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Circular, nature-inclusive and climate-proof campuses

A large portion of our CO2 emissions are connected to the construction and maintenance of our real estate. That is why we have set ourselves the goal of making our real estate fully circular (resource-neutral) by 2050, building using only reused, recycled or renewable primary raw materials. These objectives have been anchored in the Accommodations Plan requirements and in the Sustainability Action Plans for Facility Services and Real Estate Development to ensure that we achieve that goal.

Objectives

The UvA’s real estate will be circular, i.e. without any net input of raw materials, by 2050.

By 2026, a path accompanied by clear interim objectives in respect of, for example, the use of primary raw materials, the environmental performance of buildings, nature-inclusive measures and climate adaptation will have been mapped out to enable this goal to be achieved.

We are exploring whether it will be possible to reduce the environmental footprint of our buildings by 25% compared with 2020 by 2026.

Current situation

Sizeable steps have been taken and lessons learned from, among other projects, the construction of the Lab42 building and the renovation of the REC P building. The experience gained has been and will be incorporated into our control documents such as the Schedules of Requirements. In addition, circularity is being monitored by the Sustainable Campus Transition Council. All this has resulted in a forward-looking environmental footprint objective for the new Lab Q building: Environmental performance of buildings (MPG) 0.6.

Status of envisaged measures

Read more about the measures in the White Paper on Sustainability (PDF, 19 pages).

The above objectives are anchored in documents including schedules of requirements, the Accommodations Plan and the Sustainability Action Plans for FS and Real Estate Development. This process is ongoing.

Examples of measures taken

The technical ambition for the LabQ building due to be built at the Amsterdam Science Park was tightened in 2022 to an MPG of <0.6. This means that the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of materials will very much be taken into account when they are selected. We are looking for ways of using furniture for longer than the hitherto customary 10 years.

In 2021, during construction of the new LAB 42 building, the renovation of REC P and the sustainability refit of REC JK, determined efforts were made to incorporate circularity. In the REC P building, the majority of the furnishings and fittings, including the bathroom facilities, are being re-used, and the sustainability refit of REC JK will re-use a large quantity of surplus system components (worth around €90,000).

The focus was on the option of dismantling during construction of the new LAB 42 building. This provides an excellent starting-point for re-use of processed materials in the future, but does not minimise the environmental impact during the construction phase. The project was thoroughly evaluated by external analysts, who identified points for improvement in the process and in reducing the environmental impact of materials use.

In 2020 and 2021, the climate resilience of all campuses was investigated. These reports contain important input data for the measures we can take to make campuses greener so that there is scope for strong biodiversity and fewer problems caused by heat, drought or heavy rainfall. At the Amsterdam Science Park, for instance, the input from the reports has been incorporated into the Building Blocks Book, the handbook used in the design of public spaces.