Herwig Leirs
Connection to the future
Effective organisation
Sustainability should be an obvious consideration in our research, teaching, service and valorisation but also in our operations. Transport and energy consumption are the primary focal points here. For our buildings and energy consumption, we must continue to live up to our already declared ambitions (climate neutral by 2030; phasing out fossil fuels). During the last few years, several initiatives have been taken in which the University of Antwerp wants to play an exemplary role towards a carbon-free economy and society. We want to put and keep these bottom-up initiatives of the climate team at the top of the policy agenda and communicate and report on them transparently. A supported sustainability plan with a view to 2040 must be drawn up, sustainability actions must be organised transversally, across existing departments and faculties. To finance sustainability investments, we need to look for creative possibilities, also through external collaborations. Towards staff and students, we avoid introducing counterproductive rules but focus on nudging, especially with regard to transport and energy.
Home-work trips (staff, students) are already largely done by public transport, on foot or by bike, but initiatives can still be taken to improve connectivity and to realise more sustainable transport movements. The Drie Eiken Campus in particular deserves additional attention in that regard, especially now that a new student home and a sports hall are being built and there are also new developments in the vicinity of UZA.