Dutch local and central governments aim to minimise any negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from their procurement of products and services. Sustainable procurement can help, for example, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate the recycling of more materials (circular economy). RIVM helps authorities to measure the gain of their sustainable procurement efforts.

The Dutch Government aims to have established a circular economy in 2050. By 2030, the use of primary resources should have decreased by 50 per cent. How do we deal with hazardous substances in the resources cycle? What role does biomass play as a renewable resource? And how do we measure our progress on our way to 2050? RIVM provides answers to these questions.

In 2015, all 193 member states of the United Nations ratified seventeen sustainable development goals for the world. These goals aim to end poverty, combat inequality and protect our planet’s climate by 2030. The UN calls on everyone to do their part in achieving the goals: governments, individual citizens, and the private sector. RIVM is contributing to the majority of the global goals, but particularly to the eight highlighted below. We play our part in many different ways: ranging from carrying out independent scientific research to supporting Healthy Schools and Healthy Neighbourhood initiatives, or managing the National Immunisation Programme. Committed as we are to health and health services for world citizens, our activities contribute to generating knowledge and integrating that knowledge in the areas of public health, the human environment, and the natural environment. This places us at the heart of a sustainable society, in the Netherlands and throughout the world.