Green Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. The city is famous for its compact city centre with its many canals, old warehouses turned into apartments and offices and modern state of the art buildings. With over 750,000 inhabitants and 174 different nationalities, the Dutch capital is almost a world all its own – and this globe-spanning metropolis has set serious targets for sustainability.

Amsterdam Smart City

In June 2009, Amsterdam saw the start of a unique project called Amsterdam Smart City. Amsterdam Smart City (ASC) is a cooperative venture by the citizens of Amsterdam, local businesses and municipal authorities to illustrate how energy can be saved, now and in the future. The project was initiated by regional grid operator Liander and the Amsterdam Innovation Motor (AIM). Many new partners have joined since its kickoff, including multinational Philips and independent Dutch research organization TNO. ASC focuses on innovative technology, sustainable economic investments and lifestyle changes among the people in Amsterdam. Small-scale local projects enable the organisation to test the initiatives, after which the best practices from these projects will be implemented on a larger scale, acting as a catalyst for climate and energy programmes. The ultimate goal of these projects is to reduce CO2 emissions at the local, national and European scale.

Four different areas

Within a period of two years, 15 subprojects will be set up in four different areas: Sustainable Work, Living, Mobility and Public Spaces. The first projects are already in preparation. Under the title Sustainable Public Spaces, the Utrechtsestraat in Amsterdam will be transformed into the most sustainable shopping street in Europe in cooperation with the local entrepreneurs. As part of Sustainable Work, the prestigious ITO tower in the Amsterdam Zuidas area will also be made sustainable using the latest in smart building technology. In the Sustainable Mobility theme, preparations will be made to install electrical charging points in the port of Amsterdam so ships do not need to use high-pollution diesel generators. As part of Sustainable Living, in consultation with the residents, 728 residences in the Geuzenveld district will be provided with energy-saving tools based on smart meters that identify energy consumption in more detail than conventional meters.

Benchmark of Excellence

Amsterdam Smart City aims to contribute to the climate objectives of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Europe. Due to its approach in focusing on the end user, involving knowledge institutions to measure results and addressing not only new, but also older buildings, ASC has been selected by the European Union as a Benchmark of Excellence by the Covenant of Mayors, a document signed by mayors from more than 500 European cities that want to invest in sustainability. Experience gained in Amsterdam can surely be applied elsewhere in the world.