Composition of target sectors in Dutch environment policy
The environmental policy distinguishes a number of target sectors within the Dutch economy. The government has set objectives for each of the target sectors with the aim of reducing environmental pressure (target sector policy).Composition of target sectors
The table below sets out the details relating to the target sectors distinguished by the environment policy. This target sector classification is the basis for the information presented by the Environmental Data Compendium about the target sectors of the environment policy.
The registration of environmental data by target sector takes place on the basis of the branches of industry in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) of Statistics Netherlands (CBS, 1992). However, this classification does not always overlap fully with the target sector classification used in the policy. When this results in discrepancies, this is stated explicitly alongside the relevant data.
| Environment policy target sector | Details | Departures from the SIC and other particulars |
| Agriculture and horticulture | Livestock farming, arable farming and horticulture (SIC 01). This includes organic agriculture. | |
| Industry | Industrial and manufacturing companies from the Dutch Standard Industrial Classification categories 15 through 36. Unless stated otherwise, refineries are part of the Industry target sector. | Preparation for recycling (SIC 37) falls under the Waste management companies target sector. |
| Energy supply | The Energy supply target sector comprises electricity supply, the production of heat, gas and oil and the transport and distribution of energy carriers (SIC 40). | Unless stated otherwise, refineries are part of the Industry target sector. The environmental pressure from electricity generated for consumers is allocated to the Energy supply target sector. |
| Traffic and transport | Road traffic, rail transport, inland shipping, seagoing shipping, aviation and mobile machinery. The main categories of road transport are private cars, goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, coaches and buses. 'Mobile machinery' (such as tractors and forklift trucks) is mainly used in construction and agriculture. | This target sector has no SIC link. |
| Consumers | All consumers in the Netherlands. Consumers and households are deemed to be the same thing. | The indirect environmental pressure created by the production and delivery of goods and services purchased by consumers is allocated to other target sectors, including Industry and Traffic and Transport. The latter sector also includes the environmental pressure created by travel to and from work and recreational transport. The environmental pressure from electricity generated for consumers is allocated to the Energy supply target sector. |
| Construction | Residential and non-residential building work, civil and hydraulic engineering, installation and completion works (SIC 45). This target sector also includes preparatory work prior to building, i.e. extraction of surface minerals (excluding salt), earth moving work (including dredging) and site preparation work. | |
| Actors in the water chain | Water supply (including drinking water), sewers and wastewater treatment in urban wastewater treatment plants. The target sector processes the wastewater produced by consumers and businesses. | Wastewater treatment by industrial companies themselves (using IWWTPs) is not included in this sector but in the Industry target sector. |
| Trade, services and government | All business activities aimed at providing goods and services to users. The activities are conducted in a range of sectors such as wholesale and retail, hotel and catering, haulage, the health-care and welfare sector, and research, education, government and financial institutions (SIC codes 50 through 99, with the exception of 9000 (Environment Services)). | |
| Waste management companies | Companies that collect, process (for reuse or recovery), incinerate or send waste to landfill. These include both public enterprises and companies in private ownership. There are many companies that concentrate on the processing of very different types of waste with a view to recovery. They may sort waste or process it in other ways and they include separation plants, debris crushers for demolition waste and composting plants. There are also companies involved in the disposal of waste, primarily waste incinerators and landfills. |
