Duurzame Logistieke Terreinen

Businesses and business parks in Flanders are under increasing pressure. Limited space, stricter climate targets and a rapidly changing economic and geopolitical context make it necessary to rethink the design and organisation of business parks.
The project began by addressing the tension between economic growth and societal objectives such as sustainable land use and climate impact. It became clear that individual optimisations are no longer sufficient and that a more integrated and collective approach is needed.

COMPLETE SUSTAINABILITY VISION

As part of the project, an integrated vision for sustainable business parks was developed. This vision brings together various themes, such as land use, energy, water, infrastructure, digitalisation and working conditions, and examines how these can be addressed in a holistic manner. In addition to this long-term vision, concrete tools were also developed to enable businesses and other stakeholders to take effective action. This includes, amongst other things, an integrated decision-making framework to assist in making choices, supplemented by guiding principles and future scenarios that provide direction in a changing context.

Furthermore, the project focused on new ways of collaborating and organising, such as the concept of the business park-as-a-business, whereby companies invest collectively and work together. In this context, collaboration is not merely optional, but structural and profitable.

OPPORTUNITIES

The project gave participants insight into how they can practically address challenges relating to space, energy and sustainability. The following opportunities emerged:

• businesses can reduce costs by jointly investing in and using shared facilities
• more efficient use of space and reuse make it possible to grow without taking up additional space
• collaboration increases the resilience of businesses and business parks
• closing loops and reducing waste streams creates new economic value
• a joint approach makes it easier to respond to future regulations and market developments

Specific results

The project resulted in a number of tangible outputs and validated insights that are applicable today:

• an integrated decision-making framework with sustainability guidelines that supports companies in making informed investment choices
• a set of guiding principles and future scenarios that help to steer short- and long-term decisions
• a practical step-by-step plan guiding companies from analysis to action plan
• detailed collaboration and financing models
• insights from practical case studies and stakeholder workshops, demonstrating that collaboration is essential and leads to better investment decisions

These results enable companies and other stakeholders to take concrete steps today towards sustainable and future-proof business parks.