Balancing the UN’S SDGs for the environmental vision

How can we strike the right balance between the many demands on scarce space for living, energy production, health and nature? And how can we do this within a municipality’s environmental vision? The implementation of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act requires municipalities to view the physical environment from an integrated perspective and to describe how the related social policies mesh together. At the request of the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), NextGreen facilitated working sessions with four municipalities in order to co-create a framework for striking the right balance, based on their practical experiences and using the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a compass.

The lessons learned from the trial have been brought together by the VNG in a guide for municipalities.
The SDG Compass for the living environment that is included helps municipalities to present the various dimensions of sustainability in a coherent vision for the environment, and to consider all the relevant aspects in an integrated manner.

The compass, which was jointly developed with expert Ellen van Reesch, was inspired by the ‘environment indicator’. It supports the dialogue with citizens and business. Participation is one of the important pillars in the vision for the environment. NextGreen is looking for ways to use this compass, as well when looking for solutions to finance climate adaptation, such as green-blue business assets/sites or multifunctional rooftops.

Read more about the trial on the project page.