Last year, at the symposium Het Groene Brein Roots!, I met a Programme Coordinator from the teacher training course at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, RUAS. He mentioned that he was working on a project on teaching sustainability, in order … Read more
Sustainable materials need to get certified, says Daan Bruggink. The architect is convinced that project developers will switch to more sustainable materials by including them in certification. At present, energy is already drawing much attention, says Daan, and that is … Read more
Sustainable construction requires a team, says Daan Bruggink. These ‘construction teams’ (project partnering) are not a new concept, but they are still used far too little. You need each other’s knowledge. The designer is not responsible for the construction and … Read more
Daan Bruggink is one of the standard bearers of sustainable architecture in the Netherlands. If anything, he insists on building based on nature: ‘We at ORGA Architects first consider natural forms,’ he says. ‘Second, we consider natural techniques such as … Read more
At the Bio-Based Products World conference, in March in Amsterdam, two speeches struck me as particularly relevant to our times: that of Tom Domen (Ecover) and of Caroline Laurie (Kingfisher). Both companies are in the consumer market, and seem to … Read more
One of my favourite blogs, grist.org, ran an article this week on a subject so far completely unknown to me: gene drive. A subject of major importance that should be discussed by all our readers. Or would it be another … Read more
Phosphorus is an essential ingredient of life on earth. It is a component of DNA and of bones, and it fulfils a key role in energy transfer in living cells. Yet it was regarded as an evil element after its … Read more
The launch of a new macroeconomic scenario study marked the opening of the ECO-BIO conference in Rotterdam today. Biorenewables fulfil a key role in climate policy and in future economic development, says the LEI/Copernicus report, concentrating on the Netherlands. In … Read more
Roundup, scientifically called glyphosate, is the most widely used and most widely criticised weed killer. Official studies find over and again that the agent is not very toxic to humans and animals; but there is a stubborn undercurrent that links … Read more
We all know the stories about DDT, fifty years ago – but did we learn from them? Not quite, says Ton Schoot Uiterkamp, a retired – but still very active – professor in environmental sciences at Groningen University. He has … Read more
In discussions on genetic modification, the name Monsanto invariably produces much controversy. Both its critics and its proponents can be very emotional. We will argue that Monsanto has taken the wrong turn in green biotechnology. This is the second article … Read more
In preparation for Paris 2015, the new major climate summit, researchers publish many scenarios on the reduction of greenhouse gas production. Over the years, these have become more pessimistic. As the world longer postpones adequate measures, it will have to … Read more
Microplastics are a major source of water pollution. The litter found in oceans and inland waters is dominated by plastics. This litter does not only consist of large items like plastic bottles and bags, it also contains microplastics if only … Read more
Nothing is wrong with genetic modification and its application in agriculture (green biotechnology), says Rudy Rabbinge; agriculture needs innovation, and GM technology is helpful in that because it allows us to operate faster and more precisely. But the business model … Read more
The enormous utility of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and other polyolefins cannot be disputed, but their real cost is debatable. My teenage daughter makes cookies in our kitchen. The ingredients — flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc. — are always … Read more
A decade ago, in an authoritative scientific magazine, we published a prediction (1) on the synthesis of complicated molecules, primarily medicines. We foresaw the integration of chemo and bio catalysis in a reactor that would also be the catalyst. A … Read more
Sustainability, the word has been used so often that some have been looking for alternatives for quite some time. But fortunately, the sustainability perspective often still inspires people; like in education, in view of the many courses, tracks, masters and … Read more
Last year, Ecover made a courageous decision. It decided to kick out palm kernel oil (widely known for its shaky sustainability) as a feedstock for many of its detergents, and replace it by a bio-equivalent oil produced by engineered algae. … Read more
Energy efficiency is our cheapest energy source, with a very large potential. It has been so for forty years and will probably continue to be so for decades to come. And yet, 99% of energy policy and energy debate is … Read more
How will Europe, the Netherlands in particular, earn its income in twenty-five years’ time, in a sustainable way? How do we prepare for the world of 2040? By green growth, based on the development of sustainable products and services. An … Read more
Members of Parliament. Gladly we present to your commission, on your request, our book Green Growth. Gladly, because we feel that our subject concerns everybody. That subject is: ‘how is the Netherlands, how is Europe, going to earn its income … Read more
They had come to Amsterdam by the dozens, to the Wind Energy Debate, to let themselves be heard. Opponents of wind energy. Their numbers and particularly their zest testified to it that the debate on wind energy has not calmed … Read more
Food supply should have absolute priority, no less so in a biobased economy. Says Rudy Rabbinge, emeritus professor in sustainable development and food security at Wageningen UR. That is why Rabbinge opposes biofuels from agriculture, but accepts biobased high-value products … Read more
Of course, a sustainable energy supply will depend primarily on the use of sustainable energy sources. But their intermittent availability requires major changes in the electrical grid. At all levels in the grid, from the individual household to the national … Read more
At present, we incinerate used car tyres, because recycling is too difficult. A new R&D program TREC, for which Michelin has established cooperation with the biotechnological company of Protéus, will have to change that. Tyre recycling, we can do it … Read more
Some communities declare themselves ‘shale gas free’. Pure symbolism. They know very well that they do not have a say in this. Apparently, they have the (naïve) idea that such a declaration will prevent environmental problems from shale gas recovery, … Read more
Our planet’s temperature rises. There is ample proof for that. CO2 emissions are the main reason, we know that for sure as well. We cannot deny that our wealth and craving for energy have caused this. But we can hardly … Read more
Glocal is the buzzword at Ecover: a term coined from Global and Local. Glocal also is the name of a major Ecover project, together with Forum for the Future, intended to sow the seeds for local production and local circular … Read more
We are at a turning point in the energy transition, particularly as to the contribution of solar power, says Wim Sinke. So far, the instrument for opening up markets was policy, but it has now become price. Solar panels have … Read more
When I was a child we often went on a holiday to France. To get us through the long journey we’d bring along small packages of apple juice, those with three in a wrapping and with shining foil to stick … Read more
As companies strive to be more sustainable, their customers might grow more critical on their performance rather than less, asking questions that were never raised. At least, that is what Ecover experiences. These bottles being made from sugar rather than … Read more
In this series, we discussed three design rules: reduce capital costs and create jobs, be lean on materials flows, and preserve structure. Our last guideline, elegance is beautiful, sums up the former three and enlarges them. Elegance in chemistry means … Read more
A biobased industry should not copy petrochemical industry’s structure: that structure has been optimised for over a century, for this particular feedstock. In order to compete, the biobased industry should particularly be lean on materials flows: it should use all … Read more
‘Often, sustainability is not merely better, but cheaper too. Sustainable technologies lend themselves to local systems with far lesser control costs. That is the basis for a technological transition with which the earth can feed as many as ten billion … Read more
Most people, when talking about a sustainable future for Europe, think in terms of energy supply. That is one-sided. It is true: the energy conflict still deepens, as the incumbent powers start to be challenged just recently, forty years after … Read more
Why on earth do we human beings have so much difficulty changing our thoughts – and our actions? For instance, change from a fossil economy to a green economy, from an inflexible hierarchical command society to a small-scale grass roots … Read more
In fifty years’ time, technology has changed from the bogeyman to the saviour of mankind. Large-scale and energy intensive processes used to be the pinnacle of technology, producing much collateral damage that was merrily cleaned up afterwards (it was all … Read more
The Dutch agricultural sector has one major problem: an excess of manure production as a consequence of the large livestock population. Dutch livestock farming depends on major imports of soy and other crops for fodder production. ‘At the end of … Read more
Coffee-roasting house Peeze in Arnhem introduced the first fair-trade and climate-neutral coffee on the market, last month. In the production chain of this fair-trade coffee, CO2 emissions are first reduced as much as possible; the remaining emissions are compensated by … Read more
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Renewable sources cannot cover more than 30% of our energy demand within the next 25 years. A clear-cut strategy for continued deployment of fossil energy sources is unavoidable in which fruitful competition and a level playing field for all commercial … Read more
In part 1 we have shown the potential of biomass. We will now deal with sun and water as sources of renewable energy. We will give an estimate of the maximum contribution of renewables. Solar and wind energy together could … Read more
After a few decades of research and development a halfway score is meaningful and, on headlines, very well feasible. For various reasons wind and biomass are showing their limits. Solar energy still has a big upward potential. Other sustainable sources … Read more
Corporate strategies are a shaky basis for getting society on a sustainable track. They may change, if other strategies would incur more profit. The green CEO may be replaced by a more traditional one. The company may be acquired by … Read more
Phosphorus is an essential element in the formation of vegetal and animal biomass. But whereas living organisms can use oxygen and nitrogen from the air for their processes, phosphorus is only available as a mineral, in the form of phosphate. … Read more
ILUC may have been nonexistent in 2000-2010 – the surprising result of our research at Biomass Research, using statistics that were not before analysed for this goal. Yes, farmers grew much more biofuel crops. But this was more than compensated … Read more
In the past few weeks, public discussion on shale gas in the Netherlands attained a new peak. Water utilities and brewers publicly favour a moratorium in view of risks for ground water supplies, and the Union of Chemical Industries asks … Read more
Sustainability – here to stay, or the issue of the day? We think it is here to stay. All the more important to be very critical about sustainability, and the meaning attributed to it by stakeholders. Do you remember how … Read more
Plexiglas emits 2½ kilos of CO2 per kilogram of product, Geo and I find. We looked it up on the internet. Glass is much less CO2-efficient, 8.4 kilos of CO2 per kilogram of glass. Unless one uses recycled glass, then … Read more
There is a lot of emotion in the food/fuel discussion. Of course in the disguise of academic arguments, and supplied with discourses on LCA and ILUC, but nevertheless firmly rooted in the necessity of a daily bowl of rice for … Read more