Taken together, you begin to see how concerted public policy working in cooperation with private enterprise can garner results. To wit: the Netherlands’ ranking as number 4 in Europe in the Compass survey of the Global Startup Eco System – and number 19 in the world. Less than two years ago, the country wasn’t on the startup radar. There’s The Edge, the quintessential smart building, recently given a 98.4% sustainability rating by British rating agency BREEAM – its highest score ever awarded. And if you want to add a bit of innovation to your own charisma – man or woman – for an evening out in Amsterdam, there’s the new “green” perfume “Eau d’Amsterdam,” which smells like the city’s famous elm trees.

Source: Forbes November 28, 2016 20:38 UTC