Platform on civil engineering, underground infrastructure, energy, construction equipment & construction machinery
Sustainability is a matter of organizing the infra differently
Prof. André Nijhof - Professor of Sustainable Business and Stewardship at Nyenrode Business University. 

Sustainability is a matter of organizing the infra differently

Compared to other sectors, much is already happening around integrating sustainability into infrastructure projects. The emphasis here is on technology, such as type of asphalt and emission-free equipment. Important, but not sufficient to accelerate the transition to a sustainable road paving sector.

Over the past two years, representatives of clients and contractors have been discussing this. In doing so, they first addressed barriers, because the solution is not the problem.

There appeared to be a striking consensus about the problems that make sustainability difficult. Such as the lack of an overview of which sustainable technologies are also impactful, that you cannot recoup the necessary investments within one project, and that the sustainability ambitions set for a project turn out to be fluid during implementation. In line with this, we have laid down building blocks in the Sustainable Impact Strategy Infra.

To make this concrete, over the past year we have examined the measures that can be taken to include these building blocks in several infrastructure projects. This resulted in five concrete measures per building block. Examples are:

  • In addition to a malus, include a bonus if sustainability requirements are exceeded;
  • In projects, organize a post-competitive dialogue in addition to a pre-competitive dialogue to share learning points;
  • Create open dataset with details about material locations and properties;
  • Jointly insure liability for transition risks;
  • Compile national list of the most sustainable technologies that have already been validated.

As initiators, we are energized by these measures. It ensures that clients and contractors who are bold enough to lead the way also get the wind in their sails. 

The National Sustainable Pavement Platform agreed to use these measures as an agenda for their activities. We look forward to the follow-up!  

The Pen - Prof. André NijhofProfessor of Sustainable Business and Stewardship at Nyenrode Business University. 

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