In this research study, a backcasting analysis has been conducted on the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago with the aim of establishing a sustainable energy supply by the year 2040. Quist backcasting framework, due to it's flexible nature has been used as the main skeleton for this research. As a part of the study, 8 islands with significant populations have been chosen from within the archipelago. The current energy system in the islands is largely characterized by both technical and economic inefficiencies. The island largely relies on diesel for it's power supply. The underdeveloped nature of the economy in the archipelago, especially in the rural areas, enables the usage of large amounts of traditional fuels such as firewood and crop residue for their daily energy needs. As a part of the backcasting analysis, the desired future energy system has been envisioned for the islands and a modelling exercise has been performed to optimize the sizing of the energy sources in the future system using levelized cost of electricity as a parameter. These optimized sizings have found to be largely dependent upon the learning rates and the future costs of technologies. Transitional pathways for each of the islands have been drafted to materialize these visions. It has been observed that large amounts of infrastructure upgradation and a strong policy framework are the main interventions necessary. In order to facilitate a transition in the rural areas, drafting a separate rural energy policy would be advisable. Overall, this thesis succeeds in blending a wide range of topics into the backcasting framework and uses it well to draw tangible transitional pathways.

Climate change challenges the resiliency of our cities, and lack of spaces in densely paved areas makes it impossible to implement adaptation and mitigation strategies on the street level. However, buildings have often unused roofs, which can be converted into sustainable roofing options. Green roofs are systems which allow for the growth of different types of vegetation, mitigating heat and capturing water. Blue roofs are layers for water collection, which provide temporary storage and slow release of rainwater. Yellow roof is another name to indicate roofs with photovoltaic (PV) panels. Some areas of the city may be more subject to flooding and heat. Some buildings may instead receive more solar radiation. Therefore, prioritizing which option to install where may be the key to the success of sustainable roofing placement. In this study, we construct an optimization model that evaluates the benefits of the roofing option in each potential location and chooses the combination of roofs and roofing options which maximizes the total societal benefits. The reduction of flooding and heat risks and the production of clean energy are modeled considering both climate variables and the city’s characteristics. However, the derived data and parameters are uncertain by nature. Climate data is used in ensembles and is integrated into the problem by formulating the model into a stochastic and robust version. We take Schiedam as our case study area and solve the model. We also perform uncertainty analysis, making use of clustering and classification tree regression. This analysis allows to understand which parameters are driving which type of solutions, and to understand how robust the constructed model is. Moreover, we formulate the same problem in the shape of a multi-time step model, where the decision maker can make the optimal placement decision every year. In this case, it is possible to simplify the decision process into a one-branch tree for which we present a methodology. The results show that our model is robust in terms of placement choice when parameters change, and we discover which parameters drive the main variations. The total benefits are instead much more reliant on the uncertainty of the problem.

Waste education programmes, such as the Littler Less Campaign (LLC), are environmental and sustainability education (ESE) programmes which aim to increase the understanding of one’s impact on the environment and the impact of the environment on society. The LLC aims to increase waste literacy, which is a measure of a person’s understanding of waste pathways and the effects of anthropogenic waste on the environment. Waste literacy plays an important role in the field of industrial ecology as it has demonstrable effects on whether individuals are willing and able to participate in environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs). Previous studies have shown that it is necessary to increase the public’s understanding and awareness of environmental issues, and primary education is a critical time for shaping ERBs. This thesis uses mixed methods to analyse how the LLC affects aspects of waste literacy and how teachers and national operators perceive the LLC’s effects. Multivariate data analysis is used to analyse LLC students’ knowledge of waste and attitudes towards waste and the factors affecting the LLC’s impact. The results show that the LLC has a significant effect on the students’ attitude toward waste and knowledge of waste in Northern Ireland and Russia, but not in Ireland. Gender and age did not affect LLC students’ scores, but female control students had higher knowledge and attitude scores compared to male control students while younger control students had higher attitude scores compared to older control students, suggesting that the LLC decreases the effect of background factors on waste literacy. The perceptions of teachers and National Operators (NOs) were analysed using thematic analysis and results showed both teachers and NOs thought the LLC had a positive impact on students overall and that student involvement determined the effectiveness of the LLC. Participatory teaching methods, specifically fieldwork and student ownership, were found to play a significant role in the LLC’s efficacy. Keywords: waste literacy, multivariate data analysis, thematic analysis, participatory methods.

The heating transition goals of the Netherlands are ambitious. To reach the goal of an 80% reduction of CO2 emission by 2050, the total residential heat consumption would need to be drastically cut down. The Dutch government is leaning towards implementing large-scale heating networks and reusing waste heat from non-renewable industry. However, doubts exist whether or not that is the most viable solution. Other research lacks an overlapping approach to the modelling of a complex problem like the heating transition. The aim of this paper is to make a GIS-based framework to develop scenarios for the heating transition in cities and evaluate the implementation of different combinations of technologies to reach the Dutch climate goals. This analysis focusses on residential buildings because there is an ongoing discussion who is going to pay for the investment necessary to achieve the heating transition for this type of building. The case study of this paper focusses on the Merenwijk in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands The technologies covered in this paper are heat pumps, low temperature heating networks and high temperature heating networks. These technologies are evaluated on their technical, financial and environmental aspects to determine their impact. Next to these impacts the trade-offs of implementing these technologies are evaluated and which impact these could have on the stakeholders involved. Three scenarios were made to cover a few combinations of these technologies: 1) a scenario based on the warmtevisie from Leiden utilizing heat pumps and low temperature heating networks; 2) a scenario utilizing only heat pumps; and 3) a scenario implementing low and high temperature heating networks for the whole neighbourhood.  All technologies have specific characteristics which should be considered before implementing on a large scale. Financial assistance from the municipality or the government is needed for the home owners in order to achieve the heating transition within 32 years. The energy sources used by the heating technologies will be crucial for reaching the climate goals. At some point the Dutch government has to choose between a quick wins solution by reusing waste heat from the harbour of Rotterdam, or to implement a long term sustainable energy transition with heat pumps and low temperature heating networks. This paper provides an overview of the three mentioned heating technologies to be implemented during the heating transition as an alternative to natural gas. Moreover, it will hopefully invoke some debate about the Dutch government’s heating transition agenda.

“Teaching is both an art and a science” (Harrison & Coll, 2008 p.1). Good teaching excites students and cultivates their curiosity to learn more than they are asked. But what if students’ blank faces tell you that the teaching did not land, what can you do? Using an analogy or metaphor to explain the principle helps students visualize and comprehend the knowledge of difficult, abstract concepts by making it familiar. The National Academy of Engineers issued a report in 2008 emphasizing the need for design engineers to develop 21st century skills, such as ingenuity and creativity, and to create innovative products and markets. However, designers have a hard time ignoring evident constraints on their concepts during their design process. This is especially difficult for novice designers when attempting to use analogical reasoning (Osborn, 1963; Hey et al. 2008). Hey et al. explains how the multitude of design considerations is even more difficult for novice as compared to expert designers who are more able to focus on the important features of a problem. Kolodner (1997) iterates how novice designers have difficulty sifting through the mass of information they encounter. They need help with the transfer of knowledge that analogical reasoning requires. When students can clearly extract and articulate what they have learned, this helps them to internalize this. Biomimicry education teaches the clear extraction and articulation while learning to decipher and transfer function analogies from biology to design. This transfer can also improve reasoning when solving problems (Wu and Weng, 2013), reacting to the challenge in a more ‘out-of-the-box’ manner (Yang et al. 2015). However, not being able to fully understand this “conceptual leap between biology and design” in an accurate manner, is sited as a key obstacle of this field (Rowland, 2017; Rovalo and McCardle 2019, p. 1). Therefore, didactics on how to teach this analogical leap to overcome the hurdles is essential. There is insufficient research on the effectivity of biomimicry education in design to help establish ‘best practices’. This thesis offers advice to fill this pedagogical gap to find out how to overcome the obstacle of analogical reasoning for novice designers, while practicing biomimicry. The contribution to science is a not earlier tested methodology that leads to a clearer understanding of the translation of biological strategies and mechanisms found in scientific research. This translation from biology to design in visual and textual manner, is called the Abstracted Design Principle (ADP) and is introduced and explained in detail in chapters 4, 5 and 6 of this thesis. Together with the proposed instructions, we sketch the net-gain of positive mind-set for novice designers on their path to design for a sustainable future. @en