is to decrease depen-dency on fossil fuel reserves, such as oil and coal. Other drivers are a general impetus toward increased sustainability and the economic opportunities which the use of renewables and biological raw materials opens up for trade and industry. Because the Netherlands has a leading position in both agro-food and chemistry worldwide, the subject of the biobased economy is high on the agenda – not least within the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

The projects within the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area that fall under the topic of the biobased economy are joint ventures involving the business community, knowledge institutions and authorities, also referred to as the “triple helix”. These partnerships are necessary to achieve the highest possible level of economic synergy. Only with this triple helix is the ama able to position itself as a Circular & Biobased Economy.

7

ACCRESS

Acrres‘ mission is to develop, test and

demonstrate the use of green raw materials

and closed recycling, as well as ways in

which sustainable energy can be derived

from the sun, the wind and biomass, working

together with businesses, interest groups,

authorities and the academic field. Acrres

wants to make new learning opportunities

available based on this. Acrres is working

on new ways of using energy based on

these ideas and the belief that the demand

for sustainable energy is synonymous

with a demand for innovation. Climate

change, increasing energy demands and

the importance of energy security are the

spur for the establishment of acrres. Acrres

stands for Application Centre for Renewable

RESources and is the national practical

centre for sustainable energy and green raw

materials. Acrres is based in Lelystad and is

the initiative of three organisations: Applied

Plant Research, the Animal Sciences Group

(both of which form part of Wageningen ur)

and energy company Eneco. The province

of Flevoland and the municipality of Lelystad

are supporters of Acrres.

Acrres provides access to Wageningen

ur’s substantial knowledge and experience

relating to topics such as biofermentation

and biobased economy. In addition, the

organisation functions as a platform and has a

testing and demonstration area comprising

1,200 hectares. This makes it possible to get

large-scale projects off the ground in Lely-

stad, such as an operational biofermentation

installation for research purposes, three

wind farms and a test site for wind turbines.

In addition, acrres organises introductory

programmes, information sessions, sympo-

sia and presentations for interested parties

and stakeholders. All these initiatives con-

tribute to the objective of encouraging new

developments in the field of sustainable

energy and green raw materials by means of

experimentation, testing, demonstration and

learning. Meer over acress leest u hier:

WWW.ACRRES.NL

De Ceuvel

A polluted, abandoned shipyard; twelve

disused houseboats; a group of architects,

artists, craftsmen, photographers and media

professionals; and a new and alternative

approach to urban development. Those

are, in sum, the building blocks of the “De

Ceuvel” project, which is taking shape on

the site of the former Buik sloterham ship-

yard, in the port area of North Amsterdam.

On the initiative of the City of Amsterdam

and the Noordwaarts project office, the site

8 199

has been made available for this innovative

scheme for a period of ten years. “De

Ceuvel” was proposed by a very diverse

and interesting group of people, who

want to turn this part of Amsterdam into a

creative space. The initiative has already

received a lot of media attention: It was

featured on the television programme

Tegenlicht on the vpro channel, as well as in

the Algemeen Dagblad, De Volkskrant, Het

Parool and De Telegraaf daily newspapers.

On the website DECEUVEL.TUMBLR.COM you can

read about which steps have been taken,

and will be taken, to make the area habit-

able again.

10 11111

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home or at work, this usually isn’t a problem.

What’s more, these charging points usually

come with the vehicle and are therefore rela-

tively inexpensive. The challenge is situating

charging points in public places. To facilitate

this, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area

Electric project (ama-e) kicked off in 2012.

The focus of this working group is on sharing

knowledge, rolling out a network of charging

points and encouraging an increase in the

number of electric cars. Different municipal-

ities learn from each other, which speeds

up the roll-out of electric driving. This not

only benefits the air quality, but also puts the

amaahead of other regions economically.

A good example of how the ama-e project

encourages electric driving is the help it

offers municipal governments with calls for

tender for charging points. For individual

municipalities, creating their own charging

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MOBILITY

To strengthen the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, accessibil-ity is of key importance. Good accessibility usually brings with it greater mobility. This increasing mobility of people and goods can also have all sorts of undesired effects – think of problems such as land usage, energy scarcity, the impact of CO2 on the climate, other harmful emissions and the nuisance caused by traffic

and transport. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area aims to improve accessibility, but in a sustainable fashion. This can be achieved in a number of ways – for example, the use of new forms of communication keys into the growing awareness with regard to mobility. Encouraging the use of energy- efficient means of trans-portation, such as bicycles and public transport, is another way. In addition, innovations in transport techno logy, the use of sustain-able energy sources and more sustainable use of materials play a significant role as well. Finally, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area also aims for the harmonious integration of the infrastructure in both urban and rural areas. Metropoolregio Amsterdam Elektrisch

With more than 35,000 electric cars on the

roads in the Netherlands and the expecta-

tion that this number will rise considerably,

there is an increasing demand for public

charging points. Most types of e-cars have

to recharge after 100 to 200 kilometres. At

1312

infrastructure is usually not an option. The

issue is a new one and the costs of charging

points are high, which means it often does

not fit into municipalities’ budgets. For this

reason, ama-e combines their forces and

organises tenders for public charging points

for municipalities in the provinces of North

Holland, Flevoland and Utrecht. The City of

Amsterdam and the City of Utrecht represent

an exception: They are addressing the issue

of their charging points with tenders of their

own. ama-e also targets the business com-

munity. A concrete result of this is that 100

electric taxis will be operating on the route

to and from Schiphol from autumn 2014.

More information about the mra-e initiative

can be found on WWW.MRAE.NL

Electric Freeway

The Electric Freeway is a more than 20 kilo-

metres long cycle route between Almere

and Amsterdam Southeast and represents

a sustainable, fast, safe and comfortable

alternative to driving. The wide road and

the countryside location make the route

ideally suited for travel by electric bicycle

or scooter. The Electric Freeway is intended

specifically for commuters from Almere,

Weesp, Muiden and Naarden – precisely

the group that currently still makes massive

use of the a6 and a1 motorways towards

Amsterdam, one of the reasons for the

daily congestion on the Hollandse Brug.

But the a1 too is and will remain a busy

traffic artery where traffic jams are not

uncommon.

The Electric Freeway project is part

of the Optimising Use programme

( WWW. BETERBENUTTEN.NL/MRA) by the Ministry

of Infrastructure and the Environment. In

this programme, the Dutch government,

regional authorities and the business

community are working together to im-

prove accessibility in busy regions, with the

objective of a 20% reduction in traffic at the

busiest hotspots. The Electric Freeway is a

joint venture between the municipality of

Almere and ForenZo (a mobility initiative by

the Royal Dutch Touring Club). The aim is

to get 200 commuters to begin making use

of the Electric Freeway and, in doing so, to

deliberately leave their cars at home.

The Fuel Cell Bus and clean buses

In Amsterdam, two hybrid fuel cell buses

are in operation on line 22. These vehicles

use hydrogen and batteries as their sourc-

es of energy. The on-board fuel cells con-

vert hydrogen into electricity and an elec-

tric engine then does the work. In addition,

the vehicles have been built with a typical

characteristic of city buses in mind: Their

constant braking and accelerating. For this

reason, the buses make use of what are

known as Supercaps. These are capacitors

which can quickly store and release elec-

1151514

trical energy. The buses use the current

generated when braking to accelerate,

which makes them extra fuel- efficient.

Together with the storage of energy in the

form of batteries, the Supercaps ensure

environmentally clean buses. The electric

engine is quiet and emission-free and does

not produce any fine particles. The only

thing these buses emit is water vapour.

This project contributes to better air

quality in Amsterdam. To further improve

the air quality, the Municipal Executive in

April 2014 agreed a subsidy for the early

replacement of another 34 buses operated

by municipal public transport operator

gvb. With this, the City of Amsterdam is

taking a significant step towards achieving

European air quality standards, which the

city must be compliant with in 2015.

Mokum Mariteam

“Cargo through the canals, on clean

and quiet power” – that is the mission

of Mokum Mariteam. The City Supplier,

Mokum Mariteam’s vessel, was christened

and launched in 2010. The ship, which

is 20 metres long, 4.25 metres wide and

has a net volume of 85m³, is fully electric,

powered by two generators. With its 8 to

10 hours of cruising, the City Supplier can

easily spend a day on the city’s waterways

without producing emissions. The ship is

aimed at commissioners and customers

who are active around the canal belt and

want to obtain their supplies in a smarter,

cleaner and quieter way. Another target

group is comprised of the shippers and

suppliers in the logistics chain – some of

whom are customers already – who are

seeking to move part of their transportation

onto the water. Recently, the City Supplier

has been used for the transportation of

topped trees from the RAI exhibition

centre, the maintenance of a bridge and

the renovation of a crane at Entrepotdok.

Visit WWW.MOKUMMARITEAM.NL for more infor-

mation about this innovative method of

transportation.

117171616

SMART GRIDS HOW ELECTRICITY IS BECOMING SUSTAINABLE

A residential neighbourhood, offices, a wind farm, a power sta-tion and generators. These are the protagonists in a story about elec-tricity supply and demand. In the past few years, we’ve been using more and more large machines on a large scale in daily life that need electricity – but that, thankfully, can generate it as well. Some of these machines cause great peaks and troughs in our demand for elec-tricity. For example, we generate electricity with solar panels in the early part of the day, but it is at the end of the working day that we collectively plug in our electric cars. Smart grids are based on the idea that machines have to be able to monitor their energy re-quirements themselves, to ensure they can supply themselves with the right amount of power. Decen-tralised, sustainable and smart. “Smart grids” is the umbrella term

for a technology which answers the question of how electricity supply and demand can be regu-lated in the most efficient way at a local level.

Local initiatives by citizens and businesses are the driver for a transition in the usage and sharing of energy. We can only succeed in developing a sustainable energy system for the region by working together intensively. Smart Grids

is doing this with a number of programmes which have already proven their worth, such as Almere Smart Society, Amsterdam Smart City and REloadIT in Zaandam – initiatives in which the smart use of energy is the underlying theme.

Almere Smart Society

The Almere Smart Society programme

has been conceived in collaboration with

international key players in the field of

information processing, data and ict. This

programme is a concentration of busi-

nesses, services, knowledge and facilities

around the collection, storage, provision

of access to, sharing, editing and visual-

isation of big data. Why Almere? Almere

is well-positioned to grow into the data

capital of the Netherlands. There is space;

there is energy; there are excellent ict

facilities (broadband infrastructure, data

centres and computing facilities). Almere

has a growing ict sector, an innovative

health care sector and is ambitious and

willing to invest. The perfect preconditions

18 11918 19

to develop the vision of an ecosystem of

companies and educational and research

institutions which will expand knowledge

around big data and develop and offer

a broad range of services. With this, the

programme expects to generate a great

deal of economic activity and in doing so,

create new jobs for Almere, enabling it to

become a national and international centre

for big data. The Smart Society’s sustain-

able character rests mainly in the smart

use of ict, for example to reduce energy

consumption in the built environment and

in the mobility sector. More information

about the Almere Smart Society can be

found here: WWW.ALMERESMARTSOCIETY.NET.

Amsterdam Smart City

Smart lighting, ultra-fast internet,

electrically- powered water transport,

augmented reality and joint ownership –

these are all smart developments which

will be, and in many cases already are, part

of the daily reality of everyone living in the

Netherlands. In Amsterdam, collaboration

is taking place in projects in the fields of

smart areas, smart living, smart society and

smart economy.

A Smart City is a city in which social and

technological networks and solutions ensure

accelerated, sustainable economic growth.

This improves the quality of life in the city. To

achieve this in the Amsterdam Metropolitan

Area, Amsterdam Smart City (asc) was

established in 2009 – a unique partnership

between businesses, the authorities, knowl-

edge institutions and Amsterdam’s residents.

asc believes in a habitable, hospitable city,

one in which it is pleasant to live, work and

relax. asc was initiated by the Amsterdam

Economic Board, the City of Amsterdam,

the Liander utility company and telecommu-

nications provider kpn. In five years, it has

grown into a platform with over 100 partners

who are active in more than 50 innovative

projects, which include initiatives to improve

sustainability in one high street and several

recreation grounds and neighbourhoods.

Want to know more? AMSTERDAMSMARTCITY.COM

RELoadIT Zaanstad

The REloadIT project, which came to an end

in 2013, concentrated on the electric vehicle

fleet of the municipality of Zaanstad over a

period of three years. The energy require-

ments of the 16 official electric cars be-

longing to the municipality of Zaanstad – in

other words, the charging of their batteries

– had to be coordinated with the supply of

sustainable energy, such as solar panels and

wind turbines, as smartly as possible. The

variation in energy costs played a role here,

i.e. energy prices are heavily dependent on

supply and demand.

For the car users and the fleet manager, a

booking system was set up that was tailored

specifically to electric cars, taking into ac-

count the charging time of the batteries and

the car’s operating range. The municipality of

Zaanstad’s environmental policy officer had

direct insight into the energy that was gener-

ated sustainably and the proportion of it that

was used to charge the batteries.

20 12121

DISTRICT HEATING NETWORKS

District heating networks are underground systems of pipes which transport hot water to supply customers with heating. These networks enable large-scale fossil fuel savings. Especially when the heating system is sustainable – or will become so over time – this is something from which all custom-ers will be able to benefit.

IJmond Regional District Heating Network

Tata Steel is one of the largest and most

well-known industrial enterprises in the

Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. For years,

various parties have sought to connect up

with the former Hoogovens steel mills in

order to make use of the residual heat that

is released during the steel-production

processes. In the summer of 2013, Tata Steel

began conducting research into the harness-

ing of residual heat and ways in which they

could make use of this heat energy them-

selves or possibly offer it on a commercial

basis. To this end, Tata Steel entered into a

dialogue with the province of North Holland’s

Servicepoint Sustainable Energy, the munic-

ipality of Velsen, energy network company

Alliander, energy service company Dalkia

and the Environmental Service of the Region

IJmond. These and a number of other parties

will look into how supply and demand can

be brought together to achieve substantial

energy savings across the entire region. In

March 2014, a partnership agreement was

finalised to this effect. More information can

be found on the homepage of the munici-

pality of Velsen. WWW.VELSEN.NL/MEER-NIEUWS/

SAMENWERKINGSOVEREENKOMST- ONTWIKKELING-

REGIONAAL-WARMTENET-IJMOND.HTM

Open and smart energy network in

Zaanstad

The municipality of Zaanstad, the province

of North Holland, Zaans Medical Centre,

market players and housing associations.

Around 25 different organisations altogether

are working on an innovative energy net-

work, which combines residual heat and

electricity. The use of residual heat in and of

itself is not new and is already taking place

in several other municipalities. The special

thing about the approach Zaanstad is taking

is that a range of different interested parties

are working together to link the district

heating network that is to be constructed

to the main electricity grid. In addition to

residual heat, electricity surpluses can also

be incorporated into the district heating

network. Using a heat pump, the electricity

is efficiently converted into heat. This way,

the district heating network serves as a

buffer for the electricity grid, enabling

optimum advantage to be taken of

fluctuations in price, production and elec-

tricity consumption. A temporary surplus

of electricity can, for example, be used to

1232322

produce inexpensive heat. Countries such

as Germany and Denmark already have

extensive experience with this approach;

in the Netherlands, however, it is relatively

new. More information can be found on the

website of one of the organisations in-

volved in the initiative: HTTPS://WWW.ZAANSTAD.

NL/MOZARD/!SUITE05.SCHERM1070?MNWB=830&MNW-

C=1&MNCH=8060645

GreenPort North-Holland North

GreenPort North-Holland North is one of

the most versatile agribusiness areas in the

Netherlands. The region has a production

value of approximately 3 to 3.5 billion

euros, has approximately 91,000 hectares

of farmland at its disposal and employs

20,000 people. In the context of its knowl-

edge and innovation programme, Green-

Port nhn has an important relationship

with the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

The area’s diversity sets it apart from other

greenports; in addition, it has great devel-

opment potential. The greenhouse horti-

culture sector forms an important part of its

activities. If this sector wants to make the

energy supply more sustainable and make

use of smart energy grids, it is necessary

to find a solution for the external supply of

CO2. Plants need CO2 for optimal growth.

For this reason, many companies add extra

CO2 to the production process. Flue gases

from combined heat and power (cho) units

or boilers are often used for this, including

in the summer. Right now, this still requires

a lot of energy – energy which could also

come from the residual heat from a district

heating network. Recently, a Green Deal

has been struck between the sector, the

GreenPort nhn region and the Dutch gov-

ernment, with the objective of continuing

to make business operations in the sector

more sustainable. Developing alternative

energy sources, such as the use of district

heating networks, forms part of this plan.

Want to know more about GreenPort

North-Holland North? Visit p WWW.GREEN-

PORTNHN.NL

1252524

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The topic “The built environment” comprises all the projects, mea-sures and initiatives that have the objective of making buildings and public spaces more energy- efficient or entirely “energy- neutral” – whether this be residential prop-erties, schools, offices or public spaces. Energy is precious. For this reason, investing in energy-saving measures is essential. This will ensure housing costs remain under control and comfort levels increase. Most projects apply to existing buildings and include investing in insulation. But new builds, too, have an important place within this topic. It is here that energy issues can be addressed at an early stage when plans are being drawn up for new development in an area – for example by laying out the lots in such a way that optimum use can be made of solar energy. With the built environment as its central focus, private individuals,

businesses and organisations are working together on various energy projects. Private individuals connect up with each other by means of residents’ or homeowner associations. The business commu-nity (builders, energy companies, property owners and housing asso-ciations) plays an active role, with authorities within the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area often providing support, whether this be in the form of a financial contribution, loans, specially tailored regulations, knowledge-sharing, or – on a very practical level – making conference space available.

Profit from your Property

The older the property, the greater the

savings. Measures such as installing insula-

tion (for the facade, floor and roof), a solar

boiler and double glazing do not only save

money, but also increase the level of com-

fort. But these measures always require an

investment that precedes the future gains.

To lower this threshold, the Profit from your

Property (“Winst uit je Woning”) initiative was

set up. This enables homeowners in Haar-

lemmermeer, Amstelveen and Diemen to

take part in auctions, giving them, for exam-

ple, the opportunity to collectively purchase

insulation material at a lower price.

More information: WWW.WINSTUITJEWONING.NL

The Green Mosquito

The Green Mosquito is the public platform of

the municipality of Haarlem, where residents,

organisations and businesses can exchange

ideas about achieving a better climate. The

objective is for all of Haarlem to be climate-

neutral in 2030. Climate-neutral means: A

city in which energy use on balance does not

result in the release of CO2 or greenhouse

26 12727

gases. The municipal government is proac-

tive in working towards this goal and wants

to have already achieved it within its own

organisation by 2015. A few examples: Haar-

lem is working on energy-efficient public

lighting; the municipal vehicle fleet is driv-

ing on natural gas and wants to use green

gas for this in future; and the municipality

already purchases 100% green electricity.

On the Green Mosquito website, you can

find a substantial collection of practical

energy-saving tips. The Green Mosquito

also ventures into the city; annually, it

organises the “Haarlem Heavenly Houses

Trail” (“Haarlemse Heerlijke Huizenroute”).

Residents open their sustainable properties

to the public and in doing so, awaken the

enthusiasm of other Haarlemmers.

Check: WWW.DEGROENEMUG.NL

Park 20|20

Park 20|20 is situated directly alongside

the a4 motorway in Hoofddorp. This

sustainable, full-service office park is being

built in line with the Cradle to Cradle®

philosophy. The essence of the Cradle

to Cradle® (c2c) principle is the notion

that “waste is food”. This means that all

materials can be reused after their initial

lifespan or returned harmlessly to nature.

Park 20|20 employs a range of sustainable

and c2c technologies, including solar

and green energy, grey water and black

water purification, green roofs and walls,

c2c-certified materials, waste reduction

and dismountable building materials. Park

20|20 is the first Cradle to Cradle® office

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park in the Netherlands and will be devel-

oped in different stages. More information:

WWW.PARK2020.COM

Hoek van ’t IJ model home

In Lelystad, a number of construction compa-

nies have taken the initiative of creating what

is called a zero-meter-reading dwelling. The

property on Hoek van ’t IJ 20 will be given

on loan to four construction companies for a

period of four years. Together they are tasked

with ensuring that, through the implementa-

tion of energy-saving measures, the property

in Lelystad’s Zuiderzeewijk district, under

normal conditions of use, generates as much

energy as is being used. With this project, the

municipality wants to research the possibili-

ties for granting loans to private individuals

under favourable conditions to finance

energy-saving measures. As soon as the work

has been completed, the property will be

opened to the public so that homeowners

can get energy-saving ideas.

Want to know more? Visit WWW.BOUWENDNED-

ERLAND.NL/NIEUWS/819112/ NULOPDEMETER-TIMMERT-

AAN-DE-WEG

Climate-neutral neighbourhoods in

Amsterdam

Two fully climate-neutral neighbourhoods

are being developed in Amsterdam. The

Overtoom City Garden (“De Stadstuin

Overtoom”) project will entail the construc-

tion of 470 new residential units in the New

West district, all of which are located next to

or in the city garden. The project is aimed

at a new generation of residents who place

a high value on sustainability. They will not

only live in sustainable homes that both save

energy and water, but they will also know

that the development of the Overtoom

City Garden has taken place as sustainably

as possible. For example, materials are

recycled and waste is limited. Stage one of

the Overtoom City Garden was completed in

April 2014, making it the first climate-neutral

neighbourhood in the Netherlands.

Houthaven is a largely pedestrianised,

urban neighbourhood with narrow streets

and a lot of space for foliage and water.

Energy is generated sustainably, using

the Trias Energetica model: A promising

package of energy-saving and sustainable

measures, including sustainable building

shells and sustainable energy generation

via the district heating network (Houthaven

will be connected to the District Heating

Network) and in the neighbourhood itself.

With this, the Houthaven district acts as an

example for the rest of the Netherlands

and has been recognised as being an

“Excellent Area” by the Dutch government.

The Houthaven project will consist of 2,000

residential units and facilities such as a

primary school and a grammar school.

More information about these neighbour-

hoods can be found n WWW.STADSTUINOVER-

TOOM.NL and WWW.HOUTHAVEN.NL.

The Green Canals

The Green Canals (“De Groene Grachten”)

is an initiative by Wubbo Ockels, who until

his death was himself a resident of the

Amsterdam canal belt. While he was making

his property more sustainable in 2012 and

looking ahead to the 400-year anniversary of

the canals one year later, he was inspired to

extend his initiative further and demonstrate

that it need not remain limited to his own

property. As of this year, six properties on

Nieuwe Prinsengracht have been made more

sustainable. The second aim of the project

is to spread the knowledge that has been

gained. In addition to organising the Amster-

dam Solar Boat Parade, an Online Menu has

been prepared for the canal-dwellers. Using

this, residents and owners can take a first step

towards making their property more sus-

tainable. In 2013, The Green Canals signed

a “Green Deal” with the Dutch government

for the further upscaling of its activities and

expertise. Residents and homeowners can

turn to The Green Canals for things such as

sustainable project management, research

into historic buildings, advice on saving

energy and information pertaining to sustain-

able projects. On WWW.DEGROENEGRACHTEN.NL

you can find more information

30 13131

AND THERE IS MORE...

Global Sustainability Solutions Center

In January 2013, the Global Institute of

Sustainability (gios), which is linked to

Arizona State University (asu), was opened

in Haarlemmermeer. This international

platform is a partnership between the

municipality of Haarlemmermeer and the

American university and is the first of three

knowledge centres worldwide for applied

research by asu. These centres bear the

name asu Global Sustainability Solutions

Center (gssc). The other centres will be

located in Hong Kong and a location in

Latin America to be determined at a later

date. The goal of the centre is to tackle

and solve persistent problems related to

sustainability, in which it sees the collab-

oration between universities, businesses,

social organisations, communities and

governmental bodies as a powerful tool.

The centre is in perfect accordance with

the municipality of Haarlemmermeer’s

ambition to become the Silicon Valley of

sustainability

Want to know more? Visit SUSTAINABILITYSOLU-

TIONS.ASU.EDU/PROGRAMS/GLOBALCENTERS

Amsterdam Connecting Trade

Amsterdam Connecting Trade (act) is a

programme by the Schiphol Area Develop-

ment Company (sadc). The sadc focuses on

regional, national and international logistics

companies, particularly in the aerospace,

fashion, food & flowers, life sciences and

high tech sectors. For these sectors, the

sadc is developing a coherent portfolio of

high-quality places of work. sadc has four

shareholders: the municipality of Haar-

lemmermeer, the City of Amsterdam, the

province of North Holland and the Schiphol

Group. For the “ Logistics Western Axis”

(the corridor between Greenport Aalsmeer,

Schiphol Airport and Port of Amsterdam),

the act programme was conceived with the

objective of developing this area into a prime

international location for the logistics sector

and related enterprises. Projects which will

be carried out in the next few years include

the construction of a freight link with hsl-

South, an Uninterrupted Logistics Connec-

tion (“Ongestoorde Logistieke Verbinding”)

between FloraHolland (Aalsmeer flower

auction) and the airport apron and Seamless

Connections, a project which focuses on

optimising the logistics chain through the use

of ict applications. More information can be

found on:

WWW.SCHIPHOLTRADEPARK.NL/OVER- AMSTERDAM-

CONNECTING-TRADE

Green Metropole

Green Metropole helps entrepreneurs in

the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area to turn

sustainable and innovative propositions into

healthy businesses. It is a joint venture be-

tween Green it, the University of Amsterdam,

vu University Amsterdam, New Energy Dock

and the Amsterdam Economic Board. Thanks

to this initiative, 60 entrepreneurs working in

32 13333

the area of sustainability are receiving active

support. In addition, new sustainable projects

are being instigated, sustainable businesses

are given a home and network meetings,

workshops and events are being organised.

One of the most eye-catching events is the

Festival of Cools (WWW.FESTIVALOFCOOLS.NL). This

event, which takes place on the Netherlands

National Day of Sustainability (10th October),

gives around 70 entrepreneurs in the sustain-

ability field a stage on which to present their

work. On the New Energy Docks premises,

everyone with a healthy interest in sustain-

ability can be informed about the most

innovative and green products. How about,

for example, the fully biodegradable baby

shoes made by Oat Shoes, from which a real

tree of life can grow after use? Or the bags

from Naomi’s Atelier, made from old banners

previously used in construction? But there

are also companies who have found a good

mix between sustainability and development

aid. Moyee Coffee is an example of this. The

company is involved in setting up a complete

coffee production chain in Ethiopia in order

to contribute toward making savings on

development aid to this country. In addition,

the Festival of Cools previously gave space

to OnePlanetCrowd, the sustainable crowd-

funding platform of which Green Metropole

is one of the founding partners. This platform

has already managed to win the commit-

ment of 5,000 investors, thanks to whom

projects such as the Waka Waka Power (a

phone charger and torch powered by solar

energy) and Greeniant (an app for saving

energy) were able to get off the ground

and the well-known Snappcar, for example

(an initiative for car sharing among private

individuals), managed to accumulate more

than €350,000. Visit WWW.GREENMETROPOLE.NL

for more information about these projects.

The Green Giant

The Green Giant (“De Groene Reus”) is

Almere’s sustainable energy cooperative. It

is a joint venture between residents, entre-

preneurs and social organisations, with the

mission of initiating and facilitating sustainable

projects which contribute to a democratic

energy transition in the province of Flevoland.

In addition, The Green Giant wants to make a

societal difference for residents and businesses

and change the world in a truly sustainable

way and is for this reason striving toward an

energy-neutral Almere in 2022. The cooper-

ative is doing this not only by being a source

of inspiration for sustainability initiatives, but

also by providing some concrete benefits. A

good example is the local generation of green

energy. As part of this, private individuals

receive a collective discount on solar panels.

The Green Giant takes care of the entire

process, from initial purchase all the way

through to completed installation. Businesses

can benefit from this as well. A Green Giant

expert visits company premises and provides

a detailed insight into their energy consump-

tion. The government facilitates this citizens’

initiative wherever possible.

More information about The Green Giant can

34 13535

be found on WWW.DEGROENEREUS.NL

Watt by Watt

The Haarlem-based project Watt by Watt

(“Watt voor Watt”) was launched by the Min-

istry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations,

with the objective of gaining experience

in large-scale energy saving projects. Put

briefly, it is an energy saving project which

gives Haarlemmers the option of imple-

menting energy-saving measures at home.

The initiators have pre-calculated that an av-

erage household will pay around €60,000

in energy costs over the next fifteen years.

Entire neighbourhoods, such as the

Boerhaavewijk, Ramplaankwartier and

Leidsebuurt, are undergoing large-scale

maintenance and energy-saving measures

in partnership with the housing associa-

tions. In a number of neighbourhoods, this

is happening under the direction of the

residents themselves. Watt by Watt is linking

up all these initiatives and giving advice on

saving energy. The project aims to improve

the energy ratings of at least 1,500 residen-

tial units in Haarlem by two steps within two

years, or get them up to a minimum of a b

label.  More information can be found on

WWW.DEGROENEMUG.NL/WATTVOORWATT

36 13737