The Dutch Deal:
The Netherlands Decisive Move Toward a Sustainable Future

by Laurie Morissette

The Netherlands is the most densely populated country in Europe. Its citizens have witnessed rapid degradation of the country's environment. Acid rain destroyed streams and forests and defaced buildings; industrial pollutants from native plants and neighboring countries clogged the air. In 1985, the government initiated a controversial collaborative with the worst polluters to curb pollution and develop an effective environmental management system (EMS) which would accommodate growth and the environment.

The National Environmental Policy Plan grew into a social contract, affecting all aspects of Dutch society, that established unprecedented emissions reductions from industry, cars, and homes. The EMS incorporates innovative concepts of: Background
Between 1980 and 1989, the Dutch people became increasingly concerned with the rapid, unchecked degradation of their environment. Public and private sectors realized that existing environmental management and regulatory systems were inadequate to stem, much less reverse, environmental damage. Fearful that the government would impose excessively onerous standards and regulation, industry approached the government with a proposal to negotiate a compact which would secure the necessary environmental benefit while minimizing negative economic and trade ramifications. In 1986, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) began an extensive, rigorous study to identify sources of pollution, project growth levels and increases in pollutants, and recommend pollution controls and emission standards.

The Collaborative Process to Build Consensus
The Dutch government recognized that massive change required widespread awareness of the issues, genuine belief in the seriousness of environmental degradation, scrupulous economic and scientific evaluation, and strong leadership. The Minister of the Environment designed an interactive process of policy integration, public awareness and education, environmental and economic analysis, and consensus building which resulted in a long term strategy for accomplishing environmental goals with the support of industry, regulators and the public.

Initially, five key environmental priorities - acidification, eutrophication, waste generation, dispersion of toxics, and disturbance or local nuisance - were identified. Representatives from five target sectors - industry, transportation, agriculture, refineries and energy generation - along with construction, retail, education and NGOs, met with government personnel to raise concerns, resolve differences, and formulate industry or sector-wide schemes for pollution reduction and environmental management. As the process evolved, climate change and groundwater depletion were added to the list of priority themes.

Independently established baselines for each economic sector's waste generation and growth patterns were modeled to predict emissions and to determine necessary reduction levels. Cost calculations were integrated into the national macro economic modeling.

After undergoing careful scientific scrutiny, participants arrived at consensus on necessary goals, reductions and policies. They agreed the strategy presented no long term damage to economic growth. This exhaustive and transparent process assured buy-in of the participants and a honest, supportable public education campaign for the Dutch people.

To avoid reinvention with every new administration, participants were adamant about integrating government policies into a unified, consistent strategy. Each theme underwent a comprehensive evaluation of existing and proposed government pollution control policies and the effects of those policies on that theme. This crosscutting evaluation considered individual and cumulative effects of environmental, transportation, agricultural, energy and tax policies.

By the time RIVM published its report in 1989, the government was prepared with a draft of an integrated pollution control and environmental management approach which has become known as the National Environmental Policy Plan (NEPP). The landmark RIVM report, Concern for Tomorrow stated that current regulatory requirements, policies, and technologies could not halt continuing environmental degradation. The report called for a 70-90% reduction in many industrial pollutants before 2010 using as a base 1986 emission levels. It concluded that rigorous pollution reductions and unprecedented behavioral changes would be required for a sustainable society. It galvanized public support.


National Environmental Policy Plan (NEPP)
The plan required tremendous reductions in the use of pesticides, the emission of industrial pollutants, and the generation of waste by all economic sectors. It stipulates 70-90% reductions of nitrogen, phosphorous, SO2, NH#, and VOCs by 2010. It anticipates an 80-90% reduction in landfilling and significant reductions of heavy metals. Each goal was placed on a time line with intermediate goals and action responsibilities for the national, regional, and local levels of government and target groups. The target sectors list expanded to include the chemical industry, construction, waste management, water suppliers, households and small businesses.

The second phase, NEPP-2, focused on strengthening implementation and promoting sustainable production and consumption. Government regulations for emissions were further clarified and simplified to encourage self-regulation; financial provisions such as subsidies and tax reforms were introduced; and educational programs, public campaigns, and industrial EMS systems were encouraged.

The Dutch government is currently in third phase, NEPP-3. It is addressing improved economic conditions, the needs of an aging population international considerations, and continuing difficulty in meeting the goals for energy consumption. A major thrust is integration of environmental and economic policy.

The NEPP strategy requires routine reviews, which have confirmed remarkable progress. Ozone depleting substances have been phased out. The disposal of ndustrial waste was reduced by 60% since 1985. SO2 emissions from power plants are down 70%; NOX emissions by 30%. Recycling has increased to more than 70% of total waste generated. Household energy consumption has remained constant despite growth in the number of households.

Innovative Elements of NEPP

Consensus Building
The Dutch government recognized that only dramatic change in its operating procedures, industry operations, and consumption patterns could accomplish the significant pollution reductions necessary to achieve a sustainable future. It knew such change required the sustained commitment of industry, the public and the government.
  1. Economic stakeholders and the public needed to believe in the benefits of the process and strategy. Government provided a credible argument for change based on solid scientific consensus.
  2. Government recognized that industry involvement in the creation of policies and solutions would encourage its complete participation.
  3. Success rested on continuity - the ability of industry to sustain its economic growth while reducing its emissions and the ability of municipalities to monitor and organize the effort. Fortunately, the Dutch industry response was the successful introduction of a certified environmental care system within corporations.
Compromise
Industry agreed to stringent reductions in emissions, chemical use, and waste generation. The government agreed to an integrated environmental statute, cross-cutting policies, flexible methods of pollution control, and governmental encouragement of new markets for the pollution-reducing technologies and management practices.

Generational Goals
Too define sustainable development in real terms that the participants and the public could embrace, the Netherlands selected the goal of restoring and maintaining a clean environment in one generation. A generation of 25 years reinforced the concepts of responsibility upon the current generation for the society that would be passed to its children. It was short enough to be concrete, measurable, and effective, yet long enough to introduce and perfect true behavioral change. It permitted flexibility in administration, and some trial and error with correction or acceleration of progress as needed.

Integrated Environmental Statute
The Environmental Management Act (EMA), which was enacted in 1993, incorporated most of the Netherlands' environmental laws into one statute and established one regulatory scheme for all levels of government. Key elements are: Devolution
Responsibility for environmental regulation in the Netherlands takes place at the municipal, provincial and national level. The national government establishes national goals and creates statutory requirements. Local or regional governments set standards and emission levels of facilities within their jurisdictions. Regional governments may individualize requirements and implementation strategies by industry as long as they are consistent with national goals. The local level is responsible for routine inspection of a plant's operation and compliance. These individualized plans, known as Negotiated Convenants, are a key element to the successful implementation of NEPP and its support by industry.

Covenants
Covenants set forth time frames and implementation strategies for pollution control measures with each industry sector or facility. Emission tradeoffs may occur between large and small businesses or newer, more sophisticated facilities and those that require greater capital improvement within a region.

Signed Covenants as of Summer 1996

Basic metal industry
Chemical industry
Dairy industry
Paper industry
Printing industry
Metal working and electrical engineering industry
Textile industry
Meat processing industry
Bricks and roof tiles industry
Rubber and plastics industry
Oil and gas production industry


Information Requirements
NEPP established right to know registers and increased industry reporting requirements, including provisions that require regulated industries to publish their company environmental management plans and emissions.

Periodic Review
The Environmental Management Act requires government review of the progress of NEPP and that the Dutch parliament enact a new plan every 4-6 years. This assures the government and public that progress is being made.

Lessons for the U.S.
Elements of the Dutch Deal are finding there way into the U.S. reform effort. The President's Council on Sustainable Development, the Enterprise for the Environment, EPA's program for Community Based Environmental Protection and Common Sense Initiative, have used the consensus building process to arrive at recommendations for government, industrial and consumer reform. These programs embrace ideas such as national goals; collaborative efforts between stakeholders; regulatory reform to increase flexibility and accountability; increased dissemination and clarity of government and industry information; and individualized contracts or convenants setting forth innovative mechanisms to achieve compliance.

The real challenge for the U.S. government will be the commitment to dramatic emissions reductions without the extreme, critical and very visual environmental degradation that united the people of the Netherlands. Without undeniable evidence, it will be difficult to support and sustain the long range planning, including economic and environmental modeling, for so large and diverse a nation. Without this comprehensive data, it will be difficult to establish a foundation for consensus among the diverse political and economic interests in the U.S.

Therefore, smaller governmental units, such as states, or regions like the Chesapeake Bay area, may provide the physical and psychological intimacy necessary to motivate drastic emission reductions, policy integration, and consumption changes for the common good. State, regional, and local governments may offer greater opportunities for flexible solutions which balance regional environmental and economic needs. The effects of integrated economic, environmental, energy and agricultural policy may be more quickly apparent in the smaller, more centralized governmental unity. And then, perhaps, as the states lead, so the nation will follow.

For detailed information on the Dutch Deal: http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/nl-envm.htm

From Sustainable Communities Review

Contact the author, Laurie Morissette: easi@easi.org

For information on Sustainable Communities Review:
Stan Ingman: ingman@ses.unt.edu
http://www.unt.edu/untcps