The new CML minor Sustainable Development started on Monday 7 September 2009 with an official opening by the Vice-Rector Prof. Rietje van Dam.

To explore the potential of marine microorganisms as producers of novel antimicrobial agents and as bioprotectants in aqua- and agriculture, using an integrative, ecology-based strategy for bioprospecting.

Dr. Gruni published an article on the impact on sustainable development in the EU Common Commercial Policy of recent Opinion 2/15 CJEU on the Global Trade and Customs Journal.

This study attempts to understand how indigenous community institutions pose an important role in sustainable community-based development, including the integration between local culture and development.

The global agri-food system plays a critical role in food security and environmental issues.

Is Europe skilling for sustainable food?

Are you writing your thesis this semester? Choose a sustainable topic! To help you get started, Leiden University Green Office has made a guideline to write your thesis about a sustainable topic. Find examples, a step-by-step plan to follow and our reasoning behind this project! Or, did you recently…

Monday 5 September the eighth edition of the interdisciplinary Minor Sustainable Development started. With 65 students coming from more than 20 different disciplines we've a record number of students and backgrounds.

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

Make a difference! Join the interdisciplinary Minor Sustainable Development and learn everything about the challenges we are facing and how to find solutions. Discover your sustainable future!

Have you ever wondered how you can have a career in sustainability as a student of Humanities or Social Sciences? Well, look no further!

After the successful event about climate change in general last month, we continue with a new online event. We are excited to announce that the subject will be: Sustainable Travel! ⛵️⠀

The production of sustainable energy can take up to 1000 times more space than fossil fuels, environmental researcher Paul Behrens concludes in a publication in Energy Policy. Various media reported on this remarkable outcome.

Gold Matters: Sustainability Transformations in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining: A Multi-Actor and Trans-Regional Perspective.This project explores whether a transformative approach towards sustainability can arise in Artisanal and Smallscale Gold Mining (ASGM).

Why does it turn out to be so complicated to solve sustainability issues if everyone ‘knows’ about these problems? This was the central question in a masterclass on Sustainability for alumni provided by Leiden scientists active in public administration and environmental sciences.

Do you want to show that sustainability and business can work well together? And are you ready for a challenge? If so, you can sign up for the Sustainable Business Battle, a six-week business case challenge in which teams of students help companies find innovative and sustainable solutions.

How does Leiden University save energy? Could we organise our recycling better? Do our study programmes devote sufficient attention to the importance of sustainability? And how do we address this theme in our research? These and other questions are answered in Leiden University’s Sustainability Report…

Are you passionate about sustainability? Do you see opportunities to make Leiden University more sustainable? Are you able to inspire, engage and empower both students and staff? This is your chance to contribute!

The Sustainability Prize of the Leiden University Green Office and the Local Chamber of Associations has been won this year by student association Catena. In the shadow of the corona pandemic, Catena worked exceptionally hard to improve sustainability.

The Sustainable Development minor now has its own Facebook page. Do you want to stay up to date on all activities pertaining to the minor? If so, sign up as a fan by clicking the

A public symposium was held at Leiden University on 20 February on a hot topic: renewable energy. This is the second time in a year that the University has organised such a symposium. The previous one, about Artificial Intelligence, was a big success.

What are the implications for life on Earth of the declining numbers of insects? How does the ever increasing stream of of energy and material flowing through our cities impact the global environmental ? Find out the answers to these and more questions on sustainability in the new monthly lecture series…

Leiden students working to solve a sustainability problem at the request of an external party: that is the Sustainability Challenge. During a recent symposium, 28 groups of four to five students unveiled their solutions. The commisioners expressed great enthusiasm.

Master’s students in Industrial Ecology and Governance of Sustainability have helped answer organisations’ questions about sustainability

Dutch greenhouse horticulture is a world leader when it comes to innovative capacity and sustainability, but ‘the challenges are great in terms of energy, water, environment and biodiversity,’ says Peter van Bodegom, coordinator of AgriFood at the Centre for Sustainability of the Leiden, Delft, Erasmus…

Conducting research for the municipality: this is a deliberate choice for the master’s students who are taking part in the Resilient Cities Hub, part of Learning with the City. Nina Ruig and Marron Loods are two such students. They are researching sustainability issues for the Municipality of Leiden…

We examine how soil inoculation influences aboveground organisms (i) directly, and indirectly via (ii) its effects on plant chemistry or volatile emission, or via (iii) mediating the effects of belowground pathogens on aboveground organisms via the shared plant.

Join the LUGO Student Sustainability Network! The SSN is a platform made to encourage all Leiden University students to come together to share sustainability-related tips, ideas, research or interesting events. We're here to support each other's sustainability journey and we hope to build a #community…

Leiden University is working on sustainability and should give its efforts more publicity. This is the conclusion of Industrial Ecology master’s students who investigated the extent to which Leiden University is green and sustainable.

Digitalisation can make a huge contribution to a greener future, but it must also be as sustainable as possible. To make significant progress, more collaboration and national leadership will be needed. Leiden University has therefore signed the Digital Sustainability Manifesto, which was presented on…

Leiden University has taken 14th place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities.

Prof. Arnold Tukker, Scientific Director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences Leiden (CML), visited the Center for Sustainable Development Goal Studies (SDGs Center) as part of a trip to Asia. The SDGs Center is a Center of Excellence at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia, with which…

Leiden University has taken seventh place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Almost 1,000 universities from all over the world participate in the ranking.

Tell the truth about sustainability, become climate neutral by 2025 and safeguard democracy within the University. These are, in short, the demands of a petition by University Rebellion, a subgroup of the Extinction Rebellion movement. On 19 November they visited all Dutch universities, including Le…

In the renovation of the P.J. Veth Building, much attention has been devoted to the environment and the sustainable (re)use of materials. You can now separate waste easier, fill your own water bottle at the Join the Pipe tap point and pick up a free book at the giveaway library. All this is possible…

Always wanted to give your input on sustainability for the university's new Strategic Plan? Join LUGO's discussion session!

Leiden University has climbed to 24th place in the UI Green Metric, an international sustainability ranking for universities. This puts Leiden University among the top 6% of high-scoring universities worldwide. 719 universities from 81 countries took place in the ranking.

Biodiversity in the Netherlands is having a tough time. Professor of Natural Capital Koos Biesmeijer combines research with practical advice: from the greening of industrial parks to solutions inspired by hi-tech nature. Inaugural lecture 9 March.

Port City Futures is an initiative of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities collaboration. The program investigates the evolving socio-spatial conditions, use and design of port city regions, in particular exploring areas where port and city activities occur simultaneously and sometimes conflict.

Researching as a student how you can make your own student house free of natural gas. That is now possible because of a new collaboration between Leiden University and the municipality of Leiden and The Hague.

In the Leiden Municipality Challenge, 25 students investigated how Leiden could become more sustainable. In doing so, they enlisted the help of the city's citizens. 'When citizens themselves participate in the research process, they have a better understanding of how science works.'

Food production in the Netherlands is an economic success but has led to many environmental issues, including nitrogen pollution. Recently, the policy to allow economic growth while reducing nitrogen losses was disapproved by the highest court in the Netherlands, casting the country into a nitrogen…

10 October is the Day of Sustainability. What is the current status of sustainability at Leiden University? Things are moving ahead. Professor of Environmental Biology and Dean of the Faculty of Science, Geert de Snoo, outlines a new prospect: biodiversity.

LUGO is setting up an online network for students from Leiden University that are interested in sustainability.

Every January, students of the Minor Sustainable Development have the opportunity to put what they’ve learned over the last few months into practice in a choice of exciting and practical courses called Area Studies. This year, for the first time, there was a choice of four locations: The Netherlands,…

In some university restaurants and cafés, you can already order them and, come January, you can enjoy them everywhere: the Pure products. Sustainable, healthy and/or vegetarian. The beautiful lime green, also the colour of the plates and bowls, is the vibrant symbol of these products. And Pure is even…

A Leiden Groningen student team has reached the European finals of the BISC-E competition. In this annual competition students have to come up with a sustainable solution to a major social problem. The team invented Suckerspheres: a natural alternative to the plastic microbeads that are still widely…

Sustainable rose smell that can be produced on a large scale. Tobias Fecker made this into a possibility during his master's thesis, which was a collaboration between the IBL and the TU Delft. He wins the fourth edition of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award.