As Programme Director for Sustainability, Marije Klomp works every day with her team and other colleagues to increase the number of sustainable initiatives on campus. From research to education, and from operations to accessibility, sustainable choices are increasingly being made in all areas. Klomp: “We often get questions or requests about sustainable initiatives. Many suggestions, such as expanding vegetarian and plant-based options, are already being implemented. This made us realise that the things we are already doing are just not visible enough.”
De Refter transformed into a construction site: “We want to showcase what we are doing to promote sustainability”
Showcasing the steps taken every day to make the campus more sustainable. That is the goal of Sustainability in the Making. Marije Klomp, Programme Director for Sustainability at Radboud University: “We are kicking off in De Refter, which will be transformed into a construction site for the next six weeks.”
Construction site
And what is the best place to make this visible? “In a visible location like De Refter,” says Nick Hartendorf proudly. De Refter is Radboud University's largest restaurant and now also a ‘construction site’ of sustainability.
De Refter team leader Nick can confirm this: “We are delighted that Sustainability in the Making is being launched here. We devote a lot of attention to sustainability. Our fruit and vegetables are sourced from local farmers. 80% of our food supply is vegetarian and plant-based. Our catering is already vegetarian as a standard. And we are constantly improving the quality of our products. If you ask me, the plant-based burger is really, really good!”
Walking into De Refter anytime after today, you will stumble on what looks suspiciously like a construction site. Marije: “We chose this theme because we see sustainability as something that is constantly evolving, it is never ‘done’.”
Demarcation ribbons, pawns, and a large construction sign. Nick: “We use signs to point to the sustainable products we offer: from a vegetarian croquette to a fresh soup of the day made from leftover food scraps. These are some of the ways we encourage our guests to make sustainable choices. Mind you, we don't expect this campaign to suddenly lead to many more vegetarian croquettes being sold. We do hope that it will raise awareness, though.”
Afzetlinten, pionnen en een groot bouwbord. Nick: ‘Met bordjes geven we aan welke duurzame producten we aanbieden: van een vegetarische kroket tot een verse dagsoep gemaakt van overgebleven eetresten. Zo stimuleren we onze gasten onder andere om duurzame keuzes te maken. We verwachten overigens niet dat door deze campagne er ineens veel meer vegetarische kroketten worden verkocht. Wel hopen we dat het zorgt voor bewustwording.’
Sustainable choice
And that is also fully in line with students’ needs, as Marije explains. “Radboud University recently commissioned a Youngworks survey on the impact motivation of students. The results shows that many students already want to make sustainable choices during their studies. By weaving sustainability into all our teaching, we are already providing them with more and more of it. Through this campaign, we are showing that there are many more sustainable choices to be made at Radboud University.”
The campaign also uses recycled materials as much as possible. Marije: “For example, we used boards and pawns from our yard, giving them a second life. After six weeks, we will reuse the materials to get the same message across at another location on campus.”
Follow-up
And what location will that be? Marije laughs: “We are currently also working hard on promoting sustainability in the areas of ICT, procurement and buildings. This month, for example, we opened the RUpair shop where students can get their laptops repaired for free. We are making a selection of locations where we want to make Sustainability in the Making even more visible, but if students or staff members know of a great place, we'd love to hear about it!”
You have a part to play
Are you a student or employee, and would you like to get actively involved in sustainability on campus? Radboud Green Office is your designated partner. Would you like to know more about sustainability at Radboud University? Read more about Radboud University's sustainability goals.
Contact information
- Organizational unit
- Programme Sustainable, Food & Beverage
- Theme
- Sustainability
