Reducing ambition erosion to achieve strategic sustainability ambitions: A research on the realisation of strategic sustainability ambitions in the exploration phase

Sustainability has gained global recognition due to the detrimental effects of human activities on the environment, resulting in climate and weather extremes. In the Netherlands, the infrastructure sector is a key focus for policymakers, as it is responsible for a significant portion of the country's carbon dioxide emissions due to Factors such...

From garbage patch to Ocean Product: A strategy for value creation using ocean plastic, for The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup is an NGO founded in 2013, with the aim to rid the world’s oceans of plastic by 2040. Collecting this plastic however begs the question: ‘What to do with this waste after it has left the ocean?’To answer this question, first, it is important to look at the material. In my research, I defined the following tiers of ocean plastic...

Towards proactive decision-making for sustainability in the construction industry: An application to project delivery of urban utility infrastructure systems

An increasing awareness of sustainability problems urges the need for more sustainable practices within the infrastructure industry. Organisations actively engage sustainability in strategic missions and objectives. However, how these visions translate proactively to the tactical and operational levels of decision-making is still considered an...

Food Waste Prevention: a design intervention for Households

Globally one-third of all food that is producedfor human consumption is wasted (FAO, 2013). Although it happens across theentire Food Supply Chain, 53% of all food waste in Europe takes place withinconsumers’ households (Stenmarck et al., 2016). All this waste has seriousconsequences for the environment and if we want to...

Transition of the mixed plastic household waste value chain: Almere as case in a multi-level analysis on innovation in the niche of recycling mixed plastics

Packaging plastics account for the majority of the household waste plastics. These plastics can be divided into a number of types of plastics, namely PET, HDPE, LDPE, PP, PS, EPS and others. However, many plastic packages consist of different types of plastics and are often contaminated, therefore these plastics end up in the mixed plastics....

Elephants in the Boardroom?: Sustainable values-based strategic decision-making in a Dutch housing association

The central research question in this study is: Which meaning is given to sustainability within a Dutch housing association and does making sense of the concept of sustainability lead to sustainable strategic choices? The chosen research strategy is a longitudinal case study in the Dutch housing association Welbions. Data was collected in three...

The evolution of the Strategic role of Designers for Sustainable Development

Design for Sustainable Development refers to the application of a design process to solve a problem related to sustainability, such as creating a pair of shoes that can be recycled or managing waste collection in a large city. Since the origins of this concept in the 1960s, Design for Sustainable Development has been evolving, gradually...

A sustainable added value to implement within Roger Bacon Eyewear

The following thesis report carried out together with the company Roger Bacon and the Delft University of Technology illustrates the process and the outcomes of the graduation project. Roger Bacon is a Dutch start-up that has developed an unique process to design tailormade 3D printed eyewear. The graduation project has the goal of...

Flexibility as foundation of Sustainability: Lifecycle focus as a process approach towards 'Evolving Buildings' in our 'City of Tomorrow

Our society and economy are constantly changing. In spite of this the demands and wishes of users also changes. Most of the current building stock is developed as mono-functional buildings to fulfil the demand at a particular moment. They are not designed for the lifespan in which they are functional. Because of their shortcomings in...