Econometrics student and mind behind the University of Amsterdam's (UvA) CO2-neutral computer room Ewoud de Kok has been voted winner of the ‘Oikos Student Leadership Award 2010'. Coordinated by Oikos and the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN), the award is presented to the best international student sustainability initiative of the year. The award, which was presented to De Kok during the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai (China), includes a trip to the Oikos Winter School.

In 2009, the UvA was the first university in the Netherlands to open a CO2 emissions-free computer room. A combination of conservation and alternative energy generation are being used to keep this study space climate neutral. Energy consumption in the computer room - the largest at the UvA, with 250 computers - has been halved through the use of low-energy striplights and energy-saving computer settings. The remaining energy is to be provided by the wind turbines planned at Science Park Amsterdam and solar panels at Roeterseiland, thereby ultimately reducing the room's CO2 emissions to zero.

It was Ewoud de Kok, a student of Econometrics at the UvA (and winner of the Faculty of Economics and Business's 2007 competition for The best idea at the faculty), who first came up with the idea for the CO2-neutral computer room. Having successfully gained enthusiastic backing from the Executive Board, De Kok put his plan into action with help from fellow students Gijs van der Poel, Joeri Baas and Just Dengerink.

About the Student Leadership Award

The Oikos Leadership Award is an annual prize designated to students by students. Presented in recognition of student projects that make an exceptional contribution to the aims of a sustainable campus, the award is designed to foster the development of sustainable initiatives by students worldwide. Oikos is the international student organisation for sustainable economics and management.