Businesses have to deal with the environment. The Establishments and activities Decree BES (IAB BES) and the Ministrial regulation establishments and activities BES (RIA BES) lays down environmental rules for all businesses in the Caribbean Netherlands.

Types of companies

Companies are classified into 4 types in the Establishments and activities Decree BES (IAB BES). In the decree, companies are referred to as ‘establishments’.

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Types of companies

The IAB BES sets out environmental rules for four different types of companies. The decree refers to these types as ‘establishments’.

There are 4 types:

  1. Type 1: for example, a small shop or office. This type of company does not have to notify, but must comply with the rules of the decree.
  2. Type 2: for example, a catering business, garage business or a contractor. This type of company must notify and comply with the rules of the decree.
  3. Type 3: larger companies, for example a stone crusher or a car dismantling company, need to apply for an environmental permit. An environmental permit must be submitted to the  competent authority (the Executive Council). The environmental rules for the company are included in the permit.
  4. Type 4: complex companies with safety risks for humans, animals and the environment. These are large companies for the storage and transhipment of (petroleum) oil (products) and companies with a larger amount of gas storage. An environmental permit must be submitted to competent authority (Rijkswaterstaat). The environmental rules for the company are included in the permit.

What is an establishment

The IAB BES lists types of companies as an ‘establishment’.

What is an ‘establishment’ is included in the Law on Housing, Spatial Planning and Environmental Management BES. The IAB BES  is a Decree based on this Act. According to the law, an “establishment” is a company that carries out its activity(s) regularly or for a certain time in one place. Residents who do business activities can also be an establishment.

Your business is an “establishment” when two conditions are met:

  • The activity that your company carries out is covered by the definition of an establishment. This definition is: “any activity undertaken by man in business or to a size as if it were a business activity which is carried out within a certain boundary”.
  • The activity must be designated in the IAB BES . These activities are listed in Annex 1 of the Decree.

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