Ivar, how did you grow to become Head of Sustainability Office? What is your role at SO?
I have a background in Social Psychology and in Environment and Resource Management. The first one, by the way, I studied at FGB. So it feels very nice to be back on the faculty! In recent years I was responsible for VU Amsterdam's sustainability strategy. This was first done from a program organization. My role now is slightly different because we are now our own unit, but essentially our mission remains the same: to implement VU's sustainability strategy.
Sustainability Office is now affiliated with FGB, congratulations! What will that mean for SO's methods/projects/day-to-day operations?
At its core, SO is there for the entire Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Sustainability is a focus of the entire university. This makes sustainability mean more and more to all parts of the organization. But within FGB, for example, I am looking forward to working with the psychologists. After all, sustainability is also a huge behavioral issue.
Why is the SO unit housed at FGB and not at Beta or another faculty?
This was a conscious decision, to avoid too narrow a focus. Many sustainability projects and initiatives are already housed at Beta. Sustainability is something for the entire Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Just as Diversity Office falls under the Chief Diversity (Ruard Ganzevoort of FRT) so is FGB Dean Maurits van Tulder (the Dean of Sustainability) and the deputy principal of the CvB for the sustainability focal point.
What are your plans and ambitions as Head Sustainability Office?
A truly sustainable Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam! This means that we are going to see climate crisis as an actual crisis. After all, we need everyone to prevent a climate disaster and we can no longer wait for that. Sustainability must therefore be something that is felt and lived throughout VU Amsterdam.
Where is the main focus for you?
Mainly getting the VU Amsterdam community on board. And that we focus on those topics where we can make a big impact. We distinguish between 5 focus areas: Education, Research, Valorization, Operations and Community. For each of the components we are working on project portfolios.
What place does sustainability have in education?
In my opinion, sustainability is not sufficiently addressed in education at present. We are not preparing students well enough for the climate crisis. We are happy to help facilitate this, but the education programmes have to initiate this themselves. One of the goals of VU's (sustainability) strategy is that sustainability (in the form of the Sustainable Development Goals) should be reflected in all programmes. This is something we will all have to work on and the SO helps in supporting and facilitating courses in making the changes.
Another big project is more sustainable teacher education. We are now in the middle of developing a sustainability teacher programme. I would like to call the teachers and programme directors of FGB for the teacher scan: your teaching programme can be scanned for sustainability in, for example, in collaboration Learn Academy.
How do you bring the strategy to practice?
For each of the components, we are working on project portfolios. In operations, there are also targets, such as improving C02 reporting. This is not only for SO, but also for Finance and Administration which writes about it in the annual reports. FCO is a big player in this. Ultimately, it has to be part of all processes. The biggest challenge is that there has to be a change in mentality in all organisational units. People who are already busy should not get the idea that they have to add 'sustainability', but rather that their work has to go differently. Sustainability is already gaining ground and we see that many people are already working on it. Nevertheless, people underestimate what it takes to be a truly sustainable university. The departments and faculties need to be more aware of this because it requires a major change. It is not something you do on top of it.
What still needs to improve at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam?
There is still so much we need to do on sustainability, from energy consumption on campus to sustainability education in the lecture halls. Apart from that, I think it is important that people here feel that they are in a sustainable place, that helps tremendously in changing the mindset. Students and staff need to feel: this is a sustainable campus, with top climate and sustainability research. That's where I want to belong. As VU Amsterdam, you want to set a certain tone, so that sustainability becomes more alive.
In the interview in Ad Valvas you expressed your disapproval of greenwashing.
Yes indeed, I find it morally and fundamentally reprehensible if you knowingly publish wrong facts, when you know how destructive the fossil industry is, for example. Like Shell's 'CO2 neutral fueling' campaign. VU students and Greenpeace demonstrated that Shell cannot live up to that and sued Shell at the Advertising Code Committee. Unfortunately, this has little consequence for Shell except a small dent in their image. Shell's marketing budget is higher than their budget for sustainability, then you can see where their priorities lie. I find it so terrible when an organization makes something appear "green," but it is not green, and in doing so you are perpetuating a system that is not sustainable. That an organization like Shell also gets away with this so easily is not acceptable. This delays the energy transition.
How are you collaborating with other universities and sustainability parties outside of VU?
We are part of several networks such as the Aurora network and the International Sustainable Campus network. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is also party to PAN Amsterdam: this is a research project together with HvA and UvA and the City of Amsterdam. The whole city has to change, how are you going to do that? You need knowledge institutions for that. There is also a lot of contact between Dutch universities. Sustainability is a collaboration and not a competition!
How do you look back on (the exhibition of) A Better World@VU
Proud! We are doing such great work here! The online and on campus exhibition A Better World@VU takes you to sixteen sustainable projects and initiatives linked to one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are initiatives that inspire and motivate.
How would you describe the team at SO?
It is an energetic and driven team. We all come from different parts of the organization, bringing different perspectives, in the areas of education, research, valorization and organization.
What drives you, what gets you excited?
We have to solve the climate crisis. We have little time and will have to pull out all the stops to get out of it together. We have no other choice. Engaging in this is what drives me.