Energy-saving information obligation: a guide for businesses
Direct answer
The Dutch informatieplicht is the obligation to report to the competent authority once every four years which energy-saving measures you have carried out at your location. You submit this report through the RVO eLoket, addressed to your regional environmental agency. The duty accompanies the energy-saving obligation and applies to businesses above the consumption threshold.
- Clear definition
- Data-driven assessment
- Risks and opportunities visible
- Practical next steps
Energy-saving information obligation: scattered information versus Energy Intelligence
The Dutch government wants businesses to take measures that pay for themselves quickly. Organisations above a certain energy use must therefore not only save energy, but also show what they have done. A factory, a large office or a cold store with high use will encounter this. The informatieplicht is that accountability: you report to your regional environmental agency which energy-saving measures have been carried out at the location. This lets the competent authority check whether you comply with the law.
- Once every four years you report through the RVO eLoket which energy-saving measures you have carried out; the environmental agency assesses this on behalf of the competent authority.
- The duty applies at a location with an environmentally harmful activity and an annual use from 50,000 kWh of electricity or 25,000 cubic metres of natural gas equivalent.
- You use the Recognised Measures List as the basis and state per measure whether you carried it out or took an equivalent alternative.
Insight
Traditional approach
Information is scattered across portals, documents, invoices or separate spreadsheets.
Modern approach
Data, context and interpretation are brought together into a clear decision picture.
Decision-making
Traditional approach
Choices are made based on averages, assumptions or occasional analyses.
Modern approach
Scenarios, KPIs and current measurement data make the trade-off more concrete and repeatable.
Follow-up
Traditional approach
Actions often stay non-committal or disappear into separate reports.
Modern approach
Follow-up actions, monitoring and reporting are linked to the same energy data.
What does the informatieplicht involve?
The informatieplicht is a reporting duty that accompanies the energy-saving obligation. If that obligation applies to you, you report once every four years through the RVO eLoket which energy-saving measures you have carried out at the location. Since the Environment Act took effect on 1 January 2024, the energy-saving obligation is set out in the Environmental Activities Decree and the Buildings Environment Decree. You always report on building measures, such as insulation of the building envelope, and where relevant on activity-related measures. The report goes to your regional environmental agency, which assesses it on behalf of the competent authority and supervises compliance.
- Report to the competent authority which energy-saving measures you have carried out.
- Submission takes place through the RVO eLoket.
- The environmental agency assesses the report on behalf of the competent authority.
- The legal basis is in the Environmental Activities Decree and the Buildings Environment Decree.
Who must report, and how often?
The informatieplicht applies at a location with an environmentally harmful activity and an annual energy use from 50,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity or 25,000 cubic metres of natural gas equivalent. Below that, the duty does not apply. If you use a great deal, from 10 million kilowatt-hours or 170,000 cubic metres of natural gas equivalent, you fall under the heavier investigation obligation instead of the informatieplicht. You report once every four years. For your report you use the Recognised Measures List, in short EML. It lists measures with a payback time of five years or less. Per measure you state whether you carried it out, or whether you took an equivalent or better alternative.
- Threshold: from 50,000 kWh of electricity or 25,000 cubic metres of natural gas equivalent per year.
- From 10 million kWh or 170,000 cubic metres the heavier investigation obligation applies.
- You submit the report once every four years.
- The Recognised Measures List is the starting point; you state the status per measure.
What are the pitfalls?
The informatieplicht does not stand alone. If you fail to carry out saving measures with a short payback time, you do not comply with the energy-saving obligation, even if the report has been neatly submitted. So the substance counts, not just the filing. Watch the deadline: you report within the four-yearly round, and after a new implementation you report again in good time. If you want to deviate from the EML approach, you must demonstrate through an investigation that you have carried out all measures with a payback time of five years or less. Also consider related duties: large enterprises may additionally fall under the EED audit obligation. If in doubt whether a duty applies to you, consult the RVO energy-saving law checker.
- Reporting without actually carrying out the measures does not meet the law.
- Deviating from the EML requires a supporting investigation.
- Do not miss the four-yearly submission deadline.
- Large enterprises may additionally fall under the EED audit obligation.
Curious what this looks like with your own data?
In a no-obligation call, a specialist looks at your meters, sites and energy questions with you. Response within one business day.
Search the knowledge base
Find the answer to your question.
Search using your own words. Abbreviations and spelling variants are recognised, so EMS also finds the articles on energy management systems.
Topic
