Our ambition is to create a circular and healthy campus. This means that we think carefully about the benefits and necessity of each construction project, when we build we take great care to conserve resources and reduce environmental impact, and our buildings are flexible and future-proof. Sub-themes such as nature-inclusiveness, climate adaptation, health and inclusivity also play an important role.
What can you do?
For the campus of the future, we depend on the demand and behaviour of our users. That is why we are strongly committed to maintaining efficient occupancy rates in our offices and teaching spaces, ensuring that they are not left empty unnecessarily and that no unnecessary extensions are built. Extending the lifespan of our belongings (using them for longer and repairing them) is also an important theme. You can contribute by:
- Making optimal use of the working environment. As an employee, you are welcome in every building and can work anywhere. The working environment offers facilities for individual work and for various forms of meeting, consulting and collaborating;
- Keeping your diary up to date and reserving and cancelling meeting rooms in good time;
- Working or studying outdoors, because WiFi is available throughout the campus.
We are currently working with VIA-T on a sustainable transformation of the Linnaeus building.
As a university, we collaborate with more than fifty organisations in the Via-T knowledge and innovation centre: VIA-T is the transition accelerator for circular and biobased construction. Our goal is to make learning, working and living future-proof.
Preserving our buildings is our focus and maintenance is a priority. We also make sustainable choices in the maintenance process, for example:
- Installing sustainable carpet tiles and PVC tiles. If damaged, only one tile needs to be replaced instead of the entire floor. Moreover, these tiles are easily reusable.
- Relining sewer pipes. We do not replace them, but apply a coating to the inside.
- Reusing cylinder locks. When locks are replaced in one location, we do not throw away the cylinders, but use them in other buildings.
We are fully committed to products and materials with a low environmental impact and to using and reusing them for as long as possible. Currently, 90% of our furniture is purchased on a circular basis.
In the Radboud Sustainable Working project, we are working on a working environment that contributes to a sustainable environment, the well-being of all staff and students, and the achievement of team and organisational goals.
We are working towards a nature-inclusive and climate-adaptive campus. We are doing this through, for example:
- Our strategic asset management plan. Asset management focuses on maintaining physical assets so that they continue to function optimally. We maintain and improve the campus through regular maintenance, replacement maintenance, functional modifications, renovation and redesign. Read more about asset management
- Our campus has been smoke-free since 2020. Because there is still a lot of smoking around the campus, we have installed cigarette butt bins from Peukenzee. The collected cigarette butts are recycled and transformed into tables.
Our goals
- The campus will be fully circular by 2050, meaning minimal use of raw materials without environmental impact and high-quality reuse (closed cycles).
- We are committed to sustainable building design with smart and flexible use of space.
- Our buildings and processes have a minimal carbon footprint. By 2030, all our (construction-related) purchasing considerations will be based on circular principles.
- When making changes to the working environment, we take into account employee preferences, sustainability goals, and themes such as social safety and recognition and appreciation.
- We stand for a healthy, efficient and pleasant way of working (together) in which the working environment optimally supports our needs and primary work activities.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are seventeen goals aimed at making the world a better place by 2030. They serve as a global compass for addressing challenges such as poverty, education and the climate crisis.
Radboud University’s sustainable construction plans are in line with the following SDGs:
- 11: Sustainable cities and communities
- 12: Responsible consumption and production
- 13: Climate action
