To meet the United Nations’ target of global energy neutrality by 2050, a fundamental shift is needed in how we produce and consume energy. Though governments currently focus mainly on adapting, while mostly maintaining systems as they currently are, it becomes increasingly more clear that adaptation alone will not suffice. A systemic, structural transformation that redefines systems and industries is needed.
In the Netherlands, the energy transition is stuck, with political and private actors pointing fingers at each other. This is particularly evident in the horticulture sector, where environmental cost and energy consumption have long reached unsustainable levels. Westland, a municipality where nearly a quarter of Dutch horticulture is located, serves as the focal point in this research project. Within this theme, the focus lies on floriculture in particular, as it represents almost half of the greenhouses in Westland.
This project critically examines the current floriculture system and proposes a future-oriented alternative: a vision in which flower and energy production go hand in hand. In collaboration with conventional greenhouse owners and organic farmers, the project explores how these communities can be brought together to form one unified community of fully organic, energy-positive floriculture.
Methods used in this project include literary review, spatial analyses using QGIS and PDOK, interviews, and research by design. The energy transition is used as an opening for reimagining the floriculture landscape.
The analysis reveals three guiding themes: spatial quality, energy landscapes, and organic floriculture. These were linked to overarching goals of decentralisation, integration, identity and spatial and systematic openness. These inform two visions: one for Westland and one for the province of South Holland. A strategy in three phases outlines the implementation of the vision through policy, funding, agreements and key processes.
By 2060, the envisioned future sees Westland as a global pioneer in innovative and regenerative organic floriculture, where sustainability is not just a goal, but a lived reality.