Leiden University and Municipality of The Hague to collaborate on sustainability

Published on 06 November 2023

Leiden University and the Municipality of The Hague signed a collaboration agreement on sustainability on 1 November. Their main goals are to build a network, share knowledge and explore the possibilities of a Climate Centre for the people of The Hague.

The agreement marks the start of multi-year sustainability collaboration between the Municipality of The Hague and Leiden University. Within the university, this was at the initiative of Campus The Hague and the Liveable Planet − Sustainable Futures interdisciplinary research programme. The aim is to share sustainability knowledge and networks and to make the connection between global challenges and local issues in The Hague. The agreement follows long-standing broader, intensive cooperation with the Municipality of The Hague aimed at developing The Hague as a knowledge city.

During the meeting, students Eva Suzanne Visser, Elise Chalcraft and Sam Hundersmarck (pictured) talked about their involvement in the project.

‘Creating change together’

‘Leiden University and the Municipality of The Hague are already working together on sustainability’, said Alderman Arjen Kapteijns. ‘This agreement creates a good foundation and ensures that we can work to achieve the Municipality’s specific goals on this topic. Leiden University has the knowledge needed to solve complex problems. By working together and sharing knowledge, we can learn from each other and bring about change.’

Real-world impact

During the meeting, Jan Willem Erisman, Professor of Environmental Sustainability from the Institute of Environmental Sciences and the Liveable Planet programme, spoke about climate change challenges and the importance of collaboration between Leiden University and the Municipality of The Hague. He stressed the importance of sharing knowledge and ensuring that research has a real-world impact. 

Augment sustainability research

‘As the second home city of Leiden University, The Hague is an important partner for Campus The Hague’, said Erwin Muller, Director of Campus The Hague. ‘We see this collaboration as a great opportunity to further increase the university’s impact on the city and also augment the university’s sustainability research with local knowledge and experiences.’

The collaboration will focus on the following goals:

• Exchanging and developing knowledge and networks in both directions;
• Holding lectures or meetings for students, civil servants and residents of The Hague;
• Involving students in questions arising from the city, the debate in society and current events, and using civil servants to supervise (in an ad hoc way and at a level of involvement to be determined);
• Using municipal knowledge (related to sustainability and the aforementioned themes) for research;
• Exploring the options for a Climate Centre for the residents of The Hague. Depending on the options, steps will be taken to achieve this.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact [e-mail]   

Photos: Fleur Beemster

• interdisciplinary research
• liveable planet
• sustainability
• the hague