Sinks to Rise | From Carbon to Construction: An integrated approach of nature-based carbon storage and bio-based building materials

In an era marked by pressing environmental concerns and the urgent need for sustainable solutions, our project embarked on a transformative journey, envisioning a future where nature-based strategies not only combat climate change but also foster economic prosperity and social justice.<br/><br/>With CO2 emissions reaching alarming levels and...

Chance to Change the Chain: Imagining a More Circular and Inclusive Food Supply Chain

Food. It is grown, processed, distributed, sold, eaten and then oftentimes<br/>carelessly discarded. In the European Union, 88 million tonnes<br/>of food waste is produced each year, while the Netherlands stands<br/>out as the EU’s largest producer. Food waste causes soil degradation,<br/>emits significant amounts of greenhouse gasses and can...

Down To Earth: Regenerative soil as the solution for an innovative bio-based region to restore ecological systems.

‘Down to Earth’ proposes regenerative soil as the foundation of an innovative bio-based region in South Holland, that connects society and economy on all scales while restoring ecological systems. Agricultural Practices that have heavily relied on tilling and the heavy use of chemical fertilizers has reduced the quality of the topsoil...

Non-parasitic Economy: Towards a symbiosis between coastal cities and water

Coastal areas have always played a vital role in the economic, social, and political development of most countries. They support a diverse and productive coastal ecosystem that provides valuable goods and services (Airoldi et al., 2005). In these areas, urbanization and other land-use activities are rapidly increasing. However, human activities...

Catalytic Oxidations in a Bio-Based Economy

The role of bio- and chemo-catalytic aerobic oxidations in the production of commodity chemicals in a bio-refinery is reviewed. The situation is fundamentally different to that in a petrochemicals refinery where the feedstocks are gaseous or liquid hydrocarbons that are oxidized at elevated temperatures in the vapor or liquid phase under...

Food Waste through the Food-Water-Energy Nexus Lenses: A Case Study of Amsterdam

Food waste is a global issue that causes various but significant global impacts, wasting millions of hectares of arable land, 0.75 to 1.25 trillion of cubic meter of water per year, and about 1.5% of the global energy production. In developed nations, food waste occurs mainly at the retail and consumer stage. By 2050, 80% of the global food...

Sustainability criteria and the bio-based materials sector in the Netherlands

Fossil fuels will run out in the foreseeable future. Out entire economic system is build upon fossil fuels and building up another base for this economic system is challenging. The only alternative for making materials that normally are derived from fossil fuels is the Bio-Based Economy. Materials in this way get made from biomass, such as sugar...