The transition to circular material use is essential for the University of Antwerp. Purchased goods and services account for as much as 39% of our total carbon footprint – making it the most important impact category of the university's CO2 footprint.
With a circular strategy, we reduce our dependence on finite resources, counter the associated climate, environmental, and adverse social impacts, and utilize new economic opportunities. Our university has already taken important steps with reusable packaging in student restaurants, testing reuse and recycling platforms, applying the Total Cost of Ownership principle, organizing repair cafés and waste sorting islands on all campuses.
Breakthrough actions 2025-2026
- obtaining more detailed insight into this component of our carbon footprint;
- identifying the best interventions for each of the most important categories to: facilitate reuse and repair, include criteria in purchasing policy, achieve the highest possible quality recyclable waste streams.
We do this by, among other things, identifying and discussing possibilities to make central purchasing policy more sustainable, expanding good practices for lab management, developing repair hubs and sharing platforms for goods, and extending the useful life of ICT devices.
Get involved
- Do you work in a lab, where there is an opportunity to become more sustainable in terms of material use? Let us know!
- Are you skilled in repairing appliances, computers or mending clothing? Become part of our repair community!
- Do you like to think strategically on how the university can become more circular in its functioning? Welcome to our working group on circularity and waste! We meet monthly.
- Do you have your own circular idea for the university, and would like to develop it further under the umbrella of the climate team? Pitch your project in a text or video.
Want to get involved in one of these projects? Send an email to climate@uantwerpen.be.