Financially supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, GreenfieldCities completed its feasibility study for the Mafraq Youth Business campus. Arie van Beek has been the editor-in-chief for the final report. The extensive study convincingly demonstrates feasibility and provides a roadmap for next steps. The Ministry states: “the feasibility study is a solid base for further development of the campus”.
The study concludes the YBC is feasible in all relevant aspects hosting 2500 Jordanian and Syrian youths, working in six sectors: Agri-Food, Water, ICT, Energy, Construction and Hospitality. Risks are at acceptable levels. Impact on at least 8 SDG indicators including “Decent Work and Economic Growth” is very significant.
As Chief Sustainability Officer, Arie van Beek was responsible for integrating all relevant Sustainable Development Goals into the spatial planning and design of the campus. Tangible results include a very low energy demand (for heating, but also for cooling), low water demand and a net renewable power producing campus balancing supply and demand through a smart grid and storage as much as possible.
The project is unique as it includes a transition from donor funding to private impact investment financing. This is an important part of the GreenfieldCities vision: forced migration can best be tackled in regions of origin and this can ultimately be done without development aid subsidies. This transition is a hard condition for scalability of the concept and sustainable success.
Perhaps the most striking result is the overwhelming support for the idea inside Jordan. More than 50 ministries, institutions and companies endorse the GreenfieldCities effort for the Youth Business Campus and many of them commit to providing tangible support. In addition, key MPs in Dutch parliament support the Youth Business Campus model.
The required public investment in a working model for dignified, humane and sustainable reception in the region of origin is no-regret and very small compared to the avoided costs for hosting refugees in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden.
Download the final report “Feasibility Study Youth Business Campus Mafraq” (PDF).
The Province of Flevoland has always set itself stiff renewable energy targets (100% in 2020). Further policy development was not necessary any more, translating ambitions and policies into real projects was the provincial call for action. During his time as Programme Manager Sustainability and Energy for the Province of Flevoland, Arie van Beek gave therefore an assignment to a consultancy to explore the feasibility of a Sustainable Energy & Development Utility (abbreviated in Dutch as as DE-on). The utility should have all the Flevoland Municipalities, the Provincial water authority (Zuiderzeeland) and the Province on board and would function as an accelerator for renewable energy, energy saving and energy efficiency projects. About 80 potential projects were identified. Following review, Arie van Beek had its key recommendation adopted by the steering committee (provincial governor, board member of the water authority and all relevant municipal alderman): draft a business plan including detailed business cases for the 5 most promising projects to kick start DE-on.