The Netherlands faces a dual challenge: to build more homes and to do so more sustainably. Biobased construction and drinking water–saving technologies offer tangible answers, but scaling often stalls because demand and supply do not connect well enough and the business case is still too fragile for the entire value chain.
Rabobank and BPD have broken this deadlock with a cooperative initiative: more than €100 million to cover the additional costs of biobased materials and drinking water–saving systems across thousands of new-build homes. Not as a one-off subsidy scheme, but as a catalyst to encourage producers, contractors and developers to scale up sustainable construction, and thereby make the new standard.
In this session, Sladjana Mijatovic (Manager Sustainability at BPD) shares the story behind this initiative: why it is needed, how it works and what it has produced so far. Next, innovative parties will present scalable solutions for biobased construction and drinking water saving in short pitches. With a panel of experts, we explore what is needed to truly scale these innovations: which framework conditions are crucial, where the opportunities lie and which barriers we need to remove together?
Other speakers:
During PROVADA, BouwLab R&Do and The Green Village will be providing the content programming for the Innovation Café. In collaboration with partners BPD, COD and VORM, and the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and the DMI Ecosystem, one central question takes the lead: how do we move innovation faster from idea to application?
The fiscal threshold for foreign pension funds and insurers to invest in the Dutch housing market must be significantly lowered. That is the view of Mark Siezen, CEO of asset manager Bouwinvest. 'Foreign capital is absolutely essential to meet the enormous housing construction challenge. That requires a stable housing policy and fiscal climate. I am hopeful: the new minister recognises this and will act on it.'
Following the earlier announcement of the launch of the International Investment Day, PROVADA now presents the full programme for Thursday, 11 June 2026. As the largest real estate exhibition in the Netherlands, PROVADA brings together leading market parties for a day of insights, discussion and networking. The newly introduced international investment programme—developed in collaboration with INREV, Holland Metropole and the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning—offers international investors direct access to key developments, policy perspectives and investment opportunities in the Dutch market.
Visiting PROVADA? Please be aware that it can get busy around the RAI. Due to multiple large events taking place at the same time, the RAI parking facilities often fill up early.
Fraudulent emails are currently circulating that falsely use the name of PROVADA.
At PROVADA 2026, the Ministry of Defence features prominently on the agenda as a new player in the real estate market. The increased focus on national security has made the spatial and housing challenge more urgent than ever. This places additional pressure on the already scarce space, capacity and resources in the Netherlands. The Ministry of Defence faces a substantial scaling challenge. New barracks, training grounds and supporting infrastructure must be delivered at pace. In doing so, Defence is growing into a defining client within the real estate and construction sector. The central question: how do we deliver this in a country where pressure on space and capacity is already at its limit?
