Amsterdam is good, green and great
AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam is the first city in Europe to get a green guide. Written by Harold Verhagen, the Good & Green Guide is intended to help readers navigate the many healthy and sustainable activities, shops and restaurants the Dutch capital has to offer.
The English-language guide is divided into six sections. These cover places to eat and buy food, accommodation, activities, shopping and getting involved, plus details of public transport and suggested itineraries. Each section is laid out in a listings style, with practical information - address, telephone number, opening times - followed by a short description.
Some entries are also followed by a ‘good, green and great’ star rating. Black stars indicate the company or organisation’s focus on developing people, green stars their environmental credentials and red stars how transparent they are. While some of the ratings seem tenuous – one pharmacy has been awarded a green star for its plan to become CO2 neutral, for example – perhaps the guide’s positive reinforcement principle will encourage plans to be put into action.
The idea for the guide was born during a trip to London in early 2009. On holiday with his family, Verhagen, a management consultant by trade, was frustrated by the lack of information in his regular guide on vegetarian restaurants and yoga studios, even though he knew London was awash with both. Two months later in Paris he faced the same problem. Back in Amsterdam, he decided to take matters into his own hands and write a guide himself.
As is almost inevitably the case with printed guides, some of the details in the Good & Green Guide are already out of date and new worthy ventures have popped up that will have to wait for the next edition to be listed. Overall, however, it’s a handy reference book whether you’re a green-minded tourist visiting Amsterdam for the first time, or, like us, have lived here for years and just want to find out where to get the best Fair Trade soy latte. The guide can be ordered on the Good & Green website.
