Sustainability Policy
Sustainability is a broad concept. It has many aspects, such as biodiversity, climate, energy, circular (recycling) economy and mobility. As a municipality, we have chosen to focus on energy and climate in the coming years.
Sustainability in Nuenen
Our Sustainability Memorandum states that we do not want to be a leader in the field of sustainability. However, we do want to set an example and inform and support our residents and entrepreneurs in the areas of energy transition and climate adaptation. Our short-term focus is on the following points:
- We encourage private homeowners to get started with energy measures. The emphasis is on saving energy through insulation.
- We are tightening energy compliance monitoring of businesses. The emphasis here is on public services in the broad sense and municipal buildings in particular. The municipality does this in cooperation with the Omgevingsdienst Zuidoost-Brabant.
- We make concrete agreements on sustainability with external stakeholders (housing corporation, carrier Hermes). We also monitor their progress.
- We are identifying opportunities for large-scale renewable energy generation (regional). We also facilitate initiatives that take advantage of these opportunities.
National Climate Agreement
The choices we have made stem from global and European agreements. Based on these agreements, the Dutch government has the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by at least 49% by 2030 compared to 1990 and to be virtually CO2 neutral by 2050. The steps needed to achieve these goals are outlined in the National Climate Agreement. This is an enormous social task:
- In the field of mobility, we face all kinds of challenges;
- We need to start using other fuels;
- We can no longer heat our homes with natural gas;
- Electricity generation should be done mainly with solar, wind and possibly biomass.
Achieving the goals requires an energy transition, which is now in full swing. There is growing awareness that our current way of generating energy is not future-proof. Our fossil fuels are running out and burning oil, gas and coal is causing unsustainable global warming with far-reaching negative consequences.
Role of municipality in energy transition
Municipalities have an important governing role within the energy transition. They have to deal with a number of statutory tasks:
- Creating a Regional Energy Strategy (RES).
- Creating a municipal heat plan
- Having a climate stress test performed
Sustainability newspaper
On January 7, 2021, the Nuenen sustainability newspaper was distributed door-to-door. This newspaper is packed with ideas, inspiring articles, useful tips, local initiatives for a pleasant living environment. Residents and businesses are moving forward together for a green and future-proof municipality. You can find the newspaper digitally here.
Note on sustainability
In the coming years, we are committed to meeting the legal obligations and the choices we have made ourselves. How we intend to do this, you can read in our Sustainability Memorandum 2019-2023.