Thursday, June 6, 2024 was an important day for Europe in the Netherlands – and in Drenthe. The Provinciehuis was not only one of the designated locations for citizens to vote for the future of Europe, but was also the place to be for regional administrations to exchange knowledge about developing sustainable industrial sites in Drenthe. The PVB, or Programma Verduurzamen Bedrijventerreinen, is a national programme to accelerate sustainability on industrial sites. Now the Province of Drenthe has designed its own variant, tailored to regional needs and integrating the GRITH approach, it was time to discuss forthcoming green strategies. The meeting also supplied valuable input for the transnational cooperation in the GRITH project.
12 Municipalities in Drenthe discuss GRITH strategies
Integral task, multiple facets
Making business parks more sustainable is an integral task with multiple facets: e-mobility and charging plazas, sustainable operations and accessibility, and of course energy generation, storage and consumption. The green ambassadors are those in contact with both the business world and the government authorities, the mediators of the transition. While providing independent advice for entrepreneurs, they can also give a nudge in the right direction. The same goes for the municipalities and province. After all, they are key to a better understanding of what the entrepreneur really wants - and needs – when tackling the energy transition and development of future-proof industrial sites.
Drenthe's GRITH stakeholders take stock
Future-proof business parks
Officials from all 12 municipalities in Drenthe converged on this European day to talk about future-proofing business parks and compare approaches, barriers, motivations and priorities. Considering the possibility of specific issues in a particular municipality and rating various priorities. Are businesses and their employees sufficiently engaged and supported? How can the GRITH tools help them?
The meeting is part of the GRITH step 1, taking stock of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The consensus is that continuous development is necessary to move forward. All participants agreed that there is high interest in redesigning business parks and industrial sites to make them future-proof. All parties are open to new ideas, approaches and cooperation, understanding that this is a shared challenge. Some may even have found potential solutions. Drenthe will share these ideas with the GRITH partners and make the project's solutions available regionally.
Stocktaking and strategizing
Stocktaking, strategizing, implementing
The stocktaking has begun, so has the strategizing. Now it’s time for the implementation. The GRITH project supports this with business models and a governance backbone. Further development of these solutions is powered by exchanging these local and regional initiatives on a transnational level so that we continue to learn from a broader perspective.
Watch for more updates – we’ll keep you posted.