Utrecht University is represented by the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development which is a leading environmental-science and sustainability research center in the Netherlands and internationally. Its mission is to have an positive impact on the transition to a sustainable society through the development of excellent and relevant knowledge, to influence political and private decisions by communicating this knowledge and by educating the change agents of the future. Given the integrated nature of sustainable development issues, knowledge development often benefits from a multidisciplinary focus. Modelling has developed as a research dimension on its own to investigate questions where experiments are impossible. Copernicus Institute uses and developd integrated assessment models where human society is modelled alongside the physics of the earth system, and use modeling to identify optimal innovation and governance policies for transition. Accordingly, modelling allows to look into the co-development of human and natural systems and to connect the challenges related to energy, water, food, biodiversity and climate change. In their study of a transition towards a circular economy, Copernicus researchers investigate sustainable consumption, technological innovations and new organizational arrangements. They also advise business leaders and policy makers at national and international levels on deep decarbonization, tax and regulation, and the implementation of sustainable business models.
https://www.uu.nl/en/research/copernicus-institute-of-sustainable-development
NTNU is the largest university in Norway and it has a main profile in science and technology, a variety of programmes of professional study, and great academic breadth. It’s motto, Knowledge for a Better World, reflects the long-term dedication to sustainability research. The Industrial Ecology Programme was initiated in 1994, today hosts 70 researchers, and provides MSc and PhD education. Research highlights relate to sustainable material flows, life-cycle impact assessment of biodiversity loss, life cycle assessment of energy and transport technologies, land use, lifestyles, and settlements. “
E3M is a knowledge-intensive company that provides consulting services based on large-scale empirical modelling of the economy-energy-environment nexus. The company owns and operates PRIMES and GEM-E3, two renowned modelling tools used extensively in the preparation of major impact assessment studies and scenario building of the European Commission. For the past 30 years, E3M has been delivering cutting-edge research and hands-on consulting services to governments, the private sector and international organisations on the design and impact analysis of transition pathways towards low- and net-zero emissions in the fields of energy, climate, and transport. Furthermore, the company is at the forefront of macro-economic research, modelling economic growth, sectorial growth, and employment at European and global levels.
CMCC – Euro Mediterranean Center on Climate Change is part of the European Institute on Economics and the Environment. CMCCs mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. The Institute is committed to being a central focal point for research insights and policy solutions within Europe, and connecting that work internationally.
Leiden University is consistently ranked in the Top 100 according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) as well as the World University Ranking. The Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) is an institute of The Faculty of Science of Leiden University. It currently has over 180 researchers and provides two masters programs (Industrial Ecology and Governance of Sustainability). The Industrial Ecology department of CML is one of the global founding hubs of the field of Industrial Ecology, with a 40-year history of leadership and innovation in quantitative environmental and sustainability assessment including material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, circular economy, and environmentally extended input-output analysis.
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/science/environmental-sciences
The University of Freiburg, founded 1457, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. The Uni has a long tradition of teaching and research in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. It has a strong focus on research on sustainable development from a large array of scientific disciplines.
Industrial Ecology Freiburg is a research group at the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources. Researchers of the group study the global and future consequences of sustainable development strategies, including lifestyle changes, material efficiency, renewable energy, and biomass use. The focus lies on modelling future service demand and its relation to material flows and the circular economy. ”
Tilburg University is represented by the Tilburg Sustainability Center (TSC). It hosts researchers from the Schools of Economics and Management, Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences, TiasNimbas Business School and the regional sustainable development institute Telos. The TSC main research areas are: Climate Action, Energy Transition, Resource Efficiency, Corporate Social Responsibility, the Economics of Biodiversity, Social Innovation and Sustainability & Governance. Collaborative research between economists, law scientists, sociologists and related disciplines on fundamental and applied research, makes TSC excellently placed to study today’s societal sustainability challenges. TSC aims to contribute to the national and international debate about sustainability and sustainable growth among researchers, executives, politicians, students and civil society. To gain insights, TSC can build on the excellent disciplinary expertise of our own researchers, pushes out the frontiers of multidisciplinary research and maintains partnerships with other (inter)national institutions, the business community and (various layers of) governments. In sharing our research outcomes and solutions, TSC hopes to provide a benefit to society.
https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/research/institutes-and-research-groups/tsc
Systemiq, the system change company, seeks to bring speed and scale to transforming five systems that shape how we live: energy, nature and food, materials, urban areas, and finance.
Systemiq is a collaborative system designer and disruptor. Our unique combination of coalition building, specialist advisory services, leadership transformation, policy development, redesign of markets and value chains, capital mobilisation, on-the-ground action, as well as incubation of and investment in start-ups allows us to pioneer and implement creative solutions that respond to the enormous challenges the world faces. We unlock system through partnerships with leaders in civil society, government, business, and finance.
The Institute for Industrial Ecology (INEC) is a research institute at Pforzheim University and was founded in 2010. The INEC analyzes energy and material flows at the interface of technosphere and ecosphere. INEC’s research, contributes to the ecological and economical optimization of product life cycles and operational production processes. The INEC projects, funded by government agencies as well as by the industry, also address many other aspects of industrial ecology and quantitative sustainability assessment.
https://www.hs-pforzheim.de/en/research/research_institutes/inec
NOVA University of Lisbon through the School of Science and Technology is one of the most prestigious Portuguese and European engineering and science public schools. It is engaged in extensive research activity developed in 16 research centres. NOVA has a broad expertise in cutting-edge R&D&I. Its research unit CENSE (Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research), is devoted to interdisciplinary research in environmental sciences and engineering and focusing on the interaction between human and ecological systems, to promote sustainable development. Researchers work to innovate towards ‘prosperity with minimal resources and no emissions’, and contribute to advancing energy-climate mitigation modelling, circular economy and eco-innovation topics.
POWER ALGAE is a vertically integrated biotechnology company developing technologies for microalgae valorization. Based in Tartu, Estonia, one of our foci is adaption of existing technologies to fit the Nordic climatic conditions. The integrated processes include utilizing industrial carbon dioxide and excess heat. We are working with various species and across variety of applications.
PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency is the national institute for strategic policy analysis in the fields of the environment, nature and spatial planning. PBL contributes to improving the quality of political and administrative decision-making by conducting outlook studies, analyses and evaluations in which an integrated approach is considered paramount. Policy relevance is the prime concern in all of the studies. PBL conducts solicited and unsolicited research that is independent and scientifically sound.