Rijkswaterstaat Environment

Environmental Regulations

This is an explanation of the Dutch environmental regulations for companies. Most environmental regulations for companies can be found in the Activities Decree and/or in a permit. But other regulations may also apply.

Most companies do not need a permit for environmental aspects.

The System of Environmental Regulations in the Netherlands

This page contains a brief explanation of the Dutch system of environmental regulations applicable to companies. The environmental regulations are usually found in the Activities Decree and/or in the 'All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects'. In addition to the Activities Decree and the permit, a company may also be subject to various other regulations.

3 August 2017

Activities Decree

The Activities Decree contains environmental regulations, especially for companies. The Decree is applicable to all companies in the Netherlands unless they have little or no impact on the environment. The decree contains rules per type of environmentally harmful activity (e.g. metal processing) and by type of environmental impact (e.g. noise).

3 August 2017

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Environmental policy

The website government.nl gives information in English about Dutch environmental policy:

  • Roles and responsibilities of Central Government
  • Roles and responsibilities of provincial government, municipal governments and water authorities
  • Resource Efficiency
  • Biofuels
  • Environmental Risk Management
  • Air quality