Green Offices
What is a Green Office?
A Green Office (GO) is a platform for sustainability that is established and run by students with the support of the university or Applied Sciences school staff members. The primary goal of a GO is to ensure that the institution is becoming more sustainable in all its facets. This way, the sustainable initiatives of GOs become more visible and thus the involvement of students on sustainability is stimulated.
The Green Office Model is created by rootAbility and consists of six principles, it:
- exists of students and staff;
- has the official mandate to encourage sustainability in the higher education institution;
- also receives funding to achieve the above;
- is integrated in the organisational structure of the institution;
- collaborates with internal and external parties;
- demonstrates how this change can be achieved through training.
GOs aim to ensure sustainability in all facets of a university or college, in both the academic curriculum and operations.
- The academic role covers the role of the higher education within society: What do we teach our students? Does the institution’s research lead towards making the society more sustainable? How are students and staff stimulated to get engaged in sustainability?
- The execution is more about practical matters that influence the ecological foot print of the institution and cover therefore energy, catering, buildings, waste, biodiversity and more.
Green Office Coordinator: Saraf Nawar
Hi, I am Saraf Nawar, an international student from Bangladesh, studying in the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Sciences at the TU Delft. Buying less, choosing well and making it last has always been the motto that resonates with me, given my passion towards exploring every shade of green in topics of energy, renewables and sustainability. After working for the sustainable development goals at the university, I felt the need to broaden my horizon by exploring a wider network. I will be serving as the new Green Office Coordinator for the universities and the university of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, assisting in the process of information flow, sharing knowledge and connecting you to the right people in the right time. Super excited to visit and get to know all the Green offices of the country, and to be the medium for a more sustainable tomorrow.
For invites, questions or suggestions, mail to greenoffice@studentenvoormorgen.nl.
Green Offices that are members of Studenten voor Morgen:
- Green Office VU
- Green Office UvA
- Leiden University Green Office
- GreenTU Delft
- Erasmus Sustainability Hub
- Green Office Avans
- Green Office Maastricht
- Green Office TU Eindhoven
Would you like to start you own Green Office? Find more information at www.greenofficemovement.org. If you have questions, please contact Felix Spira at felix.spira@rootability.com.
