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Amsterdam Duurzaam 2011

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So you'd like to live sustainably but haven't a clue how? Get all your planet-saving

clues this summer at Amsterdam’s hottest environmental festival – Amsterdam

Duurzaam ( Sustainable Amsterdam) on 1 and 3 July

2011.

Green with envy

What carbon footprint? Given Amsterdam’s love of  bikes, you may see the odd tyre track but that’s as close

as you’ll get. Amsterdam Duurzaam, then, is the city’s

celebration of sustainability, and how you can do your bitfor the environment.

From workshops and lectures to eco-fashion and film,

Amsterdam Durzaam is here to educate and inspire. And there’s two whole days of it,

starting with a business-to-business event on Friday and culminating with the publicfestival on Sunday.

In the sustainable business

Amsterdam Duurzaam kicks off with a business event on

Friday, 1 July at the Westergasfabriek . The 'businessfestival' is intended as a mutual exchange of ideas on

sustainable development between businesses, educational

institutes and organisations working in the field.

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From 12:30 to 18:00, exhibitors with a passion for sustainability and innovation present

their services and products while there’s also speed dating, networking opportunities and a

host of workshops and readings.

Registration is required for the event, see the registration

form (in Dutch).

Festival frolics

Open to everyone, the official festival cranks into gear at12:00 on Sunday, 3 July at the Westergasfabriek and

admission is free. Amsterdam Duurzaam sponsors and

 partners present their wares and the City of Amsterdamoutline their sustainable plans for the city. The festival is

open until 18:00.

The Zuiveringshal West is the focus of activities, with the hall itself being divided intovarious themed squares including Fashion, Design, Lifestyle, Finance, Energy &Construction and Cradle to Cradle – naturally, all with a sustainable slant.

There’s plenty of sustainable fun for the whole family in and around the Zuiveringshal

West. Browse the sustainable stalls at the Sunday Market or join actress Sanne Vogel at the

Ecofabs Fashion Square for a day of sustainable fashion activities. Or you can go homewith a new wardrobe after exchanging vintage items at the clothes swap, visit the Culinary

Workplace for a drink and bite to eat, receive a sustainable beauty treatment and learn all

about sustainable initiatives.

Whether you're more of a browser or a doer, the Amsterdam Duurzaam has something for you and will allow you to experience the many advantages of a sustainable lifestyle first

hand.

For more information, head to the Amsterdam Duurzaam website (in Dutch).

Electric taxis introduced in Amsterdam

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Press release, 27 May 2011

On Friday, 27 May, Amsterdam taxi centre TCA began operating ten electric taxis in the

city. This is the first step of developments in line with the new air quality regulations presented by the City of Amsterdam a week earlier. Amsterdam is focusing on business

travellers that make frequent journeys. Taxis produce nearly 35 times more pollution than

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the average private car and introducing electric taxis is a relatively inexpensive way of 

effectively reducing pollution.

Ten electric taxis

The TCA (Taxicentrale Amsterdam) is now renting five electric Fiat Doblos fromAmsterdam-based lease company Truckland Zero to use as taxis. Local businessman Bas

Vos is also renting out five English electric taxis to TCA drivers. The City of Amsterdam

financed part of the cost of purchasing the taxis through a subsidy that is available for electric transport. The electric taxis can be recharged at special taxi charging points located

throughout the city or at regular charging points.

Effective means of reducing pollution

Alderperson Eric Wiebes commented on the developments, saying: “The reappraisal of the

air quality regulations revealed that reducing the pollution caused by taxis that travelextensively in the city is an effective means of improving air quality in Amsterdam. As

with other matters affecting the city, the Amsterdam College is committed to achieving themaximum effect per euro spent. The introduction of the first ten electric taxis is a good

start. I am particularly pleased that it’s the taxi companies themselves that are taking the

initiative.”

Nitrogen dioxide

Around 2,500 taxis are active in Amsterdam during the working week and this number 

rises at the weekend. The average taxi contributes nearly 35 times more to the nitrogen

dioxide concentration in the city than the average private car. This is because they travel primarily within the city boundary and run on diesel. Diesel cars produce twice as much

nitrogen dioxide as petrol cars.

European standards

Poor air quality has been linked to particulate pollution health problems and prematuredeath, but this is not the only reason why improving air quality in Amsterdam is so

important. Amsterdam is required to meet the European standards for air quality by 2015.

If the city fails to do so, a building freeze may come into effect. It is currently uncertain

whether Amsterdam will meet the standard for nitrogen dioxide by 2015.

Respect for the city

TCA director Richard van der Veen: “We are starting with ten taxis but hope to increase

the number in the near future. Nowadays, consumers are more critical than ever before, andmore conscious of the decisions they make - and this is also the case with regard to

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sustainable taxi transport. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and deserves that the largest taxi

centre in the Netherlands treats it with the respect.”

Spacious cars

Bas Vos from Holland-4-Electric was previously a GP and director at the TCA. "When I became a director at TCA in 2006, I was faced with nearly 2,000 drivers that, with 1,200

cars, were heavy fuel users. The electric taxis are large enough to carry several people, are

suitable for disabled passengers and are a good means of tackling the air pollution problem.”

Plans for the near future

The City of Amsterdam is striving to have 450 electric taxis active in the city in 2015. The

TCA and Holland-4-Electric also expect the number of electric taxis used in Amsterdam to

increase in the years ahead.