Blind and de Vries advice on standards to support environmental policies

<link people knut-blind _blank>Knut Blind and <link people henk-de-vries _blank>Henk de Vries, both ERIM Members, were invited to provide policy recommendations based on scientific research for a symposium on the role of standards in future environmental policies, organised by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) in early March.

Environmental policy has traditionally been supported by standards which stipulate methods for measuring pollution, specify requirements for reducing environmental impact, and by providing examples of good practice in meeting environmental requirements. However, globalisation has changed the situation: in the Netherlands, reducing environmental impact is increasingly dependent on imported technology, which raises a question about the contribution of the Dutch at a global level.

So what can the Dutch government do to pursue environmental policies on a national and an international level, with less officials due to expenditure cuts? Standardisation as a private activity might form an alternative for governmental regulation, and private certification might thus replace governmental inspection. In this case, societal actors define their own rules and conformity to these rules is also assessed by private actors, so governmental involvement can be reduced.

Knut Blind, Professor of Standardisation, presented an introduction to the interrelations between standardisation and innovation and the link with regulation at the recent symposium. Henk de Vries, Associate Professor of Standardisation, explained how standards can be used in the construction sector to reduce environmental impact and more generally, how standards can be used to ensure a minimum level of environmental performance and to develop and implement innovative solutions to enhance environmental performance. He suggested combining industrial and environmental policies. The advantage of such a combination is that environmental measures are not only a cost issue but may also lead to commercial benefits. For example, Dutch expertise lead to the development of European standards for measuring soil pollution, which created an export market for Dutch companies involved in the clean-up of polluted soil.

More Information

<link people knut-blind _blank>Personal Homepage Knut Blind
<link people henk-de-vries _blank>Personal Homepage Henk de Vries