Environmental investments are costs for facilities to protect, restore, or improve the environment, such as air and wastewater treatment plants and liquid-tight floors. The figures concern companies in mineral extraction, industry, and public energy and water supply. Together, these companies account for almost all environmental investments.
In 2024, companies invested 1,595 million euros in environmental facilities, which is 39 percent less than a year earlier. Also relative to the total investments of these companies, the share of environmental investments is lower. 9 percent of the total investment amount goes to environmental facilities, compared to an average of 14 percent from 2020 to 2024.
Environmental facilities are divided into investments in water, air and energy, soil, waste, noise, and landscape. Most investments go to air and energy, such as reducing air pollution, energy saving, or renewable energy.
Companies especially invest less in renewable energy than before. Among other things, the growth of the number of wind turbines is declining. Companies also invest less in other environmental facilities. Environmental investments fluctuate from year to year because they are often only needed once, such as a wind turbine, and the amount depends on a small number of large investment projects.
In 2024, the total financial (net) environmental costs of companies amounted to 2,763 million euros. That is 426 million (18 percent) more than in 2023. Since 2020, net environmental costs have increased by 1,260 million euros, averaging over 16 percent per year.
The higher net environmental costs are mainly due to company costs of own environmental activities being 290 million euros higher. These mainly consist of depreciation and interest costs of environmental investments made in the past 25 years. These increased from 2,324 million euros in 2023 to 2,582 million euros in 2024. In addition, companies had higher other costs of other own environmental activities, such as the disposal of wastewater sludge and waste from air purification installations. These costs increased from 333 million euros in 2023 to 367 million euros in 2024.
Companies also paid 62 million euros more than in 2023 in environmental levies and outsourced environmental activities, such as waste disposal. Government-subsidized environmental investments were 73 million euros lower. Government subsidies result in lower depreciation and interest costs of environmental investments, thus leading to lower net environmental costs.
Openrijk brings government news together in one place, free and without ads.
But it does need coffee to keep it that way :)