It is often gray, gray and a lot of CO2 and nitrogen are emitted. Business parks in Brabant are no longer of this time. A lot of waste is produced, rainwater cannot go well and in the summer it regularly turns into a heat island due to lack of greenery.
Brabant has more than 650 business parks, where more than half a million people work. A lot of gas, electricity and space is used. And that is not good for the environment. With this they leave a mark on the region.
That must be done differently, they think, among other things, at the province. Business parks must be modernized. For example, they have to generate power themselves. In the Great Harvest project, the twelve largest business parks in Brabant have been selected that together have to make it more sustainable. The project started in 2021 and now the first results can be seen.
Electric ship
A docking station on the Rietveld-Tertveld industrial estate in Den Bosch as a charging station for an electrically powered ship, collecting industrial waste together on Ekkersrijt in Son en Breugel and hiking routes and more green on Kraaiven and Loven in Tilburg. They are some concrete results how business parks in the region are now making more sustainable.
The Rietveld-Vutter-Tertveld is the largest business park in Den Bosch in terms of surface area and the number of companies. Recently a charging station was placed here for charging batteries for an electric ship that will sail emission -free between Den Bosch, the Maasvlakte and Moerdijk in April. The ship has a length of ninety meters and transports sea containers. The diesel generator will be replaced and a battery pack will be installed. The batteries are changeable energy containers charged with green electricity.
“The ship will be on shore soon. Everything is ready to use it and thus make inland shipping more sustainable ”says Jan-Jaap Kroft, sustainability manager at Inland Terminals Group.
Press electricity grid
According to Rob Bogman from VNO/NCW COCREATION, companies want to make it more sustainable, but they also run into disabilities. “Mengering is sometimes more difficult than you think. There are also many cables and pipes on the business parks, so not everything is possible, “he says.
“But the biggest problem is in the lack of space and energy. Due to pressure on the electricity grid, companies can sometimes not take big steps. That is why it is very important that companies start working together better, for example by making agreements about the use of electricity. You have Never peak at the same time, you can prevent it from becoming overloaded.
At the De Hurk business park in Eindhoven they work on such a collaboration and a number of companies want to make agreements with network manager Enexis. Companies will coordinate their processes there and can further electrify, so that they have to use less gas and diesel. That is better for the environment, the net becomes less loaded and there is also fewer emissions. In this pilot, companies no longer receive an individual connection, but a group connection.
“It is quite complex, because as a company you naturally want to be as independent as possible. But it is a measure that you can now take, “says Rob Bogman of VNO-NCW co-creation.
Lunch walk
Walking routes have been laid on sites Kraaven/Vossenberg and Loven in Tilburg and De Hurk in Eindhoven and business plots are greening. Beekasts have been put down and insect hotels to turn the places to turn a green oasis.
At the De Hurk industrial estate, at least 11,000 m2 is added to green in two years.
Harvest
The twelve largest business parks in Brabant are connected in the Great Harvest project. The twelve locations have all received 250,000 euros from the province to implement the action plans. The companies and municipalities have contributed the same amount at each location. The total therefore comes to 750,000 euros per location.
The province of Noord-Brabant is currently looking at how the approach to great harvest can be expanded.