Benchmark for Green Climate Adaptive Built Environment
To better protect the Netherlands from the impacts of climate change, we need to adapt our environment. The interactive Benchmark for Green Climate Adaptive Built Environment can help you with this. This tool shows what climate adaptive design looks like in practice.
For whom?
The benchmark provides guidelines for municipalities, water authorities, provinces, housing corporations and parties in the construction sector, such as project developers and designers.
How can the benchmark be used?
The benchmark clarifies what climate adaptive construction entails. It was updated in October 2026, so you can now use it interactively on this knowledge portal. You can click on each theme in the benchmark to find information on guidelines and on regional or national requirements. For the themes drought, heat, waterlogging and limiting flood damage, you can also see which types of measures are best to take first. The buttons ‘Practical tools’ [praktische hulpmiddelen] and ‘Background information’ [achtergrondinformatie] take you to tools, good examples and relevant reports.
Who has developed this benchmark?
The benchmark was developed three years ago by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations; the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management; and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, in collaboration with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG), the Association of Provincial Authorities (IPO), and the Association of Dutch Regional Water Authorities (UvW). A wide range of stakeholders were involved in its development, including experts in the field of climate adaptive construction, construction sector professionals, nature organisations, and knowledge institutes.
Date of publication
29 October 2026
