Activities Decree

The Activities Decree contains environmental regulations, especially for companies. In short, the Decree works as follows:

The Activities Decree is applicable to all companies in the Netherlands, unless they have little or no impact on the environment.
Many of the rules of the Activities Decree are detailed in the Activities Regulations.
The Activities Decree contains rules per type of environmentally harmful activity (e.g. metal processing) and by type of environmental impact (e.g. noise).
It is sometimes possible to deviate from the rules of the Activities Decree with 'customised rules'.
The Activities Decree has different rules for different types of businesses. The Activities Decree makes a distinction between companies in types A, B and C.
The Decree sometimes obliges a company to make a notification when it starts op or makes changes.

A company can determine which rules the Activities Decree imposes on its activities by using the Activities Decree Internet Module (AIM). AIM is an ICT system with the goal of making the Activities Decree accessible to companies and the competent authority.

Activities, requirements and measures

The Activities Decree (Activiteitenbesluit) and the Activities Regulations (Activiteitenregeling) regulate about 100 activities, such as storage in tanks and packages, mid-sized combustion plants, work on materials (mechanical labour, coating, etc), agricultural activities, and some industrial processes (such as large combustion plants). For some of these activities, the regulations are an implementation of EU legislation, such as the Industrial Emissions Directive.

Our Dutch website gives an overview of all the activities in the Decree.

The Decree sets goals for each environmental aspect, such as soil, waist, air, water, and safety. The Activities Regulations provide the means for compliance, such as the techniques to be used, and impose other requirements, such as ways to measure emissions.

The Activities Decree notification

The Activities Decree notification is a report to the competent authority. No decision needs to be taken and no objection can be made.

When a notification is required

An Activities Decree notification is mandatory only for a new or modified 'type B' or 'type C' company. Type A companies do not need to provide a notification.

The company making the notification must provide a notification no later than four weeks before the setup or change of the company. A notification is only mandatory in the case of a change if this change causes a deviation from previously reported data.

What should be reported

When submitting a notification under the Activities Decree, the company making the notification must provide its name and address details and information about the location, activities, processes and layout and the performance of the company. Additional information may also be required, depending on the activities.

How to make a notification

A notification is usually submitted using the Activities Decree Internet Module (AIM). AIM indicates which data must be included in the notification.

Companies types A, B and C

The Activities Decree distinguishes between 3 types of companies: types A, B and C.

Type A companies can be found in Article 1.2 of the Activities Decree.
All companies that are not type A or C are type B.
All companies that require an All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects for the environmental aspect are type C.

The Activities Decree Internet Module (AIM) allows you to determine what type your company is. The differences between the types A, B and C are as follows:

Type A

Type A companies perform less environmentally harmful activities, such as many office and school buildings and shops. They are not required to submit a notification to the competent authority when they start up or make changes. They also do not require an All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects for the environmental aspect. The Activities Decree is applicable to the whole company. However, other environmental rules may apply to them outside of the Activities Decree.

Type B

Type B companies are required to submit a notification to the competent authority in the case of a start-up or a change. They do not require an All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects environment. They sometimes require an 'OBM', an All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects limited environmental impact assessment. The Activities Decree is applicable to the whole company. Outside of the Activities Decree, other environmental regulations may also apply. Examples of type B companies are car companies, metalworking companies and marinas.

Type C

Type C companies require an All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects for the environmental aspect. They are required to submit a notification under the Activities Decree for activities to which Chapter 3 of the Activities Decree applies. For these activities no rules are required in the permit. Type C companies sometimes also require an OBM.

Only a part of the Activities Decree is applicable to type C companies. The rest of the environmental rules can be found in the All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects of the company. Outside of the Activities Decree and the All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects, other environmental rules may also apply.

Company types and environmental regulations