Government needs to support sustainable business parks

Press release Rli - 31 october 2023

Central government should set goals for the sustainability of business parks. Organised cooperation between businesses is vital in order to achieve these goals together. Central government should encourage such organisation and eventually make it a legal requirement. The formation of an organisation is also in the interest of the businesses themselves. These are the conclusions reached by the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli) in its advisory report 'Working together: opting for future-proof business parks', which was received on 31 October 2023 by the outgoing Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Micky Adriaansens.

Sustainability goals for business parks

Businesses at business parks face major sustainability challenges. Some of these are shared challenges. One example is energy: businesses can supply self-generated electricity to each other and collectively store surpluses for later use. This is beneficial for the businesses themselves, but also for society as it helps to avoid grid congestion and accelerate the energy transition. The Council advises central government to set goals for the shared tasks. This can be done by outlining a future vision for business parks with measurable interim goals and deadlines to achieve them.

Collaboration

Achieving these collective goals requires organised cooperation between businesses at business parks. Unfortunately, only 20% of regular business parks have some form of organisation. Central government therefore needs to encourage the formation of organisations, for instance through tax incentives but also by subsidising collective projects and organisation costs. The Council believes that cooperation at business parks should eventually be made compulsory by law.

Importance for businesses

According to the Council, businesses at business parks will benefit from a clear future vision and cooperation in order to achieve the associated sustainability goals. This will guide their actions and lead to efficiency and cost savings. Sustainable business parks are also attractive to banks and insurers, promoting favourable conditions for businesses.

Note for editors

To request interviews, please contact Communications Officer Anneke Verschoor at anneke.verschoor@rli.nl or on +31 (0)6 15359540.
For more information about the advisory report, please contact project leader Evert Nieuwenhuis at evert.nieuwenhuis@rli.nl or on +31 (0)6 21926501.

The advisory report is available for download at www.rli.nl.