In awarding the annual ‘SustainaBul’, the student organisation Morgen evaluates not only the water-saving, sustainable procurement and waste reduction of colleges and universities, but also checks whether research is done at those institutions into biodiversity, for example, and/or whether students are taught about sustainability during their education.
UT scored 27 fewer points than last year, when a twelfth place was achieved. According to Morgen chairman Mart Lubben, UT missed out on nearly all components: education, operations and total scoring. UT achieved an ‘average’ score only on research.
Difficult to prove
Marielle Winkler, the Sustainable Campus Project Manager, explains: ‘The good thing about SustainaBul is that they ask for proof... and that's also exactly why they're difficult. The theme of sustainability is completely interwoven into our education and operations. It's a actually a standard part of our work, but it's not always recorded directly into all sorts of policy papers. For that reason, it's sometimes difficult to prove with underlying documentation.’
Collaboration with students
Winkler plans to begin discussions soon with universities that scored well. She also views the UT students' playing a role in the improvement. For example, she indicated that Enschede was the only university city without a member chapter at Morgen.
