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Supervisor : Frans van der Woerd Master : Environment and Resource Management 2013-2014 Student number: 2539485 Research Project (468017) Words counting: 13821
VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT
Study for the establishment of VU Green Office
Involvement of students in the sustainability of universities
Angela Weidner
29/06/2014
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Frans van der Woerd, for his invaluable
investment, support, and guidance throughout this research project.
Second, I would like to express my gratitude to the students of the SRVU, Tabitha Saliba and Ilyes
Machkor, who showed interest in this project and contributed by producing substantial documentation
and helping with the interview process.
In addition, I would like to give a special thank you to Felix Spira, who created the first Green
Office and now runs the social business, rootAbility. His experience at the Maastricht University Green
Office, as well as his deep knowledge about the strategic phase preceding the establishment of the unit,
were integral in developing a feasible business plan for the creation of a Green Office at the VU.
Finally, I am grateful for the help that Willem Verduyn, Jan van der Velde, and Cock van der Linden
provided throughout the research. Without their information and advice, I would not have been able to
make this thesis a precious and reliable starting point for the creation of the VU Green Office.
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SUMMARY
Sustainability became a major concern for the future of our society. While sustainable
development was embraced throughout the world by companies and NGOs, the movement in higher
education has been slower. Since the last decade however universities show a growing interest in
transitioning toward greater sustainability. This research investigates how universities act as drivers of
sustainability and the role of students in their sustainable transition. It also aims to help the VU move forward
with its sustainability efforts by presenting the best strategy for establishing VU Green Office. Through a
qualitative design – drawing on literature and documentation review as well as interviews with relevant
stakeholders at the VU – the study answers the following question: To what extent can the Green Office at
the VU contribute to foster sustainability at the university? The results underline the potential of universities
to become powerful leaders in the sustainability transition of our society through the empowerment of their
students to become practitioners and catalysts of sustainable thinking. The research focused on the Green
Office initiative, created at Maastricht University in 2010; It is a unit run by students and supported by staff to
promote sustainability at the university level. The best practices derived from the assessment of the existing
Green Offices throughout the Netherlands led to understand the functioning of this model. An examination of
the sustainability context of the VU through its ambitions and challenges to involve students in its sustainable
transition allows for the development of a strategy to be adopted by the VU to establish the future Green
Office. The research finally enabled the production of a business plan which suggests concrete
recommendations for the VU Green office to be effectively established and be able to foster sustainability
within and outside the VU. The research carried out lead to the conclusion that the VU has the necessary
conditions for the successful establishment of a Green Office to spearhead its sustainability transition.
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Maastricht University Green Office SWOT analysis
Table 2: Green Office Wageningen SWOT analysis
Table 3: Green Office Utrecht SWOT analysis
Table 4: VU Green Office model
Table 5: Projected budget
Table 6: Marketing and Communication plan
Table 7: Monitoring and evaluation plan
Table 8: Risks and mitigations plan
Table 9: 2 years roadmap
LIST OF FIGURE
Figure 1: Theoretical framework
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TABLE OF CONTENT
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 7
1.1 Universities and Sustainable Development..................................................................................... 7
1.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................................ 8
1.3 Research Questions ......................................................................................................................... 8
1.4 Outline ............................................................................................................................................. 9
2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Research design ............................................................................................................................. 10
2.2 Case-study methodology ............................................................................................................... 12
2.3 Constraints .................................................................................................................................... 13
3 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................................................................................ 14
3.1 Context: Sustainable development and sustainable higher education......................................... 14
3.2 Universities as drivers of sustainability? ....................................................................................... 15
3.3 Sustainable declarations and initiatives at universities ................................................................ 16
3.4 Value added of student participation in sustainability at universities .......................................... 17
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .................................................................................................................. 19
4.1 First Step: SWOT analysis of the established Dutch Green Offices ............................................... 19
4.1.1 Maastricht University Green Office ....................................................................................... 19
4.1.2 Green Office Wageningen ..................................................................................................... 23
4.1.3 Green Office Utrecht ............................................................................................................. 26
4.2 Second step: Sustainability context at the VU University, its expectations and challenges for VU
Green Office .............................................................................................................................................. 29
4.2.1 VU sustainability situation ..................................................................................................... 29
4.2.2 Ambitions for the sustainability future of the VU ................................................................. 31
4.2.3 Challenges for the sustainability transition of the VU........................................................... 32
4.3 Third step: Strategy for the establishment of VU Green Office .................................................... 34
5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF VU GREEN OFFICE –
BUSINESS PLAN .............................................................................................................................................. 37
5.5.1 Mission, vision and values of the Green Office ..................................................................... 37
5.5.2 Long-term goals of the Green Office ..................................................................................... 37
5.5.3 Green Office plan................................................................................................................... 38
5.5.4 Partnership ............................................................................................................................ 43
5.5.5 Marketing, communications and promotion at the Green Office ........................................ 44
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5.5.6 Monitoring and evaluation plan of VU Green Office activities ............................................. 46
5.5.7 Risks and mitigations plan for the Green Office .................................................................... 47
5.5.8 Specific value-added of the Green Office .............................................................................. 48
5.5.9 Short-term goals of the Green Office .................................................................................... 49
5.5.10 Roadmap for establishing and running the VU Green Office ................................................ 50
6. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................. 54
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................. 55
ANNEXES ...................................................................................................................................................... 587
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1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the research context, objectives, and questions. It concludes with an outline of the
thesis.
1.1 Universities and Sustainable Development
Sustainability is rapidly replacing labor and technology as the major predictor for future economic
growth (Hawken, 1997). There is a growing realization that our economic success depends on our ability to
protect the world’s natural capital by tackling the environment problems and investing in social capital such as
health, security, and social equity (Cortese, 2003). This idea was first referred to as the movement toward
“sustainable development” (SD) by the Brundtland commission in 1987 in its report Our Common Future.
Environmental discussions were introduced earlier at the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment in Stockholm in 1972 but the Rio Earth Summit helped prioritize global environmental issues and
improved upon the theory and process frameworks defined in Stockholm while emphasizing on SD (Johnston,
2007). The Brundtland report definition of SD became the most widely accepted definition: “Sustainable
development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987). It encompasses environmental protection, economic
security, and social and ethical equity (Cortese, 2003). Since 1992, the concept of SD has been adopted by
many stakeholders worldwide.
The Rio Earth Summit also advocated the role of higher education in preventing socio-economic
problems such as poverty, income and gender inequality, as well as growing ecological degradation that could
be observed worldwide through biodiversity loss, soil erosion, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Slowly universities embraced the SD movement (Waas et Al, 2012). Indeed, they have often been identified as
important spaces for promoting sustainability. They are places where students acquire new experience and
knowledge, where habits are made and changed. Universities are, therefore, ideal for promoting more
sustainable lifestyles (Nicolescu, 2006).
Despite the globalization of higher education and growing academic interest in the role that
universities can play in sustainability, there is still little agreement as to how higher education institutions can
best contribute to and promote sustainability. Numerous initiatives have been slowly introduced and tested at
universities worldwide related to education, research, physical operations, and community relations.
The role of students to achieve a sustainable university is also emphasized. Students can take over
important roles by implementing projects, lobbying for changes, and engaging their peers. However,
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sustainability student engagement and activism faces a major challenge at many universities: How to integrate
and channel the energy and drive of students into the organization in a productive way (Spira 2012;
Schneidewind and Singer-Brodowski 2013). One initiative that developed at Maastricht University is the Green
Office Model, the idea of a student-led and staff-supported sustainability unit. Green Offices have already been
implemented in five universities in the Netherlands and the UK. These Green Offices act as focal points for
creativity, enthusiasm and new initiatives through the empowerment of its student staff.
The Free University of Amsterdam (VU) plans to create a Green Office in order to involve its students
and speed-up the development of sustainable policies at the university. A comparative assessment of all Dutch
Green Offices will lead to stronger understanding of the Green Office model while stressing the best practices
for the future Green Office. The sustainability context of the VU will be analyzed to draw up the VU
expectations for its sustainability transition as well as the challenges it will face by involving students. A
strategy will be defined for the establishment and management of the future Green Office before producing a
business plan which will help the practical realization of the best Green Office at the VU with regards to the
university context. This final outcome encompassing the mission, vision, goals, and strategies of the
organization, is an effective tool for prioritizing and meeting stakeholders’ needs (Bryson, 1988). This research
project stands in this context.
1.2 Objectives
The research presented in this thesis has two main objectives. First, it seeks to explain how universities
act as drivers of sustainability. Second, the research aims to help the VU move forward with its sustainability
efforts by presenting the best strategy for implementing an efficient and effective Green Office in the VU
context. The extra outcome of this research will be a business plan that will allow VU stakeholders to identify
the key elements for the implementation of a Green Office. More broadly, the results will provide important
information to researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and learning institutions as to the impact
of involving students in sustainable development.
1.3 Research Questions
The main research question is formulated as follows:
To what extent can the Green Office at the VU contribute to foster sustainability at the university?
To answer this question, this study focuses on documentation review and interviews with relevant
stakeholders. The data gathered allows the study to address the following sub-questions:
1. Does the development of sustainability policies at universities through student involvement act as a
driver of sustainability?
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2. What are the strengths and weaknesses, risks and opportunities of the different existing Green offices
in the Netherlands with regards to promoting student-led change at universities?
3. What is the current situation of the VU and where does it want to be in the future in terms of
sustainability?
4. What are the expected opportunities and bottlenecks of the establishment and management of a
Green Office at the VU?
5. What are the best strategies to be conducted for the establishment and management of the VU Green
Office?
1.4 Outline
This report consists of five chapters. In the Chapter 2, the research methodology will be described in
detail. In Chapter 3, a review of the contemporary literature will help illuminate the role and responsibility of
universities in sustainability concerns. Chapter 4 analyzes and discusses the results gathered during the
qualitative research performed. Chapter 5 provides practical recommendations for the establishment of VU
Green Office based on the previous results. Finally, chapter 6 concludes and provides recommendations to the
VU stakeholders with regards to the outcome of this research.
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2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research methods used. The first section describes the research design. The
following section presents the research methodology and its protocol. It justifies the approach chosen for data
collection and analysis. The chapter ends with a discussion of the constraints encountered during the research.
2.1 Research design
A theoretical research framework was designed to answer the main research question (see figure 1).
This diagram shows the relationship between the sub-questions (SQ) and the main research question (RQ). The
relationship between these questions was designed logically so that the answer to each question provides the
necessary context for the following question to probe deeper, eventually arriving at the core questions behind
this thesis.
Figure 1: Theoretical framework
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SQ1 examined to what extent universities act as drivers of sustainability. To answer this first sub-
question, data was collected by reviewing contemporary literature. This literature review provided the context
to respond to RQ1.
The second aim of this research (RQ2) was to help the VU move forward with its transition toward
greater sustainability by providing recommendations for the creation and management of a Green Office. The
research methodology used to answer RQ2 was qualitative, based on a case-study. The conduct of a
quantitative method would not have been productive for the current research scope, considering that only
qualitative information can provide answers to the research questions and sub-questions in this thesis. A
process was designed and used as a guideline for the case-study. This three-step protocol was used to answer
SQ2, SQ3, SQ4, and SQ5:
Step 1: Assessment of the implementation and management of already existing Dutch Green Offices in order
to clearly identify the strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities of Green Offices. Data was collected
through a documentation review of the already implemented Green Offices in the Netherlands. This
comparative analysis of all Dutch Green Offices responded to SQ2 and led to a stronger understanding of the
Green Office model and helped defined the best ways to implement VU Green Office.
Step 2: Examination of the actual and future level of sustainability at the VU and identification of its
expectations towards its sustainability transition and challenges that it will face by involving students. Data was
collected through interviews of VU stakeholders to get their opinion on sustainability at the VU, along with a
review of existing documentation at the VU on this topic. This step answered SQ3 and SQ4 and helped define
the gap between the current reality and desired vision of VU sustainability, as well as the challenges that the
future Green Office will face. With regards to the results, VU Green Office can then be positioned to close the
gap and be prepared towards the challenges.
Step 3: Identification of the main strategies for the establishment and management of VU Green Office by
addressing the opportunities and bottlenecks stressed in the previous steps. Data was collected through
Interviews of VU stakeholders on their opinion about the future Green Office as well as a content review from
the results of the research conducted in the earlier steps. This step answered SQ5 by drawing up a strategy
based on the Green Office Model developed by rootAbility1. This social organization was created in 2012 to
drive the sustainability transition of the European higher education sector by supporting the Green Office
implementation. This model is derived from the different existing Green Offices experiences and stresses
specific characteristics that need to be addressed for the implementation of a Green Office: stakeholders,
1 http://rootability.com/en/why/
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internal organization, mandate, integration, resources, financing, cooperation, training and support (see Annex
2).
Those three steps allow the production of a business plan which is the final outcome of the research. It
dresses up the key-components that need to be addressed for the implementation and the management of VU
Green Office. It takes into account the practical elements of operating this Green Office and help guide its
management.
2.2 Case-study methodology
During Step 1, research focused on Dutch universities that have already implemented a Green Office:
Maastricht University, Wageningen University and Utrecht University. Maastricht University was the first
university to create a Green Office in 2010. Inspired by Maastricht University, Wageningen University
established its Green Office in 2012. Finally, Utrecht University was the third Dutch university to embrace the
movement, implementing its Green Office in September 2013, inspired and modeled after Maastricht
University Green Office. Data was collected by reviewing available documentation of these universities’ Green
Offices, predominantly business plans and assessment reports. Also, a short interview with Utrecht University
Green Office team was conducted to complement the limited documentation available due to its lack of
experience. The data collected was analyzed and stored for each Green Office in three, separate tables
following the SWOT model. A SWOT analysis aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses of an organization
along various vectors: personnel, facilities, location, products and services. It also analyzes the opportunities
and threats coming from an organization’s surrounding environment: political, economic, social, technological
and competitive. SWOT analyses are a firm foundation for resource and competency-based planning where
strategies are derived from the identified factors and in this context fits with the goal of this research (Dyson,
2004).
Step 2 aimed at assessing the current status of sustainability at the VU and where the VU sees its
sustainability in the future. This goal was reached by interviewing VU stakeholders to collect their opinion on
the current and future situation of sustainability at the VU, along with a review of existing documentation
regarding sustainability and initiatives at the VU. Interviews were conducted with four types of stakeholders:
governance member, specialists, employees and students where six of them are enthusiast regarding
sustainability and two are more neutral. In total, eight interviews were conducted (see Annex 1). Transcriptions
of the interviews are available on request. Because of time constraint of the thesis schedule and some of the
respondents, the interviewees were not requested to validate the transcribed interviews.
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Regarding the documentation review, most of the documentation was in Dutch and the English
information about sustainability at the VU was not focused enough to be useful for this research. Therefore, a
group of students from the VU who are engaged in student organizations and willing to help the Green Office
project at the VU were solicited to collect the most relevant information about sustainability at the VU and
summarize it in a report (available on request). This report was integrated as a key document into the current
study. A coding method was used to collect the most critical data out of the interviews and the report, which
was addressed in the results.
For Step 3, data was collected from the research conducted in the earlier steps as well as from the
interviews conducted and used to define the best strategies to be adopted for the establishment of VU Green
Office. Those recommendations thus are derived from the opinion of the VU stakeholders interviewed, the
results of the previous steps such as the best practices of the Green Office and the context of the VU, and
follow the characteristics of the Green Office model.
Finally, the results of the research were used to develop a business plan that is specific and concrete
enough for the implementation and management of the Green Office at the VU.
2.3 Constraints
During this research project, several difficulties were faced. First, literature on sustainability at universities
is poorly developed in the research realm. This can be explained by the recent growing interest for this topic.
This research will thus add to the research. Second, most of documentation at the VU concerning sustainability
efforts is in Dutch and therefore could not be used for this research project. To overcome this constraint,
Bachelor students from the Student Union proposed to collect all needed information, and translate and
gather it in one single report. That report was delivered during the Research Project and was used as relevant
documentation on which the research was partly based. Finally, documentation available at the recent Green
Office of Utrecht was not sufficient enough to conduct an effective SWOT analyze due to the Green Office lack
of experience. A short questionnaire, followed by emails discussions were carried out with the Green Office
team to add to the existing information.
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3 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter reviews the contemporary literature and attempts to explain how universities act as
drivers of sustainability. The first section discusses the concepts of sustainable development (SD) and
sustainable higher education. The next section addresses the reasons why universities are a major instigator of
sustainability. The third section delves deeper into the actions already being taken to promote sustainability at
universities. Finally, the last section describes the added value of student participation in sustainable projects
at universities.
3.1 Context: Sustainable development and sustainable higher education
As mentioned previously, the term “sustainable development” was formally adopted as the leading
development model at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 (Rogers et Al., 2008). The term was then embraced by
many stakeholders worldwide, such as governments, corporations, non-governmental organizations and
citizens. SD is also broadly discussed in contemporary literature, where it is defined in the realm of
corporations as Corporate Social Responsibility (Ahmad, 2012). Regarding education, its role in improving the
environment was emphasized in Stockholm in 1972 in the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the
Human Environment:
Principle 19: Education in environmental matters, for the younger generation as well as adults,
giving due consideration to the underprivileged, is essential in order to broaden the basis for
an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities
in protecting and improving the environment in its full human dimension2 (UNEP, 1972).
The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in 1992 then advocated the role of education in
preventing environmental degradation and socio-economic problems (Johnston, 2007), and Agenda 21, the
international action plan resulting from the conference, stressed education as “critical for promoting SD”
(UNCED, 1992). Since then, SD has become not only a focus for corporations, but also a concern for institutions
of higher education (Ahmad, 2012), thereby triggering the emergence of scientific studies on sustainable
higher education. Progress towards Agenda 21’s goals has, however, been slow and generally unsatisfactory.
This motivated the United Nations to adopt in 2005 the Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development reform (DESD) (UNESCO, 2005). The goal of the DESD is “to equip people with knowledge of and
skills in SD, making them more competent and confident while at the same time increasing their opportunities
2 http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?documentid=97&articleid=1503
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for leading healthy and productive lifestyles in harmony with nature”3 (UNECE, 2005). This reform was
promising, yet the transition towards sustainability at universities through the development of initiatives is still
slowly growing.
3.2 Universities as drivers of sustainability?
According to the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF), “Sustainable higher
education implies that the critical activities of a higher education institution are ecologically sound, socially just
and economically viable, and that they will continue to be so for future generations”4. While studies on
sustainable higher education are not widely covered by contemporary literature, the majority of the available
studies agree that universities are a major instigator of SD for our society (Fadeeva et Al., 2010; Johnston,
2007; UNESCO, 2005; Waas et Al., 2012) and they highlight specific reasons for this.
First, institutions of higher learning have the critical capacities to engage in sustainability. Cortese
(1992) emphasizes the uniqueness of academic freedom and the high volume and diversity of skills available at
a university. These characteristics, which are specific to higher education, enable the development of new
ideas, questioning of society and its practices, and engagement in sustainable living experiments that would be
too controversial to implement outside of a university setting.
Moreover, “advancing knowledge, educating leaders, and furthering societal progress and
engagement” are part of the societal mandate of higher education institutions and therefore, make
universities key players in the SD movement (Waas, 2012).
As “microcosm[s] of the larger community”5, university campuses also are an example for the society.
They form “learning laboratories which provide the lived experience of sustainable communities” through the
responsible consumption of energy, water, and food, and the support of SD in their local communities (Waas,
2012; ULSF, 1992; Nicolescu, 2006).
Studies also address the status of universities as role models for our future society. Ahmad (2012)
points out that the society of tomorrow begins today. As universities educate and develop relevant skills
among the leaders and citizens of tomorrow, they bear serious responsibilities to increase awareness and
inspire the values that will help us to achieve a just and sustainable future (Talloires Declaration, 1995; Ahmad,
2012; Sterling, 2012; Cortese, 2003; Johnston, 2007). As a” bridge between knowledge generation and
application of this knowledge in society”, universities should provide a learning environment that enables its
future graduates to be “responsible citizens capable of responding to the challenges of SD” (UNESCO, 2004).
3 http://www.unece.org/env/esd/welcome.html 4 http://www.ulsf.org/about.htm
5 http://www.ulsf.org/programs_talloires.html
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Universities are educating the future elites; our society’s future and well-being rely heavily on what a university
teaches and what it does not teach (Nicolescu, 2006).
Finally, studies highlight the unsustainability of our current society and the need to transform the
current educational system to fight against this trend. Indeed, since there are more students at universities
demanding more resources, just as there are more people in the world demanding more resources, we are
better able to quantify the lack of sustainability in a university (Orr, 1992; Schumacher, 1997; Sterling, 2012).
According to Fadeeya et Al. (2010), there is a “need for an alternative system”. Ahmad (2012) and Waas (2012)
both state that higher education institutions bear ethical and moral responsibilities to transform their systems
to leading society towards sustainability. The arguments towards sustainable universities are numerous;
however the existing initiatives are limited.
3.3 Sustainable declarations and initiatives at universities
Demonstrating their commitment to sustainability since the 1990s, higher education institutions
worldwide have slowly embraced the SD movement and today, at the end of the Decade reform, more than
1000 institutions have signed international declarations towards implementing SD such as Talloires Declaration
in 1990, Lüneburg Declaration in 2000, Barcelona Declaration in 2004 or Graz Declaration in 2005 (Waas et Al.,
2012) and begun running projects at the university level to promote sustainability. Also, initiatives outside
universities but with a focus on universities emerged. In the Netherlands, the website
www.duurzamestudent.nl 6 that aims to develop a sustainable student community and the student
organization Studenten Voor Morgen7 that rewards the more sustainable universities with the SustainaBul
awards were created.
While implementing sustainability in higher education institutions, four different activities have been
emphasized that can move a university community towards sustainability: education, research, physical
operations, and communities (Cortese, 2003). Several studies promote an integrated approach to sustainability
at universities. Cortese (2003) claims that the four aforementioned university processes needs to move
towards sustainability. Because students learn from all of these activities, the whole system at universities has
to be transformed. Sustainability should be used as a constant frame of reference in all activities and all
disciplines; it implies a systemic view of sustainability (Waas, 2012; Sterling, 2012; Johnston, 2007). In a
practical way, Cortese (2003) clarifies that, through the integrative approach of sustainability, students would
be more aware of their ecological footprint, they would more easily engage in SD, what would in principle
create more opportunities.
6 http://www.duurzamestudent.nl/
7 http://www.studentenvoormorgen.nl/
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Some sustainability-related bachelor and master programs have been developed in many different
universities throughout the world. In research, many institutes embraced sustainability topics. In the
Netherlands, the Research School for Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment (SENSE)8 has
been created. Sustainable student organizations dedicated to promoting sustainable activities and developing
policies at universities stand out among the recent, eco-friendly initiatives and projects where students are
involved in sustainability efforts. Through a combination of sustainable activities such as seminars,
conferences, special events, and practical projects, sustainability initiatives in these organizations encompass a
variety of teaching methods that create diverse opportunities for students to gain practical skills and specific
knowledge (Nicolescu, 2006). Sustainable physical operations on campuses usually involve the environmental
management of their universities. Yet, orienting campus operations towards sustainability requires the
building of connection among the community and departmental boundaries, as it entails socio-economic
objectives (financial support, interests and needs of the local communities), thus, stakeholder participation
(Cole et Al., 2005). Therefore, the student organizations and more recently, the Green Office act as a link
between the environmental department of universities and all other parameters needed to achieve
sustainability on the campus. In the Netherlands, the Green Office concept emerged in 2010 at Maastricht
University. It presents “a best practice of a student-driven and staff-supported sustainability office that
empowers students to unleash their transformative potential”9, putting the students at the core of the
initiative. Although sustainability initiatives at universities are mentioned in research studies, practical
achievements on this topic is lacking in the literature.
3.4 Value added of student participation in sustainability at universities
When engaging higher education institutions towards sustainability, authors in the literature highlight
the benefits of closely involving students. Students bring energy, news ideas, and enthusiasm that can help
develop creative initiatives that engage the university community in discussions and projects promoting a
transition toward greater sustainability (Waas, 2012; rootAbility, 2012). These actions also improve
communication and increase awareness at universities about sustainability (Waas, 2012). Ahmad (2012) states,
however, that participation in projects is not enough for students to become socially and environmentally
responsible. He advocates instead the involvement of students as planners or managers of the projects. This
leads to a sense of ownership, empowerment, and willingness to contribute to sustainability (UNESCO, 2004;
Waas, 2012). In support of this theory, Cortese (2003) points out that, «for long-term retention of knowledge,
skills, and values, we retain 80% of what we do and only 10 to 20% of what we hear or read”. Definitively,
students have a pivotal role to play in the engagement of higher education institutions in sustainability.
8 http://www.sense.nl/
9 http://rootability.com/en/why/
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While sustainable higher education is still an emerging field of study and practice, the existing
literature confirms the role of universities as drivers of sustainability. The inception of a Green Office is the
most formal sustainable initiative in the Netherlands recently, emphasizing on the empowerment of students,
though the existing literature debate highlights the importance of using a systematic, integrative approach to
embedding sustainability in each one of a university’s activities.
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4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter presents and discusses the results of the research, following the specific protocol defined
in the Methodology Chapter. After introducing the Green Office, a SWOT analysis of the different existing
Dutch Green Offices is conducted in the first section in order to identify best practices. In the second section,
the sustainability context at the VU is analyzed based on VU stakeholders’ opinions and existing
documentation. In this section, the expectations and challenges of the VU towards its sustainability transition
are discussed. Finally, the third section presents a list of key-elements that need to be adopted by the VU while
creating the future Green Office.
4.1 First Step: SWOT analysis of the established Dutch Green Offices
The first Green Office was implemented in 2010 at Maastricht University. Today, there are three Green
Offices in the Netherlands and two in the United Kingdom. All Green Offices were inspired by and follow the
Maastricht University Green Office model. The Green Office is a student-driven and staff-supported office that
seeks to develop sustainability within and around the university. Most of the time, the Green Office run by
students focuses on the following functions:
It provides a support platform for the exchange of information and connects stakeholders interested
in sustainability.
It facilitates the realization of sustainable ideas and initiatives, and supports running projects related
to sustainability.
It promotes cultural change and sustainability strategies at the institutional university level.
The context of the different existing Green Offices is described here below, derived from documentation
from the different universities. It is followed by the results of the SWOT analysis applied to the different,
existing Green Offices and a discussion based on the results.
4.1.1 Maastricht University Green Office
Maastricht University Green Office was established in September 2010, following a student initiative
that convinced the university to establish the Green Office as a way to mobilize the energy and creativity of the
students in the institution’s organizational transformation.
Today, the vision of the Green Office is that Maastricht University will become a sustainable university
where sustainability is inherent in all activities and processes. The Green Office was created to facilitate the
20
cultural transformation of the university community to reach this goal. The Green Office’s mission is “to be
responsible for managing Maastricht University’s sustainability portfolio, through the initiation and
coordination of sustainability projects at the university by empowering students and staff members” (Green
Office Maastricht, 2012). It is a student-driven, university entity integrated into the General and Technical
Services Department. However, it is highly independent in its operations and reports to its own, seven
members of the Supervisory Board (chaired by the vice-president of Maastricht University). The Supervisory
Board meets the Green Office twice per year and controls, observes, advises and evaluates the activities of the
Green Office.
Financially and administratively, the Green Office is a fully integrated part of Maastricht University. In
2014, its budget is composed of 164.000€ per year of structural funding provided by Maastricht University and
20.000€ per year for the PhD program provided by the International Centre for Integrated Assessment (ICIS),
the sustainability research institute of Maastricht University. The Green Office started with an annual budget
of 75.000€ in September 2010. 50.000€ of this budget was financed through funds of the Executive Board and
25.000€ were reallocated from the budget of Facility Service to pay for the half-time position of the
university’s Environmental Advisor who became part of the team.
The Green Office team is composed of eight student employees working as project managers, one staff
coordinator acting as environmental advisor, one PhD student and around 20-30 student volunteers per year.
At the beginning, student employees were reimbursed for eight hours per week. Now, they are reimbursed for
14 hours of work per week. The staff members are organized into five portfolios: Education, Research,
Operations, Community, and Student coordination. The social business, rootAbility, provides a workshop every
year to train the staff members and support the management of the Green Office. The communication of the
Green Office is done through its own website, a Facebook page, and the publication of newsletters.
Maastricht University Green Office’s major functions are to serve as the liaison between all university
stakeholders, to undertake in-house activities initiated and executed by the Green Office itself, and to manage
the University’s internal sustainability. More specifically, it is in charge of sustainable policy planning and of
managing the various policy documents of Maastricht University. Since its inception, Maastricht University
Green Office successfully implemented numerous projects10, among others the Climate Action Report which
assesses the sustainability of the institution; the creation of the Green Academy which consists of theoretical
and practical skill sessions chaired by experts from academia, civil society, and professionals; and the Ctrl-Alt-
Delete Emissions project, which intends to reduce energy consumption at the university.
10
http://www.greenofficemaastricht.nl/
21
The analysis of Maastricht University Green Office documentation highlighted the following main
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats:
Strengths (at the Green Office level) Weaknesses (at the Green Office level)
- Central geographic situation: Established in the city
center, close to main Inner City campus of Maastricht
University, it facilitates accessibility and communication
- Lack of organizational tools: Missing coherent
structure for the organization of the Green Office
activities like brainstorming, presentations, and events.
- Central organization responsible for sustainability
at the university: Helps create relationships between
different stakeholders of the university and improves
cooperation in the field of sustainability.
- Knowledge and skills: By definition, students are
still learning. The lack of certain knowledge and skills
with regards to e.g. project management, sustainability
or stakeholder engagement, provides a challenge.
- Long opening hours: Based on office hours,
Monday to Friday, from 10am to 4pm, it facilitates
accessibility.
- Difficulties with capturing student awareness: The
results of several awareness-raising events are not
encouraging.
- Sustainability documentation database: The
constantly-updated database forms a rich and accessible
repository on sustainability thus saving time and
increasing knowledge sharing.
- High division of labor within the staff of the Green
Office: Makes it hard to maintain an overview of the
organization’s activities as members are specialized and
split into different portfolios.
- Interconnection online system: It provides a
contact point for sustainable stakeholders and facilitates
communication within a network of like-minded people.
- Revolving generations of students: Constant
turnover of students can create challenges for the
continuity of projects and contacts, if transition periods
are not organized well.
- Integration of the Green Office into Maastricht
University: Its institutionalized, organizational structure
and permanent office mean that it benefits from stability
and sustainability.
- Divergent staff opinions on the representation
and communication regarding the sustainability
dimensions: economic, social and environmental.
- High rotation of the student employees: Rotating
student generations bring new enthusiasm and
innovative potential to the Green Office
- Physical and online representation: Its
representation increases awareness of the stakeholders
and creates a larger community.
- Specialization of each student employee to cover
the full-portfolio of activities, and involvement of staff
members in the decision-making process increases their
expertise and gives them more credibility.
- Partnership with Morgen , the national student
organization promoting sustainability: Promotes the
Green Office image throughout the Netherlands, and
creates connection to other student-led initiatives.
- High budget compared to usual student
organizations at Maastricht University: Provides more
tools, resources and therefore more projects.
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Table 1: Maastricht University Green Office SWOT analysis
Assessment of Maastricht University Green Office – Discussion
When analyzing the SWOT conducted for Maastricht University Green Office, the main advantages
seem to be its central integration within the university and the budget allocated to its functioning. As the
Green Office is a specific department run by students, it benefits from better communication with the
university stakeholders. Strengthened by the creation of a documentation database and an interconnected,
online system, Maastricht University Green Office is breaking through existing boundaries created by the
separate goals, scopes, knowledge, experience, and skills of each university department and community. This
enhances cooperation in the field of sustainability at the university. Moreover, involvement of students in the
Opportunities (at University level) Threats (at University level)
- High barriers of entry for sustainable initiatives
before the Green Office creation: there was neither
financial nor other established institutional support for
student initiatives in the field of sustainability.
- Lack of interest about sustainability development
at the university among students and staff of the
university
- The close position of the Green Office with the
university distinguishes it from other student
sustainability groups, thus empowering it and its staff.
- Risk of confusion among university stakeholders :
different messages communicated by the various
sustainable student associations at Maastricht
University.
- The growing movement in sustainable
transformation throughout universities in the
Netherlands: creates an opportunity to establish a
network of knowledge and best practices to improve
existing projects and to develop new projects.
- Concerns about a new top-down approach : The
internal and external professionalization of the Green
Office through a change in its structure created a fear
that uncontrolled professionalization could make the
Green Office highly bureaucratic and less innovative,
which was not its initial goal.
- Commitment to sustainability: While Maastricht
University signed the third Multiple Year Agreement on
Energy Efficiency (MJA3) in 2008, the university
committed itself to improve its energy efficiency per
square meter by 30% - or 2 percentage points from
2005-2020, thus facilitating the set up of energy
efficiency initiatives.
- Attraction of national and international attention
after the Green Office won prestigious awards, also
increased the reputation of the Green Office among
key stakeholders within the university
- Growing support of Maastricht University
towards sustainable transformation: it regards
sustainability as one of its core values and actively
communicates its progress toward becoming a
sustainable university.
- The growing influence of social media such as
Facebook: facilitates promotion and communication.
- Risk of lack of expertise of the staff members of
the Green Office: With a constantly-changing workforce,
the Green Office can face difficulties in gradually building
necessary skills and knowledge. Moreover, staff
members of the Green Office are merely student
employees who, while integrating the Green Office,
have little knowledge about sustainability, lack work
experience in the field, and, as they are not
professionals, their technical and institutional knowledge
is limited.
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decision-making process of the Green Office seems critical for its success and effectiveness. The student-driven
organization empowers each of the employed students, thereby increasing their willingness to participate,
ambition, and enthusiasm, which has positives consequences for the Green Office and the university as it
allows for new ideas and initiatives to emerge.
The main weakness of Maastricht University Green Office comes from its internal organization, which
lacks the robust management tools and practices needed for continued effectiveness. It should be stressed
that the Green Office has to be run professionally and should, therefore, apply the basic managerial tools used
by bigger organizations and corporations.
The opportunities and threats for Maastricht University Green Office can be local when they are
related to the activities of the Green Office, and national or European when they target the concept of the
Green Office itself. The major risk for Maastricht University Green Office is the lack of interest of the students,
yet the Green Office seems to have opportunities to attract more stakeholders if it can leverage the growing
interest and initiatives of other universities, of national and international student and other organizations, and
of the university itself.
4.1.2 Green Office Wageningen
Maastricht University Green Office inspired Wageningen UR (University and Research Centre) to
establish its own Green Office in October 2012. Its mission is to coordinate and incubate sustainability within
and around the university “to achieve higher sustainability standards and to reinforce the efforts dedicated to
sustainability at Wageningen UR by including these in a well-coordinated, on-going process of change towards
sustainability”.
Green Office Wageningen is not an independent entity; it is managed as a specific project of the
Facility Services department until the end of 2015. Its future position within the university is under discussion.
The Reflection Board, including three staff employees from Facility Services and two students from the student
council, approves the different reports carried out by the Green Office and acts as an advisory board.
Around 35.000€ is invested per year into the Green Office, as well as an annual working budget of
1.500€. Funding for the Green Office is planned until 2015 when another structure will be put in place. As of
today, the Green Office is run by five student employees; one is the Green Office coordinator and the others
act as project coordinators. They all work closely together with the designated project manager of Facility
Services and the sustainability coordinator of Wageningen UR. Yet no formal connection exists with the
education and research staff. The Green Office also benefits from the help of 15 to 20 student volunteers.
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Workshops are organized every year in order to improve knowledge and skills of the student employees on
project management, external communication, and storytelling. Compared to Maastricht University Green
Office, Green Office Wageningen is not organized in portfolios. There are always two students assigned to one
project, a main coordinator and a supportive coordinator. Regarding its communication, Green Office
Wageningen, like Maastricht University, maintains its own website, Facebook page, and newsletters.
Part of the initiatives that have been developed until now are the Bike Project: Collect, Fix, Share; the
Sustainability Festival; and the Green Match, which is a platform for internships, theses and ACT projects
(Academic Consultancy Training at Wageningen UR) that facilitate the link between Education, Research, and
Operations activities at the university. This year, Wageningen University won the Sustainabul gold award,
ranking first in the sustainability contest of universities11.
The examination of Green Office Wageningen documentation revealed the following strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats:
11
http://www.studentenvoormorgen.nl/en/sustainabul-2/ranking-2014/
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Table 2: Green Office Wageningen SWOT analysis
Strengths (at the Green Office level) Weaknesses (at the Green Office level)
- Intensive and effective learning process of the
Green Office team: Transfer of knowledge about
sustainability from the Taskforce Sustainability during
the first semester increased knowledge among the
team members.
- Little experience of the Green Office team in
practical issues related to running an
organization/projects.
- Improved relationship among different
departments of the university: The creation of an
internship and the undertaking of several projects
undertaken within different departments enhanced
communication and collaboration.
- Unclear role division between Green Office
Coordinator, Thematic Coordinators and
Volunteers: Can create confusion among the Green
Office team and the university stakeholders and
waste time.
- Strong and efficient monitoring and evaluation
process: Each coordinator is responsible for the
monitoring and evaluation of his own projects, which
increases efficiency, saves time, and promotes a
professional image of the Green Office.
- Inexistent knowledge management: the
intensive learning process that the team received is
not stored or managed, as no storage system exists.
Tight connection with Studenten voor Morgen which
promotes the Green Office projects locally and
nationally, fostering the Green Office network.
- Weak use of professional tools: Missing
coherent structure for the management of the
Green Office activities.
- Little awareness of the Green Office activities
among the students of Wageningen UR.
Opportunities (at University level) Threats (at University level)
- Possibility to increase network and ideas :
Wageningen UR Green Office can benefit from the
increasing sustainable change happening in the
Netherlands with the Studenten voor Morgen ,
established Green Offices, and green organizations in
Wageningen.
- Bachelor/master students’ rotation system at
the university could alter the vision and ideas of the
current staff members, as well as the Green Office’s
sustainability activities.
- Robust problem-solving capacity within the
university for sustainability issues as many programs
(e.g. Alterra, Food & Biobased Research, Livestock
Research, membership to the Research School for Socio-
Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment –
SENSE…) and specializations exist within the
university and focus on sustainability: Opportunity for
networking and knowledge sharing.
- Room for increasing volume and effectiveness of
the Green Office promotion: revealed by a survey on
student opinion which highlighted the lack of promotion
of the activities and the absence of a clear link to the
Green Office, as well as the existing interest of the
students for those initiatives.
- Risk of confusion regarding the goals and scopes
of the numerous, existing sustainability structures at
the Wageningen UR : these structures include the
Science Shop, which is one of the major links between
society and research executed at Wageningen UR;
WEP, an organization of students that aims to make the
university and its students behave in a more sustainable
way is not stored or managed; the Taskforce
Sustainability, which got the task to give sustainability a
structural place within the operations; the Academic
Consultancy Training which has been developed by
Wageningen UR to enhance the abilities of students to
function in professional teams; and the Green Office.
The communicated message of the Green Office needs
to stay clear and consistent with its activities.
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Assessment of Green Office Wageningen – Discussion
In this SWOT analysis the transfer of knowledge from the Taskforce Sustainability group to the new
Green Office team seems to be a key element for efficient implementation of the Green Office. The Taskforce
Sustainability group was created to empower changes for sustainability at Wageningen UR and their main
initiative became the establishment of the Green Office. As this taskforce was planned to be disbanded to let
the new team run the newly created Green Office, the transfer of vision, knowledge and experience gained
during the implementation time to the new team has been an important step towards the founding of the
sustainable principles and functions of the Green Office. As the teams in charge of the creation of the Green
Office and its management often are different, an effective learning period for the new management team
should be considered as strength and be included in the business plan.
However, an effective transfer of knowledge requires the set-up of a knowledge management
structure. The inexistent knowledge management at Wageningen UR Green Office results in a loss of
information, as knowledge is not stored and, consequently, cannot serve to establish principles for the
organization as it grows. This loss of information is furthermore, reinforced by the rotation of the Green Office
team. Moreover, Wageningen Green Office does not benefit from a large budget like the one allocated to
Maastricht University Green Office and, therefore, has a weaker capacity to help the sustainability transition of
the university.
A student survey conducted at Wageningen UR revealed that students at the university were
interested in sustainability activities but lacked awareness about the Green Office and its various initiatives.
This existing demand highlights the opportunity of Wageningen UR Green Office to increase awareness at the
university and the importance of conducting surveys to assess the effectiveness of its functions. The major risk
highlighted by the SWOT analysis is the student rotation system at universities and at the Green Office, as the
constantly changing workforce affects the consistency of its vision and initiatives. Yet, the rotation of the staff
can also guarantee a continuous inflow of newly motivated and ambitious students that introduces new energy
into the Green Office.
4.1.3 Green Office Utrecht
Green Office Utrecht opened in September 2013 at Utrecht University. It is the third Green Office
created in the Netherlands, also inspired and modeled after Maastricht University Green Office. It is
considered as “the central hub where fresh minds and hands come together to support the university’s SD”.
Green Office Utrecht plans to achieve its vision “by making the university’s policy tangible in the everyday
reality of its students and staff members by informing, involving and empowering them to act”.
27
Green Office Utrecht is integrated into the general administration of Utrecht University, yet it is run by
students. A graduate student has been employed as manager with a one year contract. The team is also
composed of three interns. Compared to the other Green Offices, the interns do not work for a minimum of
one year, but between three to six months in the Green Office; they can be students or recent graduates. Each
of them is in charge of a division: Communication, Projects, or Policy & Transparency. They also benefit from
the help of students volunteers for the project divisions. The Green Office Utrecht team was trained via a
workshop conducted by rootAbility at the creation of the Green Office to determine the vision and mission of
the Green Office.
The university invests around 54.000€ per year into the Office: 30.000€ working budget, 4.000€ for the
salaries of the student interns, and around 20.000€ for the manager position. The Utrecht Green Office
manager has weekly meetings with the sustainability advisor of the university. Another team, The
Sustainability Project Group, which initiated the Green Office at Utrecht University, discusses the sustainability
strategy for the university and the Green Office is not integrated into this group. Utrecht Green Office should
receive in the next months an Advisory Board to give the team strategic advice and feedback. The Green Office
communicates through its own website and a Facebook page.
Its main functions are to manage its own projects or assist students and student organizations in
realizing their projects, usually by connecting them to relevant stakeholders within the university. Two of the
Green Office’s ongoing projects are the partnership with Sodexo to develop new, vegetable-based and
sustainable recipes for the Sodexo restaurants, and the Living Lab which aims to connect student research
projects with current sustainability issues faced by the Utrecht University.
The analysis of Green Office Utrecht documentation highlighted the following main strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats:
28
Table 3: Green Office Utrecht SWOT analysis
Assessment of Green Office Utrecht – Discussion
From the short experience of Green Office Utrecht, several characteristics are still relevant enough for
identifying best practices of a Green Office. First, the Living Lab initiative seems promising. It makes use of the
knowledge concentrated at the university and the capacity of students to leverage their research projects as
solutions to current sustainability issues at Utrecht University. With this project, Green Office Utrecht offers
opportunities to address challenges and demands in an integrated manner by bridging the gap between
research, education, and the sustainability transition of the university.
The main weakness of Green Office Utrecht is its difficulty in handling the flow of ideas and questions
coming up due to its lack of internal organization. A clear structure of the Green Office activities and functions
is needed, especially as it could benefit from the current enthusiasm amongst Utrecht students. Finally, after
eight months of activities, convincing the university decision-makers to prioritize sustainability initiatives
remains a challenge for the Green Office team.
The three, Dutch Green Offices, inspired by Maastricht University Green Office, all tend to promote
sustainability among stakeholders and help the university to transit its activities and facilities towards
sustainability. However, each Green Office has a different position within its respective university, as well as a
different budget, giving the Offices more or less opportunities to achieve their goals. For instance, Maastricht
Strengths (at the Green Office level) Weaknesses (at the Green Office level)
- Sound engagement in follow-up actions: The
team invests time in the follow up of student
consultancy reports from the Living Lab projects to
make sure that they are used at the university, which
improves efficiency, reliability in the Green Office, and
sustainability.
- Difficulties in structuring the Green Office
activities: tasks, initiatives, projects. The team, the
office space and the budget are set-up but there is no
coherent structure to manage the flow of tasks, ideas,
or questions at the Green Office: “It proves to be
difficult to choose where to start”.
- Improved connection between stakeholders
interested in sustainability: students feel more heard
in their claims and questions regarding sustainability
through the support at the Green Office.
- Efficient location of the Green Office at the
university: 90m2 office space and no rent costs.
Opportunities (at University level) Threats (at University level)
- Enthusiasm, especially amongst students, at
Utrecht University to start all kind of sustainability
projects.
- The main difficulty is to convince decision-makers
of Utrecht University to implement all these good
ideas.
- Slow set up of sustainability projects/initiatives
as sustainability is not the most important topic for
university employees and decision makers: This
results in a loss of interests of the students in the
Green Office projects.
29
University Green Office, which has the biggest budget and a more integrated position at the university,
benefits from different awards and an international renown as a university engaged in sustainability. Despite
their differences in organization and management approaches, some similarities were highlighted in the SWOT
analysis. The three Green Offices developed connection between the university stakeholders and increased
collaboration around sustainability topics. The student rotation system is also a concern for most of the Green
Offices, however where it can bring new potential in the Green Office, it is also seen as a weakness or a risk
depending of the Green Office as it can face difficulties in building knowledge around a specific topic. All Green
Offices also faces difficulties in structuring their organization. The lack of follow-up tools has been detrimental
to the efficient management of the unit and is highlighted as a general weakness of the Green Office.
Regarding opportunities of the Green Office, the growing network in the Netherlands and to a larger extent in
Europe is a great chance for each Green Office to share and receive learned experience from each other and
maximize their positive effect on their institution sustainability transition. Finally, each university faces the lack
of interest of its stakeholders, especially students in sustainability concerns but their Green Office thrives to
raise awareness among universities communities. The three aforementioned SWOT analyses provide insights
on which practices seem to be working best and which need to be avoided for the creation and management
of a Green Office. The analysis of the VU current situation and its expectation towards sustainability will
highlight the possibility of applying those best practices to the VU.
4.2 Second step: Sustainability context at the VU University, its expectations
and challenges for VU Green Office
The review of the VU sustainability report as well as the input from the eight interviews conducted
with VU stakeholders result in an in-depth evaluation of the sustainability context of the VU. This analysis then
highlights expectations and challenges of the VU for its sustainability transition. The results are discussed in a
final section which addresses the reasons of implementing a Green Office. The results come mostly from the
interviews with the managers (Executive Board member and specialists) as the input derived from the students
and employee interviewed on the concerned topics of this section is negligible.
4.2.1 VU sustainability situation
As documented in the sustainability report and confirmed by the interviewees involved in the
sustainability transition of the university, the VU already engaged itself towards a sustainability transition with
several initiatives carried out at the university related to education, research, physical operations and
community culture.
30
The Executive Board member underlined in the interview the integration of sustainability in the VU
strategic planning for 2011-2015. The plan emphasis the VU’s commitment to building a university that is
internationally renowned for its research and education, and where sustainability now plays a crucial role. In
addition, a sustainability plan is under development for the period of 2015-2019, strengthening the position of
sustainability considerations during the university-level decision-making process. In the organization of the VU,
two units are engaged in sustainability topics. The Environmental unit of the Department of Human Health &
Safety and Environment (“Arbo en Milieu”) run by an environmental advisor VU / VUmc and accountable for
environmental issues and reports. Also, the Facilities Department (“Facilitaire Campus Organisatie”, FCO) got a
specific budget for its sustainability projects.
Regarding education, today there are two bachelor’s degrees and three master’s degrees focusing on
sustainability. Dutch students can also choose a minor entitled “Energie en duurzaamheid” (Energy and
sustainability). Research at the VU also encompasses studies on sustainability. There are two institutes that
actively contribute to sustainable development: the IVM, the Institute for Environmental Studies (“Instituut
voor Milieuvraagstukken”, IVM) which is a major European center for multidisciplinary environmental
research, and the Amsterdam Global Change Institute (AGCI) which investigates the interactions between
people, socio-economic change, and the global environment. The VU also invests in the sustainability transition
of its facilities. The in-use buildings are under renovation to align them with BREAAM certification
requirements and two new buildings are being built, also following BREAAM requirements. The VU committed
to reduce energy consumption in all buildings by 2% each year. Recycling on the campus is running for many
years now and seems to be the most visible sustainable initiative at the VU, according to the majority of the
interviewees. Other physical operations integrating sustainability as of today include the fair-trade catering,
the Green roof and its water tap, the street charger, the book exchange and the green energy center. The
majority of those initiatives were developed by the Facilities and Environmental units, and sometimes in
collaboration with the SRVU student union. Finally, regarding the community at the VU, few students
organizations work towards sustainability. The SRVU, which serves as an advocate for VU students’ needs,
strives to make the university more sustainable by working side by side with students and workers at the VU.
Sustainability, however, is not the main focus of the SRVU. Another active group is the DivestVU which
currently runs a divestment campaign at the VU requesting that the Board of Management divest its current
holdings in fossil fuels and make its financial positions and fund investments more transparent. Also, a fair-
trade store is open on the campus and run by students. Besides those three units, the VU is involved in the
Project VoorUit that offers free housing in the West of Amsterdam to students in exchange for social activities
for the neighborhoods they live in. However, this project focuses on social needs aspects essentially and
neglects environmental issues. Although numerous initiatives have been carried out at the VU until today, the
university still ranks low for the second year in the SustainaBul Ranking.
31
4.2.2 Ambitions for the sustainability future of the VU
Although the VU is already active in its sustainability transition, there are still many gaps between the
VU’s current projects and its ambition to become a sustainable university model for its students and larger
community, the latter of which came out during interviews as one of the roles of universities:
Involvement of students: As the report on sustainability and the interviews of students showed,
widespread engagement of VU students in sustainability projects, initiatives and policies is lacking. The
managers and Executive Board member who were interviewed all showed great interest in integrating
students into sustainability projects at the VU. They explained that, as main stakeholders of the university,
students’ opinions are highly valuable. Apart from promoting a sustainable lifestyle and providing practical
experience for the students who would get involved in sustainability initiatives, the interviewed staff members
also consider students to be change-agents who would bring different perspectives and modern ideas, which
would speed up the development of sustainability policies at the VU.
Integrated approach of sustainability: In its transition towards sustainability, the VU also aims to
broadly embrace the four, main areas that form a university—education, research, operations and
community—simultaneously. The majority of the interviewees explained that sustainability is a global concern
and, as such, it is important that every, university activity become involved in, in order to maximize its positive
impact on environmental, social, and economic issues. Today, sustainability can be found at the university in
education, research, and operations, though there are opportunities for more initiatives as confirmed by the
interviewees.
Collaboration among all VU communities: The whole community is not yet involved; only the VU
managers and sometimes members of the SRVU student union are engaged in sustainability questions.
Moreover, the interviewed managers expect students, but also professors of the different faculty, researchers,
and stakeholders from other universities to participate, and, more specifically, to collaborate. Indeed, they
emphasized that the university, which is home to tremendously diverse and bright people, needs to get
everyone working together on sustainability concerns in order to find the best ideas and solutions.
Embedding of sustainability in Human Resources policies: The Executive Board member highlighted in
the interview the expectations of the VU to embed sustainability into Human Resources policies, as employees
are a key part of the community of the future, sustainable VU. The interviewees, therefore, expect employees
to participate and be pro-active in sustainability activities at the university.
32
Foster innovation: The VU recognizes its sustainability transition as a pivotal process in its pursuit of
innovation. Indeed, the research for ways to replace unsustainable practices with more sustainable ones
should stimulate innovation.
The aforementioned inputs highlight the need of the VU for more investment into its sustainable
transition and the involvement of students as key change agents.
4.2.3 Challenges for the sustainability transition of the VU
Several challenges for the sustainability transition of the VU were identified from the interviews as well as
the previous analysis of the current situation at the VU:
Invisibility of efforts and strategy: The main challenge highlighted by the student interviewees is that
current sustainability efforts are largely invisible to the VU community, especially to students. As previously
discussed, the VU already initiated its sustainability transition but the community of students seems unclear
about where the VU stands in its sustainability strategy. This could convey a negative image of the university to
its stakeholders and larger society. It could also make it difficult for interested stakeholders to join existing
initiatives or develop their own ideas, since they will not be able to identify the appropriate channels within
the university to grow their projects. Most of the interviewees expect the future Green Office to integrate the
role of liaison as main function.
Lack of engagement of VU stakeholders: The employee and students not formally accountable for
sustainability efforts underlined in their interview the lack of initiative and involvement of the majority of the
stakeholders at the VU. Especially among students, who are the key community at the VU, only two student
projects focus on sustainability and involve a total of ten of the 23.000 students at the VU. As the managers
reported during their interviews, students are a source of new ideas and perspectives; they experience
situations differently from the university decision-makers. The problem is that students lack awareness about
sustainability issues and opportunities for action and change at the university.
Low priority of sustainability issues on the VU agenda: As the Executive Board member mentioned it in
the interview, sustainability is now part of the strategic planning of the VU since 2011. The managers however,
witness the slow process of acceptance and realization of their ideas in terms of sustainability at the VU and all
interviewees agree that the sustainability transition of our societies is a major concern and should be better
considered at universities since they act as examples for their internal communities and for society in general.
33
Importance of an integrated approach to sustainability: As previously discussed, sustainability is
considered to be a global concern for our society by the majority of the interviewees, who claim that it is
important as a university to address sustainability topics in a broad way. It was highlighted in the interviews as
well that sustainability should be part of the DNA of the students and therefore should be disseminated in
every area of a university where students evolve: education, research, operations, and community.
Slow administration: The managers emphasized the constraints that the VU stakeholders face in
turning their ideas into tangible projects due to the slow functioning of the highly bureaucratic administration
of the VU. The Executive Board member thus fears that the Green Office, which would be part of the VU
system, would face the same problems and stifle the creativity and energy brought by the Green Office
initiative.
Instability due to the student rotation system: The Executive Board member mentioned that processes
at universities are generally slow and the short rotation of the Green Office team may alter the vision and ideas
of the current staff members and threaten the stability of ongoing projects. Thus, continuity is essential at the
VU and in the Green Office.
Rationale for the creation of a Green Office at the VU - Discussion
With regards to the documentation analysis and results of the interviews, the sustainability context of
the VU seems suitable for the establishment of a Green Office. By considering the constraints and challenges
faced by the university today and still being in line with its identity and expectations for the sustainability
approach, the Green Office should be able to positively impact the VU’s sustainability transition. Indeed,
sustainability now plays a crucial role in the VU’s commitment to building a university that is internationally
renowned for its research and education. The Green Office, by its specific model, should fit perfectly in this
context for several reasons:
The VU currently faces a relatively low level of student engagement in sustainability efforts. The Green
Office could bring about a cultural change, making sustainability a student-driven effort where students will
work together with other VU stakeholders such as professors, researchers, employees, and other students to
promote sustainable behavior, initiatives, and activities.
Currently, sustainability initiatives at the VU suffer from a long and slow process of implementation.
The low priority put on sustainability issues could be overcome with the Green Office as the empowered
students, whose opinion is of high-interest for the decision-makers, have the potential to force decision-
34
makers to focus on sustainability issues while bringing new and creative ideas to the table based on their
experiences at the VU.
Though many initiatives have been carried out already, there are still a lot of opportunities to address
sustainability issues and the Green Office would be proactive in this function by creating a sustainability
network composed of students, professors of the different faculty, employees, researchers, and stakeholders
from other universities.
Also, current sustainability efforts are largely invisible to the VU community, especially students. The
Green Office will promote VU sustainability activities through its physical and virtual offices, as well as its
communication actions.
Finally, sustainability is considered as a global concern in our society and needs to be broadly
embraced by every organization. The Green Office is an ideal response to this global concern, acting as a
central unit in charge of integrating sustainable practices into every university activity.
Depending on the strategy conducted, the Green Office could be positioned within the VU to bridge the
gap between its desired sustainability vision and the current reality, helping the VU moving forward in its
sustainability transition.
4.3 Third step: Strategy for the establishment of VU Green Office
The Green Office Model is an open-source best practice (see Annex 2). rootAbility has distilled the
essence of the Green Office Model into six major principles. These characteristics are here adapted to the
specific context of the VU:
35
Table 4: VU Green Office model
Characteristics Strategy for VU Green Office
The major action to be undertaken is the involvement of students during the
establishment phase of the Green Office and the creation of a team composed of
students only. All interviewees, the students as the managers stressed the idea of
empowering students in the VU sustainability efforts. The employee also referred to the
bottom-up approach which has proven to be successful in other contexts.
Although all interviewees advocated the role of students in the Green Office, both
specialists also underlined the need for the support of the team by VU managers. Members of
the team are students, and by definition, lack of expertise. Existing Green Offices already
addressed this concern by organizing weekly meeting with the Environmental or Facilities
Managers who bring advices and share their experiences and knowledge about management
and sustainability. The context at the VU confirms that it should also adopt this strategy.
The student rotation system has been stressed as a problem in the previous results
of the research and by the Executive Board member of the VU in the interview. The best
strategy to adopt in this context is to hire students for a period of one year minimum while
the team members should rotate twice per year so as to always have experienced students
mixed with the new recruits.
The specialists highlighted in the interview the main role of the future Green Office
to spearhead the sustainability transition of the VU through fostering its efforts in terms of
sustainability among all VU communities and involve VU stakeholders, especially
students in the development of new initiatives. The Green Office is a project of the new
Sustainability strategic plan of the VU.
With regards to most of the interviews, sustainability efforts need to embrace
every activities of the university: education, research, operations and community. VU Green
Office could be organized into several portfolios representing respectively each of these
activities.
The managers, employee and two students drew attention upon the role of
external communities in the sustainability efforts of the university. For instance, the business
community ZUIDAS around the VU is already involved in sustainability initiatives and
collaboration with the VU Green Office to share lived-experience could generate new
relevant ideas for the neighborhood.
Resources The managers interviewed suggested options for the provision of funding that can
both be adopted for the VU with regards to its context and the practices at other Green
Offices: The central level of the university can grant the budget to pay for salaries, project
expenses and office space or specific departments finance projects that are related to their
activities.
Integration The managers interviewed stressed the independent nature of the Green Office at
the VU that would be supervised by a sustainability committee.
Collaboration The lack of efforts in the primary processes - education and research - has been
quoted several times during the interviews by the specialists as well as two students.
Collaboration of the VU Green Office team with representatives of professors and
researchers is highly recommended with the organization of meeting every two weeks.
Training One of the specialists mentioned the impetus of the growing network of Green Offices
that should be used to share best practices and increase knowledge of the student employees
of the Green Office.
Students and
staff
Mandate
36
As stressed by the results of this research project, sustainability is a major concern for the future of our
society and universities can act as drivers of sustainability, with students as the main change agents engaged in
a sustainable transition. The Green Office already proved to be a successful initiative at other universities in
the Netherlands. The sustainability context of the VU is encouraging for the establishment of the Green Office
whose model and functions if strategically implemented, could feed the ambitions of the VU of its
sustainability transition. The business plan that follows this chapter recommends practical elements to be
taken into consideration for an effective establishment and management of the future Green Office at the VU.
37
5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT
OF VU GREEN OFFICE – BUSINESS PLAN
This business plan brings together the Green Office Model, the interviews conducted, and the different
results derived from the aforementioned research. This chapter is divided into specific sections that cover all of
the necessary elements for the successful creation of the Green Office and its productive management. The
project plan integrated in the business plan is based on the Green Office Model developed by rootAbility, but
applied to the VU context. It will provide recommendations that focus on how the future Green Office can
position and structure itself in order to maximize its impact across the VU and its community. This business
plan is the product of numerous discussions amongst the Facilities manager, the Environmental advisor,
students from SRVU and other students at the VU. Thus, creating awareness about sustainability among the
different stakeholders involved in this research project.
5.5.1 Mission, vision and values of the Green Office
The mission of the VU Green Office is to initiate and coordinate sustainability projects and policies within
and beyond the VU, by empowering students and staff members. The Green Office aspires to become the
central sustainability platform at the VU, where students, staff and faculty come together to implement joint
initiatives, exchange ideas, and create alliances. The VU Green Office’s activities take a broad approach to
sustainability including environmental, social, and economical aspects. The philosophy of the Green Office
rests in the aspiration to guarantee a sustainable standard of living for current and future generations.
5.5.2 Long-term goals of the Green Office
The VU Green Office aims to achieve the following objectives:
Empower students and staff to partake in VU’s sustainability efforts by giving them a sense of
ownership that will stimulate interest, involvement, and increase effectiveness,
Provide a dynamic platform for the exchange of information among VU stakeholders interested in
sustainability.
Increase awareness of VU stakeholders and demonstrably and positively change their attitudes,
behaviors, and motivations in relation to sustainability
Facilitate the realization of ideas and initiatives at the VU and support projects related to
sustainability.
Provide students with relevant skills and experience in sustainability that will help their future
employability and prepare them for a career in the field of sustainability.
Further support the implementation of VU’s sustainability efforts through additional change projects.
38
Promote cultural change and an integrative sustainability strategy at the institutional, university level.
Increase engagement with the external communities, e.g. ZUIDAS, Buitenveldert or other universities
and corporations to encourage a culture of sustainability and pro-environmental behavior in society.
5.5.3 Green Office plan
This section includes a range of criteria that follow the Green Office Model developed by rootAbility
and which have been adapted to the context of the VU. It is recommended that the VU integrates the following
elements during the creation phase of the Green Office.
Team composition
A dynamic team composed of student employees, volunteers, and one university staff member form the
core of a Green Office:
Eight student employees working 10 hours per week. Out of these 10 hours, 5 hours are paid
and 5 hours are voluntary work by the students. The core team should contain a set of skills
that guarantee minimal dependency on external resources, e.g. IT programming, web design,
marketing-communication, finance and accounting, journalism.
In the interviews, the possibility to hire a graduate student for a long period to guarantee
continuity in the activities of the Green Office was evoked. However, after reflection, it is
recommended not to follow this option as the hierarchy in the team might restrain the
potential ownership from the students, the budget is substantially lower and there is still a
risk to hire the wrong person what would threaten the stability of the Green Office.
An employee from Facilities Department, the environment advisor as well as representatives
of the education and research institutions will meet with the student employees in charge of
activities related to their respective field. They will meet every two weeks and provide
contacts, knowledge, give feedbacks and do joint projects.
To foster sustainability efforts into research, a PhD student could be integrated into the Green
Office team instead of a student employee.
A body of student volunteers will be involved to support projects and tasks of the Green
Office.
Each Green Office reports to a Steering Committee. The VU Green Office will report to a
Sustainability Committee empowered with the following tasks: approve the annual report and
plan of the Green Office, monitor performance against plan, approve and review finances and
budget, establish contacts within the university, and give strategic advice. The set up of a
Sustainability Committee at the VU is ongoing and it is recommended that the Green Office
meet with this group once every six months.
39
Activities
Internally, the Green Office team is divided into five portfolios where one forms the core of the unit as
being in charge of the internal organization of the Green Office and the others match the dimensions of
sustainability in higher education: Community, Education, Research, and Operations.
Organization team: The team includes two student employees with respective activities. The
Communication coordinator will be in charge of the creation and maintenance of the website, the
Facebook page and the newsletters. The Internal coordinator will be accountable for the recruitment
and coordination of the team and the follow-up of internal meetings, reporting and budget
dashboards. These tasks will be done in collaboration with several partners such as members of the
Supervisory Board, a contact person for administrative issues, as well as staff members.
Community team: The team is composed of two student employees and aims to raise awareness
throughout the VU community about sustainability issues and the efforts led by the VU, through
promotion and the creation of events and activities to engage students and staff. The Internal
community coordinator will be in charge of organizing networking events, film viewing, brainstorming
events, festival or conference (potentially together with external person). The External community
coordinator will connect students with the sustainability scene of Amsterdam and vice versa:
Workshops for high schools, excursions to sustainability companies and NGOs in Amsterdam and
inventory of internship opportunity. The community team will collaborate with the VU communication
department, student organizations, and individuals and groups of students.
Operations: Two student employees will be in charge of this team which will implement projects that
aim to reduce the environmental and social footprints of the VU. Their activities include the
production of a sustainability baseline report and yearly assessment of this latter and the
development of new initiatives in areas where sustainability is lacking, e.g. green catering, e-waste,
presence detectors and ambient light detectors, computer energy consumption. The team will work in
cooperation with Facility Services and the Environmental advisor of the VU.
Education team: One student employee is in charge of this portfolio with the following activities:
Inventory and yearly assessment of sustainability courses, working together with professors to
integrate sustainability in specific courses and to use the Green Office as a case study, the Green Office
Academy (potential activity). This team will work together with professors of different faculties at the
VU and students.
Research team: One student employee is in charge of the Living Lab project: This is an ongoing project
at other Green Offices that proved to be effective. The Living Lab would mobilize the research capacity
of the VU curriculum and academics to advance the sustainability efforts at the university as a living
laboratory. Students and academics would conduct research on sustainability topics related to the
sustainability transition of the VU. To be implemented at the VU, its potential needs to be first
40
examined. Research-questions addressing the sustainability transition of the VU will be identified.
Then, meeting with academic and research community will help featuring if the VU benefits from a
great expertise and research capacities within the curriculum, which seems already the case. Courses
that could be used to answer these questions through Bachelor and Master Theses or applied research
projects will need to be identified. If the Green Office decides to implement the Living Lab, the
following steps will need to be addressed:
Living Lab tasks
The Living Lab team will design the first research-projects to be conducted.
It will work together with the course coordinators to develop task descriptions for the
student research projects and will provide support all along the research. As part of these
projects, the Green Office will also organize excursions so that students can experience
sustainability projects at the VU.
Once the research projects are completed, the Living Lab guarantees that the question
holders receive and understand the answers provided by the research.
Finally, the Green Office team assesses the incorporation of the research results into the
sustainability efforts of the VU.
The Living Lab can also emerge as the contact point for corporations, NGOs and the city of
Amsterdam to pose their sustainability research-questions.
Recruitment
To prevent instability due to the student rotation system, the recruitment process concerning the
team members should take place twice per year, where the student employees hired will commit to staying for
a minimum of one year in the Green Office. It is recommended that one of the student, especially one from the
Organization team keep his/her position for a minimum of 18 months to ensure continuity. In the first
semester, four students will be recruited and will cover all portfolios of the Green Office (one student will
cover Education and Research portfolios). In the second semester, another four students will be recruited to
complement three teams (Organization, Community and Operations). Afterwards, every semester a maximum
of four new students should join the Green Office to mitigate student rotation.
Running timetable
The whole Green Office team should meet once a week, preferably on Mondays or Tuesdays for 2 hours.
Every two weeks each project team meets a staff member to a specific time
Office hours: 10am-4pm, always two to three student employees, and three hours shifts per student, where
they work or study in the Green Office.
41
Each team individually organizes working sessions with the volunteers together once per week.
Integration
Ideally, the Green Office is organizationally located directly under the Executive Board, as a central
executive unit dealing with sustainability. Alternatively, the Green Office could be linked to a specific
department of the university. For example, it could be part of the Facilities Department. This organizational
integration is mainly for administrative purposes as the Green Office stays independent in its operations and
reports to its own Sustainability Committee. Financially and administratively it will be a fully integrated part of
the VU. With regards to the situation at the existing Green Office, it is recommended to adopt the second
option.
Location
Virtually, the Green Office has an online presence on its own website and through social media.
Physically, it should be located centrally on the campus to be accessible and visible by the whole community of
the VU. Preferably, it would move into the ground floor or first floor of the main building Hoofdgebouw with
meeting and enough working space for people. Apart from this central location, the Green Office could also
use one office at the Facilities Department and share their meeting rooms. It is not recommended to locate the
Green Office at the StudentenD0k with the student organizations as the Green Office is not a student
organization and hence should not be mistaken as such.
Resources
The proposed budget is supposed to be applied for the first two years of the Green Office. After that, the
results of the Green Office activities will be evaluated and the budget can be reviewed. This budget has been
developed with regards to the situation at other existing Green Offices where the smallest budget is allocated
to Green Office Wageningen with 36.500€ per year and the optimum budget to Maastricht with 164.000€ per
year. It aims to successfully run the Green Office with an effective composition of the team and the work time.
Projected budget: Two options
Total costs (two options) Salary investment Additional investment
(1) Paid work
- 8 students:
- 10hrs/week paid 12
- 0hrs of volunteering
-->512.4€ per month of salary for
the students13
- Working budget (projects + training
+ printing)
- Office space for free or sponsored
- ITC costs depending on the office
space selected
12
Gross salary costs per student employee is 24,98€ in 2014 at UVA Amsterdam – costs for the VU (VU figures not
received) 13
Gross salary for student employee is 12,81€ at UVA in Amsterdam in 2014 (VU figures not received)
42
Total 104.000€ (24,98*10*52*8) 7.000€
First year* 85.000€ (78.000€+7.000€)
Second year 111.000€
(2) Paid work + volunteer - 8 students:
- 5hrs/week paid
- 5hrs of volunteering
--> 256.2€ per month of salary for
the student**
- Working budget (projects + training +
printing)
- Office space for free or sponsored
- ITC costs depending on the office
space selected
Total 52.000€ (24,98*5*52*8) 7.000€
First year* 46.000€ (39.000€+7.000€)
Second year 59.000€
Table 5: Projected budget
*The first year, only four student employees are recruited to run the Green Office the first six month:
For the first option: (24,98€*10hrs*26weeks*4students)+(24,98€*10hrs*26weeks*8students)= 78.000€
For the second option: (24,98€*5hrs*26weeks*4students)+(24,98€*5hrs*26weeks*8students)= 39.000€
** Salary package for the student employees if second option selected:
10 hours per week: 256€ per month as basic compensation + Volunteer work compensated through workshops
and training events + Experience of working in a student-led and staff-supported sustainability unit + Be part of
the European network of Green Offices.
Financing
It is recommended that the Two-years project is financed through the central level (the Executive Board) or
other funds for innovation projects. This would avoid complex organization between different units that we
can find in the following options:
- The funding to pay for the salary of the team and the training could be drawn from several sources
within and outside the university. For instance, the student involved in Education & Research can be
hired under the umbrella of the education structure or of IVM, the operations team by the Facilities
Department, another paid for by the student union and another by the Communication Department.
The central level then would provide the funding for office space and project expenditures.
- Or vice-versa: Facilities and working expenditures would be provided by the institutions related to the
running projects and the central level would provide funds for the student salaries and training.
43
Although creating complex financing framework, those two options promote the involvement of many
different stakeholders who are empowered towards sustainability at the VU. It also creates new connections
and brings new synergies into the Green Office.
Team knowledge management
Students who compose the team of the Green Office need to learn important skills, knowledge and values
for managing a Green Office. These students will, however, be able to improve their knowledge through the
experience they will gain at the Green Office and the training they will receive from skilled stakeholders:
Knowledge Management: In order to ensure the transfer of knowledge and the creation of new
knowledge within the Green Office, it is recommended to implement a knowledge management (KM)
strategy. This initiative can be managed by the Education & Research team.
Green Office community networking
1st training: 14-16.11.2014 with all Green Offices in Maastricht
16-19.10.2014: European Green Office Summit in Berlin where 2 representatives
from each Green Office are invited
Every semester networking and training, as well as the EU Green Office Summit in
Berlin once per year.
5.5.4 Partnership
The success of the VU Green Office is entirely dependent upon its relationship with the university.
Engagement with key stakeholders of the VU such as the higher management is at the heart of this initiative
and the governance of the VU, which raised the idea of establishing a Green Office, is also explicit about its
intention to work with the Green Office and students. To achieve its main functions, however, the Green Office
also relies on strong partnerships with other stakeholders that form the community of the VU. All projects of
the Green Office will be done in collaboration with a diversity of administrative and scientific staff, as well as
student organizations and students at the VU. Additionally, the Green Office will also connect to external
organizations to mobilize them in joint activities that fall within the mandate of the Green Office e.g. NGOs,
local governments or social organizations such as Duurzamestudent and Studenten voor morgen. All together,
they will maximize the benefits of the Green Office activities for the sustainability transition of the VU.
The Green Office will also become part of the Green Office Movement, a growing network of students,
staff and faculty from throughout Europe that are engage with a Green Office or are enthusiastic about it in
general. This will enable the student team to become part of a European wide network and movement, which
further contributes to the internationalization of the VU in the area of sustainability.
44
5.5.5 Marketing, communications and promotion at the Green Office
Today students and other stakeholders not engaged in the governance of the VU are not aware about
the sustainability activities carried out by the VU, and are somewhat disengaged with the sustainability
movement. It is the role of the Green Office to promote understanding of, awareness of and participation in
sustainable activities at the VU as well as to encourage lasting behavior change.
The following Communication and Marketing plan separates the audience into different categories with
regards to the message to be communicated:
45
Audience Goal Dates Channel
Create the Green Office team
Introduction days and
first period of the
academic year
Introduction days existing channels,
emailing and presentation meeting
Hire new team membersTeam-transition period
every six months
E-zine, VU magazine, Green Office
website, direct communication, social
media, emailing
Increase audience awareness
about sustainability, the
sustainability transition of the VU
and the Green Office
Engage the audience into the
Green Office activities
Encourage the audience to share
ideas about sustainability and
propose initiatives
Recruit volunteers for specific
projectsWhen needed
E-zine, VU magazine, Green Office
website, direct communication, social
media, emailing
Involved stakeholders
(volunteers and
contributors)
Promote a sustainability
community at the VU and ensure
the audience future involvment
Continuous
communication
throughout the whole
academic year
Newsletter, social media, private
event, emailing
Increase audience awareness
about sustainability, the
sustainability transition of the VU
and the Green Office
Engage the audience into the
Green Office activities
Encourage the audience to share
ideas about sustainability and
propose initiatives
Directors of the
different VU
departments
Environmental Advisor
Communication
Department
Facilities Department
Academic staff
Research staff
VU Student
organizations
Dutch sustainability
organizations
Share experiences and create
partneships
Environmental
Departments and
Green Offices of other
universities
Share experiences and create
partneships
After six months of
activities, to be able to
demonstrate impact
Media Communicating about the Green
Office and the VU sustainability
transition
Launch of Green Office
and successfully finalized
projects
Press releases
Develop partnership with the
audience Launch of Green Office
and when needed
Direct communication, meeting,
emailing, phoning
Student community of
the VU
E-zine, VU magazine, Green Office
website, VU website, direct
communication, social media,
newsletter, posters, promotion
events such as conference, film view,
festival
Continuous
communication
throughout the whole
academic year
Continuous
communication
throughout the whole
academic year
E-zine, VU magazine, Green Office
website, VU website, direct
communication, social media,
newsletter, posters, promotion
events such as conference, film view,
festival
VU staff, alumni and
other local
communities
46
Table 6: Marketing and communication plan
rootAbility will assist in the international communication of the successes and lessons learned of the VU Green
Office. This could generate significant media attention.
5.5.6 Monitoring and evaluation plan of VU Green Office activities
Monitoring and assessing the work of the Green Office is necessary to evaluate its impact and improve
its design. The Organization team has final accountability over the monitoring process, while the other teams
are responsible for the follow-up and reporting of their projects. Each project/activity will have its own project
plan, objectives, monitoring and evaluation criteria, defined by each project coordinator. Those quantifiable
outputs emphasizing on the follow-up of the Green Office activities are then compiled by Organization team in
an annual progress report that is discussed with the Sustainability Committee. In addition, assessment of the
Green Office impacts will be conducted on a yearly base and stress the impacts on VU stakeholders, on the
involved students learning process, and on the VU sustainability situation. Finally, the budget will have to
follow a strict monitoring process.
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Table 7: Monitoring and evaluation plan
5.5.7 Risks and mitigations plan for the Green Office
A range of actions can be undertaken to overcome the potential risks that can face the Green Office.
The following risks and mitigations plan stresses those points:
Objectives Method Example of indicators PeriodDirect
responsibilityResources
Follow-up
Green Office
activities
(workload,
success/failure)
Activities
reporting
Nb of finalized projects
Nb of failed projects
Nb of volunteers by
project/activities
Time spent by volunteers
Nb of request
Nb of concretized request
Social media attraction
Nb of participants at event
Nb of partner
Monthly Every team Dashboard
Green Office
team
Green Office
time
Education &
Research team
Student research
projects
Rootability and
Green Office
team
Green Office
time
Education &
Research team
Student research
projects
Green Office
team
Green Office
time
Education &
Research team
Student research
projects
BudgetActivities
reporting
Budget planned by
project/activities and for
internal organization;
Budget spent by
project/activities and for
internal organization;
Source of the budget
Monthly Every team Dashboard
Impact on
student interns
& volunteers
Impact on the
VU
sustainability
transition
Yearly
Awareness about
sustainability/Green Office
functions and activities/VU
sustainability transition
Interests of stakeholders
Questionnaire
(quantitative
method);
Interview
(qualitative
method)
Impact on VU
stakeholders
behavior
Yearly
Yearly
Changes brought about by
each team
Learning effects on
student interns &
volunteers
Case-study
and interview
Interview
(qualitative
method)
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Table 8: Risks and mitigations plan
5.5.8 Specific value-added of the Green Office
The VU Green Office should directly impact on the following topics:
Enhancing academic achievement: Translating leading academic research into sustainability into
practice but also integrating sustainability issues into more education programs are the core of the Education
and Research team activities. By linking students with academic research and sustainability thematic, the
Green Office will be directly supporting students’ academic achievement.
Enhancing student employability: Student employees at the Green Office acquire generic skills about
project management, running an organization, knowledge management, organizational change towards
sustainability, communication with high-level stakeholders, etc. They obtain these skills through their own
experience within the Green Office but also while attending training workshops. Student volunteers working
alongside the student employees are also able to acquire these skills through their participation in projects.
Impact Risks Actions to mitigate risks
Low-impact and high effort projects are
deployed and prove to fail
Examination of existing best practices and selection
according to predetermined criteria; Assist the design
and implementation of projects
The student employees show less interests
and ambitions than expected when recruited
Very careful application procedure; Communicate
expectations and benefits of working in the Green
Office appropriately
The Green Office fails to show its value for
the university to guarantee post-project
funding
Generate, monitor and communicate successes of the
Green Office; Gain support of key stakeholders from
the early beginning
The Green Office team damages
relationships with important stakeholders
Guarantee that the team has professional
communication, negotiation and conflict resolution
skills
Internal conflicts and disagreements in the
Green Office team
Regular and open communication in the team; Team
should spend time with each other; Retreats and
feedback sessions
Students quit the team before their term is
over
Guarantee knowledge transfer despite shorter
engagement; Improve recruitment methods
Insufficient learning and transition of
knowledge due to team rotation
Overlapping transition periods; Induction and training
of new members; Continuous coaching of older
members
Student employees feel overwhelmed by the
workload, skills and leadership
responsibilities
Careful selection of applications and training in
relevant skills and knowledge; Provide regular
feedback and coaching; applicant should be
enthousiastic about sustainability
High
Medium
Low
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Every involved student in the Green Office activities thus, gains knowledge and skills that he/she can take into
her/his future employment.
Supporting social enterprise and student entrepreneurship: Establishing and running the Green Office
is similar to establishing and running a social enterprise, as the students have to show a very high level of
initiative to successfully integrate the Green Office within the VU. The Green Office also supports other
students in running their own projects, providing them the opportunity to enhance social and ecological
entrepreneurship at the VU.
Building community bridges: The very nature of the Green Office is to create bridges between students
and other communities of the university, who will work together towards the sustainability transition of the
VU, thereby creating a dynamic network of sustainability change agents at the VU and around it.
Widen student and staff participation: Widening the participation of students and staff in the
sustainability transition of the VU is a core aim of the future Green Office. It achieves this aim through the
empowerment of its student employees and their collaboration with the staff community of the VU.
5.5.9 Short-term goals of the Green Office
Over the two years period, the Green Office aims to achieve the following goals. These goals are
mirrored on the achievements by Maastricht University Green Office which counts around 14.000 students.
Education & Research:
- Every student employee attended at least two trainings;
- Every volunteer gained a minimum of knowledge and skills through their practical experience at the
Green Office;
- Sustainability topics discussed in additional academic programs;
- If the Living Lab project is developed, 9 student-research projects run and answering questions related
to the sustainability transition of the VU, and other organizations, corporations, and NGOs in
Amsterdam (three researches per semester, except the first one);
- 6 student-research projects run and evaluating the impacts of the Green Office on VU stakeholders,
student employees & volunteers and on the VU transition towards sustainability (three researches per
year).
- 4 to 8 sustainability case-studies developed for different courses at the VU
Operations:
50
- One baseline report of the VU sustainability, assessed and updated every year;
- Four initiatives related to the sustainability of the VU operations developed and implemented (one
initiative per semester).
Community
- Consistent communication around the Green Office in terms of messages;
- 15 student employees recruited and trained;
- 15 projects successfully implemented;
- 60 volunteers assist the Green Office teams in their activities;
- 1.500 students, academics and staff members participate in events, campaigns and projects;
- 15 student-research projects lead;
- 15.000 unique page views;
- 1.000 facebook likes;
- 50% of all students at the VU have heard the name of the Green Office;
- 25% of all students at the VU can describe the functions and role of the Green Office;
- Higher rank in the Sustainabul award, the sustainability ranking of Dutch institution of higher
education by Studenten voor morgen.
Internal organization:
- Dashboards for reporting purpose developed and used;
- Two Year Planning reports developed and assessed;
- Retreats and feedback sessions organized (yearly and monthly);
- Careful and efficient team transition period organized following strict protocol;
- Consistent internal tools created and used.
5.5.10 Roadmap for establishing and running the VU Green Office
The roadmap gives a notion of how the activities of the Green Office may be deployed over the first
two years. As such, it is meant less as a prescription to be followed vigorously and more as a broad outline to
be built out with energy and creativity by the students in charge of implementing and running the Green
Office.
Once the VU Green Office is approved, the first four students should be recruited. For the first four
months until the end of the year, the overall goal is to establish the Green Office within the university
framework and the wider public as a recognized institution by building networks, contacts, and media
campaigns. The Green Office will try to combine short-term achievements with a long-term strategy of
51
becoming an established, sustainability entity at the VU. The timeline assumes a start of the Green Office in
September 2014.
52
Table 9: 2 years Roadmap
Sep
tem
ber
Oct
ob
er
No
vem
ber
Dec
emb
er
Jan
uar
y
Feb
ruar
y
Ma
rch
Ap
ril
Ma
y
Jun
e
July
Au
gust
Sep
tem
ber
Oct
ob
er
No
vem
ber
Dec
emb
er
Jan
uar
y
Feb
ruar
y
Ma
rch
Ap
ril
Ma
y
Jun
e
July
Au
gust
Green Office team
Recruitment of the four first student employees
Finalization of the Sustainability Committee creation
Communication about Green Office during Introduction days
Collection of interested people contact
Preparation of a media campaign
First contact with the Communication Department
Organization of the official launch of the Green Office
Launch of the Green Office
Meeting with staff member participating in the Green Office
Training of the team
Development of new Roadmap
Organization team
Development of all organizational tools
Finding Green Office office space
Recruitment of new team members (Nb of new employees) 4 4 4 4 4
Induction new students
Creation of the website and facebook page
Maintenance website and social media
Create the first Newsletter and send to all contacts
Writing of the monitoring report
Writing of the budget report
Writing of the Year plan document
Assessment of the Year plan
Meeting with Sustainability Committee
Education&Research team
(1) Development of a knowledge management strategy
Knowledge management
(2) Development of a sustainability course inventory
Update of the course inventory
(3) Establishment of the Living Lab project
Identification of research-questions
Inventory of courses and research to answer the questions
Design of first research-project
Outreach for research-project
Support to the research project students
Dissemination of the research results through the VU
Assessment of the first results incorporation by the VU
Design of new research-projects
Inclusion of external stakeholders in Living Lab project
Meeting with academical & research staff
Operations team
(1) Choice of assessment framework for sustainability report
Collecting available information on sustainability at the VU
Writing of a baseline report of VU sustainability
Assessment and update of the report
Meeting with relevant stakeholders
(2) Development of the initiatives
Implementation of the initiatives
Community team
(1) Establishment of sustainability initiatives list
Meeting with relevant stakeholders
(2) Organization of the first internal outreach event
(3) Joint series of events with external stakeholders
Preparing next outreach campaign
First Year Second Year
Activities
2014 2015 2016
First Year Second Year
First Year Second Year
First Year Second Year
First Year Second Year
53
The research results seems favorable to the establishment of a Green Office at the VU as the context
of the VU is suitable for a specific unit managed by students to participate and drive the sustainability
transition of the VU. The Business plan highlights the best strategy to be carried out for the inception of the
Green Office at the VU. It dresses up recommendations that are considered as key-elements for a careful and
efficient implementation and management of the future VU Green Office.
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6. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
This research project seeks to feed the growing interest of universities in transitioning toward greater
sustainability. The VU raised the idea of establishing a Green Office to foster the development of sustainable
policies at the university through the involvement of students. As a student-led and staff-supported unit that
promotes sustainability at universities, the Green Office has already been successfully implemented in five
other universities in the Netherlands and the UK. Within this context, this research sought to identify how and
to what extent a Green Office at the VU could foster sustainability at the university and in society as a whole. A
review of the contemporary literature on sustainability in higher education underlined the role of universities
as drivers of sustainability. Universities have the potential to become powerful leaders in the sustainability
transition of our society through their research, education, community engagement activities, their operational
processes, and especially by empowering their students to become practitioners and catalysts of sustainable
thinking. The case-studies conducted in this research highlighted the best practices of the existing Green
Offices such as developing a good organizational structure of the unit or ensuring the continuity of knowledge
and stable initiatives through a tailored recruitment approach. The best practices were then applied into the
VU sustainability context and integrated when relevant into the strategies for the creation and management of
the future VU Green Office. This study supports the creation of the Green Office at the VU as the university’s
sustainability situation, as well as its expectations and challenges for the future Green Office seem auspicious.
The Green Office initiative’s ambitious objective of serving as a liaison office requires the involvement and
commitment of many, diverse stakeholders, especially students. It was, thus, a priority for the VU to align
different interests by involving managers, governance members, employees, and students in the conceptual
planning of the Green Office. The resulting business plan is the product of numerous discussions with VU
stakeholders, the assessment of existing Green Offices and the analysis of VU context in term of sustainability.
The research carried out lead to the conclusion that the VU has the necessary conditions for the successful
establishment of a Green Office to spearhead its sustainability transition.
Though the business plan details all of the main steps for the creation of the Green Office and its
effective management, it can only serve as broad recommendations that must be complemented by the team
that will implement the VU Office. Also, several activities are beyond the scope of the Green Office, such as
high-budget, infrastructure, or campus planning projects, which are the responsibility of management or
governance teams. This demonstrates the need for a careful and thorough definition of scope during the
creation phase of the Green Office. This scope should be validated by the VU governance members, managers,
and by the Green Office team. Finally, it is strongly recommended that the future VU Green Office share its
experiences with and actively participate in the growing European Green Offices network. This would promote
new collaborations, maximize best-practices, and help the VU Green Office fostering sustainable development
at the university and in society as a whole.
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Spira, F. (2012). Sowing sprouts to engender greener universities – A qualitative study exploring the projects, challenges and strategies of sustainability student groups. Maastricht Journal of liberal arts. Unviersity College Maastricht, Maastricht University. Sterling, S. (2002). The future fit framework -an introductory guide to teaching and learning for sustainability in HE. The higher education academy: Heslington. Sterling, S. (2004). Higher education, sustainability, and the role of systemic learning, in Higher education and the challenge of sustainability., P. Corcoran and A. Wals, Editors. Kluwer: Dordrecht. p. 47-70.
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ANNEXES Annex 1: Questionnaire for the interview
QUESTIONNAIRE – RESEARCH PROJECT
The Vrije Universiteit (VU) plans to create a Green Office. The Green Office concept is a student-driven and
staff-supported office that seeks to develop sustainability within and around the university. Today, there are
three Green Offices in the Netherlands (Maastricht, Wageningen and Utrecht universities) and two in the
United Kingdom. This interview is part of a research project which aims to provide the VU with a proposal for
how to create and manage effectively the future Green Office.
1. In your opinion, what is the role of sustainable development at universities?
2. What are the main initiatives currently being carried out at the VU to promote sustainability?
3. How do you think the VU can improve its sustainability?
4. How can the involvement of students in the development of sustainability policies at university impact
the university sustainability?
5. What should be the role and principal activities of the future Green Office at the VU?
6. How should the Green Office be organized concerning resources (stakeholders) and structure (internal
organization and integration in the university)?
7. Do you believe in an integrative approach to sustainability at universities - the idea that each
university activity should seek to promote sustainability: teaching, research, physical operations and
external community activities? Why?
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Annex 2: Green Office Model – rootAbility
6 Green Office principles:
Students and staff: A dynamic team of student interns, volunteers and university staff form
the core of a Green Office. They are directly responsible for running the unit and its
projects.
Mandate: The Green Office receives an official mandate to implement sustainability
projects and policies, or to manage certain objectives of an existing sustainability strategy.
Resources: The university or college grants a budget to pay for salaries, project expenses
and office space. The team is also allowed to use other in-house resources, such as design
or catering services and space for events.
Integration: The Green Office is integrated into the institution’s organisational structure, is
supervised by a steering committee, and attends meetings of relevant committees.
Collaboration: All activities of the team are conducted in close collaboration and
partnership with internal and external stakeholders, including student groups and
representatives, academics, management and administrators.
Training: The student team and volunteers receive workshops and coaching to guarantee
the quality and impact of their work. After their term in the Green Office, the students can
become involved as consultants or coaches with rootAbility.
