Foundation, Mission, and Vision
The Nutrient Platform is a cross-sectoral network of Dutch organizations concerned about the global impact of nutrient issues and the general way in which nutrients are managed.
The Nutrient Platform was established in 2011, starting with the signing of the Phosphorus Cycle Agreement. The platform emerged from the Nutrient Flow Task Group (NFTG), created in 2008 by a network of parties concerned about phosphorus depletion and its international impact. The NFTG’s secretariat was hosted by the Netherlands Water Partnership. In 2009, the need for a separate platform was expressed, and in 2010, a strategic plan was developed to establish the platform.
MISSION, VISION, AND CORE VALUES
The Mission
“To create the conditions for the required transition towards sustainable and economical nutrient use.” These conditions are created through a cyclical action-learning process of market interventions, effective lobbying with policymakers, defining market conditions, stimulating research, and forging new partnerships.
The Vision
The vision of the Nutrient Platform is: “To have a sustainable future in which the bio-economy is based on the carrying capacity of our planet.”
The platform is driven by the challenges of Dutch urbanization and intensive agriculture and aims to develop policies and market solutions that contribute to managing future global shortages as well as local surpluses. More importantly, it seeks to facilitate the transition to sustainable nutrient management.
Core Values of the Platform:
- Trust: The platform plays an independent role in promoting nutrient recycling and does not represent the interests of individual stakeholders.
- Focus on Acceleration: The platform facilitates connections between policymakers, researchers, and new business initiatives. The members come from various parts of the value chain, enabling work on new solutions.
- Diversity, Inclusivity, and Cohesion: The platform brings together actors from various sectors, which leads to breaking down traditional sector barriers.
- European and Global Reach: The platform consists of Dutch organizations, but most work in an international context regarding nutrients. Additionally, the nutrient issue is a global concern.
TIMELINE
In 2011, the Nutrient Platform, together with the Dutch government, took on the responsibility of supporting organizations across the entire value chain in closing the phosphorus cycle, initially based on the Phosphorus Cycle Agreement. The agreement was signed by 20 organizations and formed the foundation for the further development of the Nutrient Platform.
The platform’s ambitions were broader than just the Netherlands, which is why in 2013, the first European Sustainable Phosphorus Conference was organized. This conference led to the establishment of the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP).
Over the years, the platform’s focus broadened to include other nutrients such as nitrogen and micronutrients.
In 2016, the Nutrient Ambition 2018 was launched, with individual ambitions from platform members to further promote nutrient recycling.
The platform continues to bring members together and encourage cross-sectoral collaboration. One of the most recent successes are the MIK- project and the follow-up research project (KNAP) in which members and other sector organisations work together on closing nutrient cycles.