By Michel Grothe (Geonovum)
A new Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA) commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning and Geonovum makes a compelling economic argument for investing in a national data space for circular soil management — and the numbers are hard to ignore.
Every year, construction and infrastructure projects in the Netherlands move approximately 140 million tonnes of soil, of which an estimated 115 million tonnes has circular reuse potential. Yet fragmented data, lack of standardisation, and poor supply-demand matching mean much of this material ends up being transported unnecessarily or disposed of, driving up costs, CO₂ emissions, and logistical burdens.
The SCBA, carried out by Ecorys and published in April 2026, compares two policy alternatives against a baseline scenario of continued fragmentation:
- BA1 – Regional data space nodes: five interlinked regional systems operational by 2030;
- BA2 – National data space: a single, standardised national system operational by 2030.
The results are unambiguous. Both alternatives deliver strong positive returns for society, but the national system is significantly more impactful. Over the analysis period of 2027–2050, the national data space generates €554 million in societal benefits at a cost of just €116 million — a net positive balance of +€438 million (NPV). The regional alternative yields a net balance of +€178 million. Crucially, both figures are likely underestimates, as a range of ecological and data-reuse benefits could not yet be fully monetised.
Where do the benefits come from? The largest gains arise from reduced failure costs and legal claims (€146 million for the national variant), better market functioning and price efficiency (€198 million), and significant reductions in transport-related air pollution — including NOₓ, particulate matter, and CO₂ emissions. Process efficiencies in soil surveying, permitting, and data entry add further value.
A key finding is the importance of acting at national scale from the outset. A phased regional-to-national transition leads to cumulatively higher costs and lower benefits compared to direct national implementation. The data space also reaches a positive cumulative balance as early as 2032 in the national scenario, with investment costs front-loaded and benefits growing steadily as circular soil volumes increase.
The report concludes with a clear policy recommendation: build the national system directly, link it to existing registries such as the National Key Registry for the Subsurface (BRO), and connect it to major investment programmes like the MIRT infrastructure programme and the Flood Protection Programme (HWBP). These large-scale programmes generate the soil volumes needed to recoup investments quickly and accelerate the transition to full circularity by 2050.
For those working at the intersection of geospatial data, digital infrastructure, and the circular economy, this SCBA offers a rigorous and replicable framework — demonstrating that well-designed data spaces are not just technically useful, but economically essential.
The full report “SCBA data space circular soils” is available (pdf download) via Geonovum.