“We really feel like we can make a big impact”

In the Netherlands, many people work passionately with biomass as a raw material. They work on innovations, improve (production) processes or create policy for a fossil-free future. We have had a series of conversations with people who work at companies where bio raw materials are central. In this mini-series we highlight what drives them to work on the transition to a sustainable world.
In this fourth episode a conversation with Carolien Calkhoven, coordinating policy officer for bio-raw materials at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) and Bas Heukels, policy officer for bio-raw materials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK).

The government is a big concept and 'the civil servant' is almost seen as a mythical person. We wondered who within the government is involved in bio-raw materials policy? What is their motivation to work on this? To find out, we spoke with Carolien and Bas.

To ensure that the use of bio-based raw materials is done responsibly and carefully, an integral sustainability framework was drawn up in October 2020 that provides direction for the use of sustainable bio-based materials in the Netherlands for the various applications.

This sounds like an enormous task and it does not seem easy to us to work towards a climate-neutral and circular economy while also taking into account all the interests involved in our society.

Bas: “There is no person in the world, I don't think, who oversees it all. That's why we try to do it together. We must also contact officials from other ministries. Can we help each other with this? It is such a complex matter, because it concerns, among other things, nitrogen emissions, CO₂ emissions, soil quality and biodiversity.”

How did you end up in this position within the government? And what do you think is the best thing about your work?

Carolien: “Personally, I am very committed to the climate and I think a clean planet is very important. The Sustainability Framework for Bioraw Materials actually affects the energy and raw materials transition. And what is not always visible to society is that as civil servants we advise on this complex matter and therefore have a role in the policy that will ultimately be formulated. The final choice is of course not ours, that is up to a minister and the House of Representatives, but that choice is made on the basis of our advice.”

Bass: “By education, I am a biologist and forestry expert. During my biology studies I learned how a plant works. When studying forestry, I learned to place this in a social context. I try to bring my knowledge and scientific perspective about bio-raw materials. I really like the position of the central government in this regard. You become idealistic in your studies and you also learn to become pragmatic in government. Ultimately, you have to translate all those ideals and science into words, into policy that is also feasible. I think the great thing about the central government is that we act from a social interest. You try to weigh all perspectives against each other and that is a super interesting fun puzzle to work on. I think that in this way we can represent as many interests as possible and also achieve our goals in 2030 and 2050.”

Are there also people working on the bio-raw materials issue who have a very different view? Or does everyone agree?

Caroline: “The advice from the SER and the sustainability framework have meant a lot in this. Of course, views sometimes differ. That is precisely why it is nice to have a framework that outlines the broader picture and says these are the basic principles and we agree on this together.”

If you say that as a civil servant you are concerned with biomass or bio-raw materials, what do you hear or what questions do you receive, how do you deal with that?

Bass: “I like to talk about my work. What I often see, if you take the time to talk to people about it, is that they say that biomass is not necessarily wrong. We have a lot of nice practical stories that make them think: oh, it's actually quite good. Or that I ask, do you know what goes into it? Once they get more information, they know it's not so black and white.”

It also often has to do with the background you come from or the study you have done. Whether you come from the countryside and your family is a farmer, you view agriculture very differently than those who come from the city.

Bass: “I do come from an environmentally conscious family. From an early age it was important to us that we didn't shower for too long, that we turned off all the lights when we left and things like that. Many different people with all kinds of (study) backgrounds work on the entire bio-raw materials dossier. A good thing too, because then you get a much broader support base when you talk to each other. And that must then be translated into society.”

Do you ever have problems with that, that you would prefer to see things run a little faster? As a civil servant you have to formulate policy and there are factors over which you have no influence, while you do want to take action. How do you see this?

Caroline: “Some things take time. Take, for example, implementing the sustainability criteria. We have been working on this for years, but that is also the time needed to make well-considered decisions. This is important. If we introduce certain requirements very recklessly and the market cannot meet them at all, then you can cause a lot of damage.

Because it is such a complicated puzzle it takes time. And sometimes, after a lot of attention and research and finally putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, the final picture turns out not to be the desired picture. But then you have thought about it carefully.”

Bass: “You cannot keep up with the innovation and knowledge that can suddenly arise. So you try to take that into account a little in the policy you make. So as a civil servant you are constantly looking for ways to not close it completely, so that new knowledge or innovation can still fit in. That's the balance you're looking for. That makes it slow, but once you get through it, it's for the whole of the Netherlands. You think, well, we all managed to do that! It can also take years at EU level, but once it is done, it will suddenly be for the entire EU. I may have provided one sentence for the EU proposal, but we succeeded and we have taken another step forward. It goes slowly, but it is also such a big beast that once you take a step forward, it is immediately a very big step.”

Caroline: “We are working on a growth market, this is the future. You can argue a lot about how we are going to get there, but we have to get somewhere; climate-neutral and circular, everyone agrees on that.”

With the knowledge at the time, you think that the best solution has been chosen. It will later become clear whether this is indeed the case. Is that also something you take into account?

Caroline: “For example, with the sustainability criteria system that we are currently building, one thing we know for sure is that we will have to adjust it in the future. We make it with today's knowledge and in five years there will undoubtedly be changes. Ten years ago people thought very differently about bio-raw materials, for example, and this will undoubtedly be the case in ten years' time."

Base: “The market is creative and knows how to respond to developments in their field. We look at what effect we have created. There must also be room for improvement in policy. If it turns out that certain elaborations of a plan are not desirable, we will look at how we can improve that.”

Caroline: “We try to consider everything in advance as well as possible and anticipate all aspects in advance, but building a perfect system that never needs to be adjusted in the future is an enormous challenge.”

Where would you like to be in five or ten years? What do you want to have achieved?

Bass: “That in ten years' time I will look back on the bio-resources framework and conclude that it is a very good system. We can have confidence that sustainable raw materials have been used, that beautiful products have been produced and that the industry is developing. And if I am lucky enough to live to see 2050, you might even be able to say; wow, we simply achieved the objectives and I was able to contribute to that. I would be really proud of that.”

Caroline: “I immediately think of the goal of the coalition agreement: We are preparing the Netherlands for the future: climate neutral, fossil-free and circular. Then I don't think about ten years, but much further. I would really like it if we managed to become fossil-free at European level and that this would be responsible where bio-based raw materials are used. That it is responsible within the set frameworks of the world.”

What else would you like to say to the readers of Biomass Facts?

“It is very nice to see that there are so many initiatives to make bio raw materials more sustainable! And if people want to show us great initiatives, we would like to receive an invitation for a working visit.”