Quality of life

Activities in the port go hand in hand with noise, smell, light, and dust. It is important to us that nuisance is experienced minimally by it's surroundings. Because of this, the quality of life in the port is an important issue for us.

Quality of life topics

Smell

In the port area, 41 eNoses (smell detectors) have been installed around the North Sea Channel, at oil terminals and other companies that possibly give off smell. The eNoses perceive changes in the atmospheric composition, thus enabling companies to intervene right away. At oil terminals, product vapours from ships are absorbed during the the loading and unloading with vapour processing equipment.

Air quality

There are five permanent measuring stations in the port, which continuously measure the air quality. This gives insight into the quality of the air in and around our port area. Yearly, the GGD and Bureau Luchtkwaliteit report on these measurements. The average level of nitrogen (NOx) and particular matter (PM10) in the port meet the norm of 40 μg/m3. Sulphur (SOx) has no norm limit, but is relatively low. In the past five years, the measurements have bettered, but still we monitor the levels every quarter. That way we can signal changes quickly and are able to adjust when necessary.

Fire safety

Port of Amsterdam is one of the initiators of Gezamenlijk Brandweer Amsterdam (GBA). The GBA is specialized in industrial disaster relief and is working on increasing the fire safety in the Western Port Area in Amsterdam. Our Divisie Havenmeester supports in preventing fires by supplying extinguishing capacity with their ships and a extinguishing pontoon.

Biodiversity

Our port is surrounded by Natura 2000 areas, such as the North Sea coastal zone and the Oostvaarderplassen. These areas are protected because of their biodiversity and plant and animal species. We support the growth of biodiversity in the port area by installing ecological shores, swallow walls, fish spawning areas, mushrooms and bat boxes. Moreover, the area management's aim is to preserve animal breeding sites as much as possible. This also stimulates the growth of other species of plants.

Clean shipping

By 2050, all shipping in the Amsterdam port must be emission-free. And by 2030, sea cruise must be fully emission-free. To make this a reality, we are stimulating and facilitating clean fuels for shipping, installing shorepower and optimizing the shipping processes. You can learn more about our goals in our vision clean shipping.

Questions or complaints about quality of life

Want to make a report on public space, or of smell, dust, or sound nuisance? Here's what you can do:

Complaints or reports about companies in the post can be reported to the Omgevingsdienst Noordzeekanaalgebied.
Complaints or reports on public space or nuisance can be reported to the municipality of Amsterdam.

Other complaints: there is an overview of where to report what on our contact page.

Strategy

Sustainability is one of the pillars of our strategy. We want to be a frontrunner in the transition to a sustainable society. The quality of life in our area is a big part of that. Curious what else we do?

Check out our strategy