PhD candidates carry out a programme of independent research and additional (limited) course work, culminating in production of a PhD thesis in typically 4 years.

How to ensure the environmental and economic benefits of circularity transition at macro-scale?

Leiden University is a integral part of the community and contributes to a sustainable society. Over the coming years our University will become even greener.

Looking for ways to travel more sustainably once you've reached your destination? Here, we offer some ideas and helpful links to guide you in becoming a more responsible tourist. Ecotourism, defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of…

The students from the Leiden University Green Office have big ambitions and have outlined their recommendations in a new Green Paper. Like being the most sustainable university in the world by 2030. Students Janey Franssen and Job Kemperman are two of the paper’s authors. How do they want to achieve…

Four students of the MSc Industrial Ecology have recently been selected to participate in the accelerator programme of the EIT Climate-KIC, which helps sustainable start-ups. The four students use coconut husks to develop sustainable boards, which can be used to make furniture.

Natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. If we want to maintain our current standard of living, we will need inventive solutions. The researchers at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) share their thoughts on how to achieve a fully circular economy in which as little use as possible…

In the absence of stringent and coordinated international action, States might seek alternatives to promote environmental protection unilaterally.

Evaluating the environmental consequences of diet changes in the European Union.

The project’s overall goal is to improve Indonesia’s environmental legal framework and its implementation by strengthening the regulatory capacity of the government, and by enhancing the capacity of CSOs and scholars to hold the government accountable for its regulatory performance.

How do you involve a local community to tackle biodiversity loss? How do you create awareness and political movement on climate change? And how do you find a balance between environmental impacts and economic needs when it comes to pollution? These are examples of core questions at the heart of a new…

The first generation of Governance of Sustainability master's students has graduated. They received their diplomas during a festive ceremony at Wijnhaven on 17 September. And they will not be the last: The master's programme is only growing in popularity. ‘We are very proud of our first graduates, especially…

Promotor: W.T. de Groot

How to bring together different footprints into an integrated family and what are the synergies? What are the roles of inventory analysis and characterization in measuring individual footprints and how these affect a footprint family? How to benchmark environmental footprints against related planetary…

The Elephant Marsh is one of the biggest wetlands in Malawi and many of the country’s inhabitants rely on it for their small-scale fishing catch. To make their small fisheries sustainable and future-proof, the government has to support the fishing community and not impose too many regulations. This…

The Leiden University Sustainability Network is the platform for Leiden University staff and students to combine their efforts and support each other in making our university more sustainable.

Promotores: Prof.dr.G.R. de Snoo and Dr. R. Heijungs

How do you involve a local community to tackle biodiversity loss? How do you create awareness and political movement on climate change? And how do you find a balance between environmental impacts and economic needs when it comes to pollution? These are examples of core questions at the heart of the…

How do you involve a local community to tackle biodiversity loss? How do you create awareness and political movement on climate change? And how do you find a balance between environmental impacts and economic needs when it comes to pollution? These are examples of core questions at the heart of the…

Giovanni Gruni, Assistant Professor European Law, will take part to the International Law Association committee on international trade law, sustainable development and the Green economy. The meeting will be held at King's College, University of Cambridge on the 11th of November.

The moment is there: LUGO can finally announce the winner of the Sustainability Award 2020!

The moment is there: LUGO can finally announce the winner of the Sustainability Award 2020!

This interdisciplinary minor addresses sustainability challenges from a systems perspective, and investigates ways to sustain society within planetary boundaries.

Twenty years from now, the world population is estimated to be around 8.7 billion people, compared to the current 7.3 billion. In combination with the improvements in living standards and the corresponding growth in consumption, this will result in an enormous increase in the demand for food, consumables,…

Leiden University is working on a green, circular campus, with a significant reduction in energy consumption by 2050 as its goal, as elaborated in the Route Map Energy Transition Buildings, published in 2022.

By placing food at the centre of investigation, this Minor explores current-day debates on political, environmental, economic and cultural change at both the local and global levels.

Do sustainability values play a role in motivating people to act for biodiversity in successful projects and in successful leadership action? And how could these values be incorporated in current economic valuation methods?

What is the best way to combine the environmental and economic data and how can we create an operational system to do so, thereby supporting the delivery of data to the Data centres on Products and Resources?

Knowing how to resolve global problems is one thing, but how do you make sure that it actually happens? That’s the real challenge, because there are powerful movements everywhere that want to reconstruct the walls of nation states. In an attempt to resolve this issue, Leiden researchers are experimenting…

Several buildings need to be demolished to make way for phase 2.

We are very excited to announce our Sustainability Series for 2023-2024. Each month an interactive workshop will be organised that discusses a specific theme of sustainability. Interested about sustainability? Do not hesitate to sign up to our events !

This project aims to explore the environmental impact of early Roman expansion (4th/3rd century BC) through a program of dating and ecological sampling of traces of field systems (centuriations).

Mission: The Environmental Biology department aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through this understanding they facilitate strategic management of natural resources by addressing urgent challenges…

At the start of the 20th century there were fewer than 2 billion people. Now at over 7 billion, Earth’s population is on target to reach 8 billion by 2027. How has this dramatic increase in human population impacted Earth’s life support systems and natural resources? How should we understand the meaning…

The state of our environment is a global concern. Despite an increasing awareness, setting internationally binding and ambitious commitments has proven to be a very difficult process. Can unilateral trade measures form an alternative and contribute to global environmental protection?

They were called 'annoying brats', the group of campaigning scientists who in 1978 founded what is now an internationally acclaimed ecological research institute. Their stories and those of the current staff of the Institute of Environmental Sciences are described in the book 'Forty years of Leiden…

The article 'Co-productive agility and four collaborative pathways to sustainability transformations' is published in Global Environmental Change and accessible via OpenAccess. Professor Anthropology of Sustainability and Livelihood Marja Spierenburg of the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development…

In line with Leiden University's sustainability vision for 2030, the Green Office is taking practical steps to structurally integrate sustainability principles within the pillars of education and research. Central to this effort is the introduction of the Sustainable Master Thesis Award, which strives…

The majority (80%) of e-waste generated globally are recycled informally in developing countries.

To limit the effects of climate change, global average temperature since pre-industrial measurements are to be kept well below 2 °C preferably even at 1.5 °C.

In our teaching, we give all our students the opportunity to learn about sustainability themes and issues, where possible ones that tie in with the content of their degree programme.

On 24 April, Feby Kartikasari defended the thesis 'Mining and environmental protection in Indonesia: regulatory pitfalls'. The doctoral research was supervised by Adriaan Bedner and Bernardo Ribeiro de Almeida.

The sustainable business law research group is dedicated to researching the complex relationship between business activities and sustainability. It strives to develop legal solutions that contribute to a more ethical, just, ecologically responsible and socially inclusive society. Our aim is to develop…

The master’s specialisation Biodiversity and Sustainability at Leiden University provides students with a much better understanding of the biological processes which are essential for creating a sustainable society.