sustainability in amsterdam

IE admission - Marieke van der Wilt

Do you think that the lifestyle of the inhabitants of your town or city reflects behavior that is in line with the concept of sustainable development? In your opinion, what should be improved?

IE admission - Marieke van der Wilt 2

Outline

• Amsterdam: a brief summary

• Sustainable development in Amsterdam• Transport• Waste• Water• Energy

• Green initiatives

• Overall performance and future goals


Amsterdam: a brief summary

Amsterdam in numbers

Size (hectares) (2012) 21,933

Population (2012) 790,044

Dutch nationality 687,068 (87%)

Non-Dutch nationality

102,976 (13%)

Apartments/houses total (2012)

395,875

Bikes per 100 inhabitants (18+ in age) (2011)

75

• Amsterdam was established as a small village lying next to the river Amstel in the late 12th century

• The village developed into Holland’s most important city during the Dutch Golden Age, as it became the center of trading

• Nowadays Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands

Source: Office for Statistics and Research of the Amsterdam municipality


Outline






Sustainable development in Amsterdam

Transport (slide 6)

Waste(slide 7)

Water & energy(slide 8)

Bicycles are the main way of transportation within Amsterdam Public transport facilities are reasonable, but should be improved in

order to provide a more attractive alternative to travelling by car Infrastructure for electric transport is being installed and expanded

Average waste per household has constantly decreased during the past years

Waste processing and recycling has been well-managed Waste-sorting could be improved

Water consumption has been stable over the past five years Indirect emission of gas, heat and energy of households has

decreased, but simultaneously indirect emission by companies increased

There is still room for improvement regarding water and energy usage

6

As a result of the integration of bicycles, transport in Amsterdam is relatively sustainable

44%

23%

20%

6%8% Bike

Public transport

Car

Walking

Other/Don't know

• The bike is by far the most popular way to travel within Amsterdam

• Public transport is being promoted and as part of the ‘Sustainability Programme’ that has been introduced by the Amsterdam municipality, better transfer hubs and more efficient public transport links are being created

• The municipality is working on making electric transport more attractive by installing charging infrastructure and procuring electric vehicles

Source: Office for Statistics and Research of the Amsterdam municipality, Sustainability Programme 2010-2014

The use of ‘green’ transportation in Amsterdam

Mode of transportation when commuting between home & work 2010 (%) Conclusions

‘green’ modes of transport

in 2010 accounted for approximately 75% of all the

transport between home

and work

• The bicycle is one of the main modes of transportation in Amsterdam, which makes transport in the city relatively sustainable

• Air pollution can, and should, be further decreased in the future by promoting cycling and electric transport, and by increasing attractiveness of public transport

• Several programs and action plans by the municipality show a positive signal regarding the future of sustainable transport in Amsterdam


7

Waste processing and recycling are well-managed, but waste-sorting lags behind compared to other Dutch cities

• Amsterdam’s waste processing company (AEB) has been recognized as a recycling company since 2010– Reusable materials are being

recovered– Waste is processed into sustainable

energy– Excess heat is used for district

heating and hot water

Source: Office for Statistics and Research of the Amsterdam municipality, website AEB

Waste processing

Reducing and sorting waste Conclusions

• Average waste per household has decreased during the past year

• Waste is recovered and processed into energy

• Sorted waste has in the past years decreased by more than 25% which could indicate that instead of decreasing consumption, people decreased sorting behavior

• Other Dutch cities have extensive waste sorting programs, Amsterdam could improve this aspect of waste-management

Average waste per household per year (kg)

420430440450460470480490 486

464

450 448

2008 2009 2010 2011

• Average waste per household has decreased during the past years

• However, sorted waste per household (including fruit & vegetables and glass) has decreased disproportionately

• This could be a sign that instead of decreased consumption, inhabitants decreasingly sorted their waste

• In other parts of the Netherlands waste-sorting is carried out to a much larger extent


8

Progress in reducing water and energy consumption over the past years has been limited at best

• Although water consumption is mentioned in the Sustainability Programme, this does not seem to be an area of focus of the city

• This is reflected by stable water consumption by households and companies since 2008

• Promoting prudence in the use of water could potentially lead to lower water consumption in Amsterdam

Source: Office for Statistics and Research of the Amsterdam municipality, Sustainability Programme

Water

Energy Conclusions

• Large progress can still be made in the fields of energy and water usage

• The Sustainability Programme mainly focuses on reducing CO2 emission, and therefore energy consumption

• However, results have been limited

Use of water on yearly basis (x1000 m3)

• The percentage of houses with double-glass windows has been increasing with over 1 percent point per year since 2008, and in 2011 was 69%

• Indirect emissions of gas, energy and heat of households have been steadily decreasing since 2008

• However, emissions by companies have steadily increased over this period

• By focusing on energy savings in new and existing buildings the municipality tries to reduce energy consumption

2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

#REF! #REF!Households Companies



Outline






Sustainable initiatives in Amsterdam

Municipality

Urban farming

Entrepreneurship

Sustainability is definitely ‘on the radar’, which is reflected by the number of projects promoting sustainable behavior

As in other cities, urban pharming is becoming increasingly popular, showing awareness regarding food production

This awareness is also shown in the growing number of shops selling ecological products, and the increasing number of restaurants using biological food as a marketing tool

Sustainable entrepreneurship is promoted and supported by the Amsterdam municipality

Student s

Sustainability is a hot topic under students, which is reflected by studies in sustainability at the Amsterdam universities, the rise of student associations focusing on sustainability and the number of student events having sustainability as their theme

Hopefully this is a sign that the younger part of the population is increasingly aware of the need for sustainable behavior


Outline






Amsterdam is doing relatively well, but there is still room for improvement

• Although Amsterdam is making progress, and scores relatively well on sustainable transportation, there is still room for improvement

• Use of electric transport, lowering water and energy consumption and increasing waste-sorting are all areas of focus

• The municipality is involved with many projects focusing on sustainability

• The most important step to be made is likely one on the side of inhabitants rather than on the side of the municipality/government

• It requires awareness to adjust behavior of households as well as firms

• This will likely provide the most important challenge for the future of sustainability in Amsterdam

sustainability in amsterdam

Documents

transportin amsterdam

makingelectric transport

water energyslide

average waste

improved water consumption

years waste processing

energy of households

use of green transportation