Green Impact themes
Read about what we will work on during Green Impact 2020
- International business travel
- Goal: Create an awareness campaign & give input to UM-wide avation policy
- Context of the Sustainability Problem:
Maastricht University is currently developing a new mobility plan, which includes addressing the sustainability issues that surround commuting. One of the most prevalent issues being that of business travel, and more specifically aviation.
Universities are hubs for information and at Maastricht University we serve as a home to many experts who share their research with the world. And whilst UM holds the privilege to provide this service through meetings, conferences and projects situated all around the world – this is at the cost of air miles. Which translates into a negative impact on the Co2 footprint of UM.
- Nature inclusive Campus
- Goal: Gather, develop and assess ideas for creating a nature inclusive campus
- Context of the Sustainability Problem:
The UM maintains a large portfolio of buildings and surrounding areas. It provides ample opportunities for nature inclusive development with benefits for well-being and climate resilience. Examples are improving access and use of green areas, planting trees for shadow, use of endemic plant species, more green roofs, vertical walls and smart use of rainwater. The current maintenance strategy of buildings and the terrains is focused on conservation. The ambitions for a sustainable UM in 2030 ask for a new vision on a nature inclusive campus. Therefore, this theme is focused on gathering, developing and assessing ideas for creating a nature inclusive campus. The result is a project proposal towards a nature inclusive campus.
Having a university that is situated within a city means there are plenty of opportunities for us to contribute to the sustainability situation of Maastricht, and luckily we have many experts within our institution to help facilitate this process.
- Sustainable events & meetings
- Goal: Create guidelines for INKOM and faculty introduction days to make them more sustainable
- Context of the Sustainability Problem:
Every year Maastricht University hosts several introduction days and events to welcome new studies to the university. As these events are often the first contact between the UM and new students we want them to be as sustainable as possible to ensure that sustainability is part of every student’s life from the first day onwards. The issue of creating meetings and events more sustainably covers a wide field of topics: catering, promotional materials, single use plastic, give aways and presents, general waste and much more. Organizing events often means collaborating with a range of diverse stakeholders and operating with tight budgets. These are often additional hurdles to making events sustainable. A lot has been improved over the years but we would like to go a step further to ensure that ultimately every event held at UM uphold certain standards and is carried out in the most sustainable manner.
- Health & wellbeing in buildings on campus
- Goal: Assess whether the UM buildings are optimised for wellbeing
- Context of the Sustainability Problem:
People in developed countries spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. So in a sense, the built environment has become the new natural habitat for mankind. The indoor environment of most buildings has become extremely detached from natural rhythms, e.g.: artificial lighting illuminates the indoor environment at constant intensity levels without considering the daily rhythm, or the current practice of maintaining a very constant indoor temperature.
In this theme, the WELL Building Standard is used as a guiding framework to investigate opportunities for improving well-being in UM’s buildings. The renovated Tapijn Kazerne is the world’s first educational building that is WELL certified, and hence, it is not only sustainable regarding the environment, but also regarding the well-being and health of its users. UM has many more buildings that could benefit from this integral approach of sustainability.
- Competencies for UM staff members on sustainability
- Goal: Identify sustainability skills and competencies for UM staff
- Context of the Sustainability Problem:
Sustainability does not only mean bringing awareness to the different environmental, social, and economic issues – but is also about developing practical actions that can help transition to a more sustainable future. At UM there are various ways where key competencies related to sustainability are available for students. At the same time, demand has been shown from UM staff to acquire the necessary sustainability skills and competencies. Can Green Impact 2020 help us identify those sustainability skills and competencies – which would for instance be trained in workshops or other educational programmes - which would respond to the needs of staff?
