In recent years, the Netherlands has made little progress towards the transition to a fully circular economy in 2050. And the use of most raw materials has not decreased. This is the conclusion of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) in the Integrated Circular Economy Report (ICER).
How circular is the Netherlands?
From the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), we analyzed for the planning agency which circular projects receive support in the Netherlands. We did this based on national and European subsidies and tax schemes in the years 2015 to 2020, and how much money was involved.
What seems? Financial support for circular activities has been constant for years, at around 10% of the total support for the relevant schemes. Furthermore, the number of circular innovation projects that we monitor has increased from 373 in 2018 to 475 in 2020. The total financial contributions to circular innovations and assets from the government has grown from € 236 million in 2018 to € 295 million in 2020.
The strongest increase can be seen in the number of scientific publications about the circular economy. About 75% of Dutch publications on this subject appeared in the past 4 years (2018 to 2021) and about 55% in the past 2 years. 6% of the total number of Dutch companies are circular.
Mismatch between ambitious goals and implemented policies
The biennial Integrated Circular Economy Report (ICER) shows the status of the transition to a circular economy in the Netherlands. The report contains guidelines for government policy and is also critical of developments. It also describes the actions of social parties and the interventions of the government.
The ICER report states: “It is commendable that the Dutch government has set ambitious circularity goals, but for the time being there is a mismatch between the set goals and the policy implemented. The current policy focuses mainly on voluntary agreements, such as the Plastic Pact and support for experimental projects. This is relevant, but not sufficient to realize a transition that makes the use of raw materials radically more efficient. This requires a revision of the rules of the game, which firmly focuses on less, longer and repeated use of raw materials and products. Many circular projects are still small-scale and do not break through easily.”
The download of the report and more about the results of this report can be found on the website PBL.
About ICER
The ICER is established in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Center for Environmental Sciences (Leiden University), Copernicus Institute (Utrecht University), Central Planning Bureau (CPB), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), RVO, Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) and TNO. All these institutions contribute to the multi-year Monitoring and Steering Circular Economy Work Program, which is led by the PBL.
Source: RVO.nl
