Sustainability

The status quo isn’t viable; we need to transform how we do things and how we think about them – not just in one domain but in the complex system made up of the interactions between all the domains. With his Natural Social Contract, Patrick Huntjens sketches a way forward.

This 2 years ERASMUS+ project aims to develop innovative educational methods to promote sustainable consumption habits to adults.  In particular, the project will be targeted to producers and consumers in the coffee industry. The goal of the project is to utilise existing and develop new tools and methods based on the principles of Technology Enhanced Learning to trigger transformative, systemic change in consumption habits and incentive people, and especially millennials, to turn to more sustainable ways of life. UM joins as a scientific partner to provide guidance for the development of the educational tools and nudge strategies. 

Maastricht School of Business and Economics to host top international conference on Sustainability and New Business Models in Summer 2023

'The (gas) price of working from home is too high for employee and society'. According to Linde Kattenberg en Martijn Stroom in Parool.

The sudden and extreme increase in energy prices and the subsequent emergence of broader inflation is a big negative shock for the economy, hurting households and firms. Fighting inflation is a task for policymakers, in particular central banks. However, the different trade-offs that central banks face make the fight against inflation complex. Expectations of success in the short run should not be too high. Moreover, the lack of coordination between monetary and fiscal policies is an extra challenge. Individual households and firms can do little to nothing against inflation. However, the can and should act to reduce the effect of extremely high energy prices on their standards of living. The recipe is simple: reduce energy demand by becoming more sustainable and increase the supply of alternative sustainable energy sources. Governments can and should support this behavioral change.

Citizens can do more for a better climate than they think, according to Professor Patrick Huntjens

While the energy crisis forces us more than ever to look critically at the climate in our buildings, it is important not to lose sight of the well-being of the users.

UM researcher Simone Schleper is trying to tackle sustainability related problems at its root in history.

New publication in Dutch about the effects of the energy transition and climate policy on labour market frictions

The jury of the Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award has made its selection from no fewer than 28 entries, an all-time record. The six nominees who will soon present their pitches to be one of the three finalists. On September 21, they’ll be competing at Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus for a spot as one of the three finalists, and ultimately, the winner of the award.

 In his farewell lecture on 8 September, Professor Ruud G.A. Vergoossen, Professor of International Financial Accounting, will indicate what opportunities and threats he sees with regard to sustainability reporting. He will also discuss the role of the accountant. 

Everyone notices it: prices are rising. Inflation has not been this high in years.

Investors are increasingly engaging with companies about their impact on the environment and society. This seems to be bearing fruit, as shown by a study conducted by Maastricht University.

A pair of pants that tear after a year, a laptop that only lasts three years. We keep buying and throwing away and buying. We know it's destroying our planet, but we let it happen. Professor of sustainable business Nancy Bocken investigates how we can break that pattern.

This academic year, Maastricht University launched the bachelor’s in Circular Engineering. New programme director Gavin Phillips and first-year students Maria el Kadi and Lea Dratwa discuss the how and why of this degree, which will help students to address existing as well as future sustainability challenges.

At the Annual General Meeting (ALV) on June 21, 2022, Prof. Yvonne van der Meer was appointed President of the Royal Dutch Chemical Society.

Sustainable UM 2030 has awarded three projects with a sustainability grant for education to further integrate sustainability into the course curricula. 

Are we really making progress towards the sustainable transition? One thing is clear: if we’re not, it’s not the fault of sustainability science.

With today's energy prices, you almost don't dare turn on your heating. Yet for many, solar panels and a heat pump still sound like an expensive joke.

With gas prices skyrocketing due to the problems in Russia and Ukraine, we are suddenly forced to face the facts: we need to be more frugal with energy!

If we were to replace plastic with paper or glass, would the environment benefit? Surprisingly, no, says professor of Circular Plastics Kim Ragaert. She is calling for an alternative approach aimed at increasing awareness of and knowledge about recycling.

Scientists from Maastricht University will lead a major research program into the health effects of climate adaptation in rural areas. In this programme, MANTRA, researchers from Maastricht University, Radboud University, Wageningen University & Research, Leiden University of Applied Sciences, RIVM, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and Naturalis are joining forces.

Maastricht University is the healthiest university in Europe!

Een huisdier is niet alleen goed voor het hart, maar maakt ook gelukkiger.

The new international research and demonstration project SYSCHEMIQ is receiving a €9.6 million financial boost from the European Union’s Horizon Green Deal program. The program is intended to facilitate the systemic transition to a circular economy in the region.

How can business respond faster, better, effective, and efficient to the challenges of our times? The winners of the future experiment with new organisational concepts

Laura von Allwörden went to Glasgow to watch the over-caffeinated delegates of the COP26 try to clean the Augean stables that is global multilateral decision-making in order to save the world.

Professor Yvonne van der Meer is investigating how companies can improve the sustainability of their products. She analyses every material, exposing the lifecycle in its entirety.

Two large consortia of Dutch companies and knowledge institutes in the mobility and transport sector will receive 47 million euros in government funding to realize breakthroughs in electrification and hydrogen applications in automotive, maritime and air transport.

MBA programma’s besteden doorgaans veel aandacht aan de P van Profit. Het MaastrichtMBA programma gaat een stap verder, en heeft naast de P van Profit de focus op de P’s van Planet en People op een gelijkwaardige manier geïntegreerd in het curriculum.

Dutch listed companies must take responsibility for the negative effects that their business activities and supply chain have on people and the planet by aligning their business strategy much more than is currently the case with planetary boundaries. This not only concerns slowing down climate change, but also, for example, combating the loss of biodiversity and the need to think and act in a circular manner.

Between climate change, inequality of opportunity, and a global pandemic, our world is facing major challenges. A sustainable and stable economy is desperately needed, argues Mark Sanders, Professor of International Economics at Maastricht University.

Fietsbank Maastricht collects redundant bikes and repairs them for people with a small budget.

How to make the most sustainable product choice

AMIBM part of 'Rethinking Plastic House' to raise awareness for sustainable plastics.

In the new bachelor’s program, Circular Engineering, students learn how to design production processes in different industries as circularly as possible.

Participants in Pensioenfonds Detailhandel want sustainable investments, even if this yields less investment return. This is evident from research by Maastricht University in 2018, and was confirmed during a second study in 2020.  

How do we involve citizens in the sustainability transition? When do they start participating? What solutions could reliably count on wide public support and how do we find these? What implications could such an approach have for governmental practices? What barriers do sustainable solutions encounter at the institutional level and how could these be overcome?

By synthesizing the results of twelve different research projects, Joop de Kraker and René Kemp (Maastricht Sustainability Institute) try to provide answers to questions like these.

In a letter to pension fund ABP (which manages the pensions of UM employees) Maastricht University is asking for a planned approach that will allow the fund to cut ties with sectors with a commitment to fossil fuels as soon as possible. "The climate crisis is one of the greatest threats to our global society," writes the Executive Board.

Researchers from Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics (SBE) are involved in eight proposals for the European Commission’s Green Deal call, which was launched last year.

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) at Maastricht University (UM) will begin offering a new bachelor's programme in ‘Circular Engineering’ in September 2021. This course will provide in a new kind of engineer, trained not just in one field, but in a wide variety of disciplines.

To tackle urgent planetary challenges such as resource depletion and climate change, we need to fundamentally rethink the way we do business. As part of her research, Professor Nancy Bocken explores how companies might experiment with new sustainable business models, contributing to a more sustainable world.

UM students Vincent and Laura Nieboer, inspired by their father, came up with an accessible concept to help farmers worldwide stop the depletion of agricultural land. They recently pitched their idea at the ‘Little big talks’ on the occasion of the celebration of 80 years of materials science and innovation at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen.

From 15 January, the sustainable search engine Ecosia will be set as the default on 800 Student Desktops (SDT) in both library locations and the Randwyck Computer Facilities. It is also available for installation on every other UM work station. Ecosia generates income through their search ads, which they use to plant trees.

UMIO’s MaastrichtMBA programme moves up the grade on sustainable development as it impressively managed to rank 16th globally in the newly published 2020 Better World MBA Ranking organised by Corporate Knights.

Through his research, Kwaku Oduro-Appiah, PhD candidate at Maastricht University, has succeeded in making a spectacular contribution to solving the problems of waste collection and processing in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Maastricht University has achieved the highest attainable sustainability qualification with its renovation of the former Tapijn barracks. The building will receive a "BREEAM-NL Excellent" quality mark for this.

Setting up a new value chain from agro to chemistry is a challenge Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen and Brightlands Greenport Campus in Venlo are currently working on together.

The entanglement between science and the oil industry is also of the pillars of Mody’s research on how to deal with sustainability in times of scarcity, for which he recently received a Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

When it comes to teaching about sustainability, you need an interdisciplinary team of teachers on board. Sustainable UM2030 organised a meeting in which teachers from various faculties presented their ideas for sustainability courses to students.

Last week it was the Dutch National Week Without Meat. Alligned with that Green Office organised events during their Sustainability & Food week.

UM gains insight into what employees and students think is most important when it comes to sustainability and we collect many good ideas that can be implemented.

Last year, the Maastricht Sustainability Institute joined forces with the public health service (GGD) of Zuid Limburg to investigate the influence of 'green in the neighborhood' on the health of residents in Maastricht.

In 2018, UM student Liza Diane Gordin and some fellow students received a grant from the University Fund Limburg/SWOL to set up the first student food cooperative of the Benelux. 

What is the meaning of academia in times of environmental crisis? This question brought us together during a debate initiated and organized by Students for Climate Maastricht, and supported by Sustainable UM2030 and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

To accelerate the switch to renewable energy and to reduce CO2 emissions, Maastricht University and Bodemzorg Limburg will make the former Belvedere landfill suitable for installing solar panels.

The students of Precious Plastic Maastricht have big plans for the future, with the ultimate goal of building four recycling machines for plastic waste. “What’s in Maastricht stays in Maastricht – that should become the new norm when it comes to plastic.”

Are you someone who is committed in an extraordinary way or who wants to make UM and its surroundings or society more sustainable? Or do you know someone or a team who has made a special contribution to the sustainability of UM and its surroundings in an administrative, scientific or service related way? Then don't hesitate and compete for the UM Sustainability Award 2019!

As of October we have a brand new Green Office and they would like to introduce themselves! The Green Office’s aim is to represent the student voice when it comes to sustainability at UM.

UM organises a symposium to co-create a strategy on sustainability research and sustainable research. Highlights will include the results of a survey on existing research and a discussion to determine our vision on a Sustainable UM in 2030. 

Everyone has heard of the "plastic soup" in the oceans, where plastic waste breaks down into small particles that end up in our food chain because plankton and marine animals consume micro plastics. 

The design for the renovation of the former Tapijn barracks has been awarded the BREEAM-NL New Construction and Renovation certificate. The certificate has been achieved with a score of no less than 80.14 and is therefore entitled "excellent".

Global climate change is an issue that Arthur Bribosia (UCM) and Marion Meyers (DKE) feel very strongly about. Strong enough to take action. Last May, they got 3000 people out on the street to join the first climate march in Maastricht. For the next march, scheduled for 20 September, they’re hoping for 5000 participants.

The new academic year has started, so it’s time to get to know UM’s resolutions regarding sustainability for the coming year!

Between April and July 2019, a survey took place investigating whether bachelor students were interested in having a UM-wide Minor on Sustainable Development. The results of the survey were quite positive towards having such a minor. The taskforce Sustainable UM2030 (met link) has presented a project plan as to make such a minor possible as of the academic year 2020-2021.

Students of the Biobased Materials master’s programme took third prize in the Biobased Innovation Student Challenge Europe with their idea to convert waste cooking oil into vinyl ester resins.

Starting in 2012, the SustainaBul (which is a pun, as a ‘bul’ is the degree you receive when graduating from university) has ranked the sustainability of the Dutch higher education institutions. The ranking is organised every year by Studenten voor Morgen, a Dutch student initiative. Participating institutions have to fill out a questionnaire to assess the sustainability level of their research, education, business management and integral approach. This month the results from the ranking of 2019 were presented.

Students marching against climate change? Not really news, is it now? That’s the sort of thing students do anyways. Aware of the stereotype, Students for Climate chose to prick the student bubble for their latest march.

Precious Plastic Maastricht is currently setting up a local recycling workspace that turns plastic waste into entirely new goods, such as bins, beams, 3D printer filaments, and much more.

The finishing line of Green Impact, UM’s sustainability competition, is fast approaching. The Faculty of Science and Engineering’s team is doing very well - even if their numbers-based approach at times fretted against the general focus on awareness over solutions…

February 15th was the National Warm Sweater Day. All over The Netherlands more than 200.000 people participated by turning down the heat by 1 degree.

At Maastricht University a majority of its buildings participated during the whole week. We want to thank all of you for bearing with us! We got lots of reactions spanning from “Please do this during the whole year” to “I had to wear my coat to work”. Sometimes the working conditions were really unbearable.

Aim in their study was to develop biobased compostable socks from Polylactic acid (PLA), acknowledged as sustainable and eco-friendly is a biodegradable and compostable polymer obtained from annually renewable resources.

After having participated in the national Warm-Sweater-Day for several years, Maastricht University has decided to organise a Warm-Sweater-Week this year, from 11 to 15 February.

UM’s commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and its aim to be a sustainable university by 2030 is taking shape. Green shoots are visible everywhere - metaphorically that is; winter continues as scheduled…

At the place where not so long ago young theatre makers presented their work to the public, fifteen students and ‘differently abled’ people (called the Masters) are now living together.

As part of our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, UM wants to have a zero carbon footprint by 2030. Even an occasional hand in the cookie jar of veganism goes a long way towards that.

The introduction week of Maastricht University, INKOM, was this year’s most sustainable Dutch introduction week.

Maastricht University is proudly announcing an opening for a delegate position for an inspiring young Maastricht University leader for this year’s One Young World Summit (The Hague, 17-20 October 2018)

UM students Elisa Etrari, Anna Reyneri and Becca Bowers are running Library of Things. It’s exactly what you think it is: you sign up, choose something from their online catalogue or just browse – then you borrow whatever you need and bring it back once you are done using it.

Under project name: 'Urban greenspace as a motor for moving, meeting and relaxing', ICIS will collaborate with the GGD and use a spatial computer model to assess benefits of greenspace for health in Maastricht.

On 3 September 2018, UM celebrated the opening of the academic year 2018/19. This was dedicated entirely to  sustainable development. In the recently adopted vision document ‘SUSTAINABLE UM 2030’, UM describes its ambition to be a sustainable university by 2030, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN as the guiding framework.

The number of buildings with a sustainability certificate has grown considerably in major cities, according to the annual U.S. Green Building Adoption Index, published by CBRE and Maastricht University.

The UM administration building will soon be fitted with sound-proofing panels made from recycled textile waste by people with a labour market disability.

Sustainability has become firmly ensconced in the world of economists. These days, no calculation is made without accounting for environmental effects, corporate responsibility and the long term.