The reference date for this page is Friday 16 October 2026.
What climate targets does the municipality of Waalwijk have?
The municipality is aiming for 2043. By then Waalwijk is to be energy neutral, low in CO2 and climate resilient, according to the municipality's sustainability website. The same year appears in the Green Deal 2.0 that the municipality, the province and the business community signed in 2022, with "halfway on track" by 2030 as an interim step.
For electricity there is a firmer interim target. By 2030 the municipality wants to generate at least 50 per cent of electricity consumption within the municipality sustainably, on its own land. That comes to at least 215,500 MWh a year1.
What does Stichting Waalwijk CO2 vrij do?
The foundation brings Waalwijk businesses together around energy, water, climate and circular business. It describes itself as independent and without commercial interest. One of its ideas is simple. One company has surplus heat from its production, another needs a lot of energy; the foundation wants to link the two.
Its board is made up of business owners and Parkmanagement Waalwijk. The project manager is Mark Gouda. What the foundation actually offers is set out in its Menukaart 2026 (2026 menu).
- Greenery on your own site, such as Bomen in Bakken (trees in planters, free of charge and fully maintained according to the foundation), green roofs, a hedge campaign and a green lunch spot.
- A water scan and an overview of subsidies, including the municipality's subsidy for disconnecting rainwater from the sewer.
- Energy scans and a scan for charge points for electric vans and lorries.
- A circularity scan and collection drives for leftover materials and small waste streams.
- A brainstorm with the project leader for anyone who does not know where to start.
The foundation promises savings of 10 to 30 per cent from the energy scan. That is its own estimate, not a measured average.
What is the Green Deal 2.0 for the business parks?
The Green Deal 2.0 is an agreement between the municipality of Waalwijk, the province of North Brabant, Stichting Waalwijk CO2 vrij, Parkmanagement Waalwijk and other parties to help businesses on Waalwijk's business parks become more sustainable. The deal was signed on 28 November 2022 and ran until 31 December 2025. It followed on from the first Green Deal.
The targets are ambitious, and they are targets, not results.
| Target from the Green Deal 2.0 | Deadline |
|---|---|
| At least 160 businesses take part, 100 of them on Haven | end of term, 31 December 2025 |
| Solar panels on at least 25 per cent of business roofs larger than 1,000 m² | 2026 |
| CO2 emissions from Haven down from 95 to 61 kilotonnes a year | 2025 |
| CO2 emissions from Haven down to 31 kilotonnes a year | 2030 |
| At least 10 per cent of businesses on Haven have electrified fossil-fuel production processes | 2026 |
The source is the signed Green Deal document of the province of North Brabant. The CO2 figures for Haven come from a CE Delft roadmap of May 2022.
What do you get as a business? A free scan of your energy use, advice on mandatory and additional measures, and help with subsidies and with the energy label C that has applied to offices since 2023. The 2026 menu still carries the Green Deal 2.0 name.
What is the Grote Oogst on the Haven business park?
Grote Oogst (Big Harvest) is a project by the province of North Brabant to make thirteen Brabant business parks sustainable faster. Haven 1 to Haven 8 in Waalwijk is one of them. These are sites with a lot to gain on nitrogen, energy, climate adaptation and the circular economy. According to the foundation, the thirteen sites together account for 65 per cent of energy use on Brabant business parks.
Development of an Energy Hub is starting on Haven. Businesses there can exchange sustainable energy with each other, so that they depend less on the congested power grid. The Green Deal names a small-scale hub as a first step, which can grow later.
How green will Haven 8 be?
Haven 8 comes with strict requirements. Anyone who settles there must cover the roof almost entirely with solar panels and generate more electricity than the business itself uses. Businesses must also show how they will green their site, and they must bring in or ship out goods by water. The municipality asks for a BREEAM certificate as a softer requirement8.
One example is the Van Mossel Automotive Group complex on Haven 8. Property investor Cain International reports that it has a BREEAM rating of "Very Good".
Are wind turbines coming to Waalwijk?
Yes. The municipality is reserving two areas for wind farms, Windpark Haven-Ecopark and Windpark Buitenpolders. Together with solar fields, they should bring the 2030 electricity target closer. Buitenpolders has been awarded to GreenTrust. For Haven-Ecopark on Haven 8 Oost, the municipality is in talks with Eneco. According to the municipality, a large share of the revenue will stay local.
What happened to the electric inland port?
The municipality wants to build Europe's first fully electric inland port on Haven 8, with electric cranes, charging points for electric ships and green power from wind turbines, solar panels and a biomass plant1011. According to Omroep Brabant, the port would save around 1,700 tonnes of CO2 a year because fewer lorries would be on the road10. On 11 December 2025 the court annulled the nature permit911. As a result, construction cannot begin for now. There is more on this on our page about business and the port.
What can you do as a resident?
The municipality helps residents too. Tuinrangers (garden rangers) give personal advice on a greener garden, and a rainwater coach explains what you can do with rainwater. The schemes for homes and gardens are listed on duurzaam.waalwijk.nl.
Frequently asked questions about sustainable Waalwijk
When does Waalwijk want to be climate neutral?
The municipality of Waalwijk wants to be energy neutral, low in CO2 and climate resilient by 2043. That year appears on the municipality's sustainability website and in the Green Deal 2.0 for the business parks. As an interim step, Waalwijk wants to generate at least half of its electricity consumption sustainably itself by 2030, on its own land.
What does it cost to take part with Stichting Waalwijk CO2 vrij?
Part of the offer is free, such as the energy scan within the Green Deal and, according to the foundation, the Bomen in Bakken campaign. Other packages involve guidance or co-financing. Businesses that use the offer commit to the foundation for the term of the Green Deal. Ask the foundation for the current terms.
What is an Energy Hub on a business park?
An Energy Hub is a partnership in which businesses on the same site exchange locally generated electricity with each other. That way they lean less on the congested grid. A hub like this is starting on the Haven business park in Waalwijk, as part of the provincial Grote Oogst project. Small at first, to be scaled up later.
Which wind farms are coming to Waalwijk?
The municipality has designated two areas, Windpark Haven-Ecopark on Haven 8 Oost and Windpark Buitenpolders. Buitenpolders has been awarded to GreenTrust, and for Haven-Ecopark the municipality is in talks with Eneco. Follow the number of turbines and the timetable on the project pages at duurzaam.waalwijk.nl, because those details may still change.
Sources
- Gemeente Waalwijk, Zonne- en windenergie (solar and wind energy): duurzaam.waalwijk.nl/zonne-en-windenergie
- Gemeente Waalwijk, Duurzaam Waalwijk: duurzaam.waalwijk.nl
- Province of North Brabant, Green Deal 2.0 Verduurzaming Bedrijven Waalwijk 2023-2025: brabant.nl/publish/pages/11885/91452270_8400620_green_deal_2-0_verduurzaming_bedrijven_waalwijk_2023-2025_221128_ondertekend.pdf
- Stichting Waalwijk CO2 vrij, homepage: waalwijkco2vrij.nl
- Stichting Waalwijk CO2 vrij, Green Deal: waalwijkco2vrij.nl/waalwijkco2vrij-green-deal
- Stichting Waalwijk CO2 vrij, Menukaart 2026: waalwijkco2vrij.nl/menukaart
- Stichting Waalwijk CO2 vrij, Grote Oogst: waalwijkco2vrij.nl/grote-oogst
- IPLO, Crisis- en herstelwet, Waalwijk Haven 8: chw.iplo.nl/projecten/waalwijk-haven-8
- Gemeente Waalwijk, Insteekhaven: www.waalwijk.nl/insteekhaven
- Omroep Brabant, 12 March 2024 (secondary): www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4433803/eerste-elektrische-binnenhaven-van-europa-waalwijk-kan-niet-wachten
- Omroep Brabant, 12 December 2025 (secondary): www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/6000790/vergunning-van-groene-haven-door-de-schredder-door-stikstofprobleem
- Cain International, Van Mossel Haven 8 (secondary): cainint.com/projects/van-mossel
All sources accessed on 16 October 2026.
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