Environment costs and -expenditure; enterprises > 10 employees; key figures

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This table shows key figures on the environmental investments and the financial burden on enterprises (with 10 or more employees) in the economic sectors mining and quarrying, industry and energy and water production. The term 'environment' is defined as everything outside the company's premises, including soil in that area.

Data available from: 2012

Status of the figures:
Data for 2012-2021 are definite, the 2022 data are provisional.
Following publication of definite results, the figures are only reviewed if significant adjustments are necessary.

Changes as of 30 November 2023:
Definite data are available for 2021, and provisional data for 2022 has been added.

When will new figures be published?
In the third quarter of 2024 the definite results for 2022 and the provisional results for 2023 will be available.

Description topics

Environmental investments
Capital expenditures in equipment and plant for pollution and special anti-pollution accessoiries, or plant linked to cleaner technologies, in order to prevent or reduce the amount of pollution of the environment. Environmental investments have a payback period of not less than three years.
Total environmental investments
Total environmental investments (for all environmental domains).
Share in total investment
The share of the environmental investments in total investment by industry.
Total investment only includes investment in property (excluding operational lease).
Environmental investments by domain
Environmental investments divided by environmental domain.
Soil
Environmental activities to prevent or diminish soil pollution.
Examples:
- impervious soil protection with flanges or dams, with accompanying drainage system, pumps, pipes and collecting basins;
- facilities to absorb spilling losses;
- facilities on subterranean storage tanks and pipes;
- equipment for emission- and concentration measurements.
Waste
Environmental activities to prevent or diminish waste pollution.
Examples:
- facilities for storage of waste, transport and treatment of waste (in-company solutions); e.g. waste containers and vehicles;
- facilities to sort, separate, compress, waste, compost or ferment waste;
- implementation of more expensive (production)processes and suchlike.
Noise
Environmental activities to prevent or diminish noise pollution.
Examples:
- housing or acoustic insulation of machines or systems and pipes;
- silencers; noise or sound barriers;
- equipment for noise measurements;
- vibration damping of building foundations;
- noise reducing burners on flares and suchlike.
Landscape
Environmental activities to prevent or diminish damage or pollution of nature and landscape.
Examples:
- obligatory greenbelts and earthen walls around factory sites and premises;
- renovation of landscape (e.g. at excavation sites);
- making visible high-voltage lines to prevent collision of birds;
- equipment for discharge- and concentration measurements;
- detours to a certain location with respect to angled drilling;
- taking measures to restrict groundwater extraction and suchlike.
Environmental costs
The annual costs of all environmental activities that aim to protect, restore or improve the environment.

Environmental costs can be divided in costs of environmental activities carried out by companies themselves (capital costs of environmental investments and other costs), and in paid pollution levies and payments for environmental activities contracted out.
Environmental costs of own activities
The total costs of environmental activities carried out by companies themselves. They consist of capital costs of environmental investments in the past (interest and depreciation) and other costs.
Paid environmental transfers
Paid pollution levies and payments for environmental activities contracted out, such as paid environmental levies and charges for waste discharge and other environmental payments to third parties.
Received environmental transfers
Environmental subsidies by the government on environmental investments.

These subsidies reduce the own investments and so result in lower annual capital costs. These calculated reduction of the capital costs are considered as received environmental transfers.
Information on the received environmental subsidies by enterprises is obtained from the government.
Net environmental costs
The sum of the net annual costs of environmental activities carried out by companies themselves (capital costs of environmental investments and other costs), paid pollution levies and payments for environmental activities contracted out, minus the received environmental subsidies.