| Pathways to Sustainability |
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As we wrap up the academic year and head into summer, we’re excited to share some great news about our projects. We’ve just awarded funding to seven inspiring new initiatives; four Incubators and three Signature Projects. The Incubator Grant is our instrument to invest in community building and co-designing, offering interdisciplinary teams of UU scholars time to build trust and understanding for each other’s perspectives, further develop the consortium and co-create the project idea with societal stakeholders. Successful Incubator teams may evolve into Signature projects that aim to accelerate change through unusual and transdisciplinary collaboration with societal stakeholders on research and education to establish pathways to sustainability. Congratulations to all the teams! You’ll find more about their initiatives in this newsletter.
We also want to highlight some impressive outcomes from three earlier projects. Whose Ocean organised a public assembly that explored ocean representation from a non-human perspective. In the run-up to the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, they’ve captured their take on a new paradigm for ocean inclusion in a powerful video you can watch below. Conceptualizing Ecocide developed a thought-provoking theatre production: set in a future where ecocide is part of criminal law, it stages a landmark trial. And Resourcefulness build the exhibition Critical Materials & Critical Stories in the VMA-building at Utrecht Science Park: an eye-opening look at the global race for minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. We’re genuinely impressed by what these teams have accomplished.
Pathways to Sustainability Team |
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Exploring bold ideas: funded projects and initiatives |
| From deep sea research to speculative design and digital warfare, these new projects and initiatives push boundaries and bring together bold thinkers from different disciplines. |
| RICE - Reimagining Constitutional Ecology |
How can Europe and in particular the EU constitutionally ensure sustainability, equity, and democratic resilience within planetary boundaries, which is necessary for the survival of human beings? RICE brings together insights from law, philosophy, history, economics, and the arts to explore how we might reshape the values and assumptions that underpin European governance. |
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| Follow the Food: using GI's for fairness and sustainability |
This project explores how Geographical Indications (GIs), like Parmesan or Champagne, can be used not just for branding, but to empower smallholder farmers, protect cultural heritage and promote sustainable agriculture. With case studies in Italy, Indonesia and Central Asia, the project reimagines GIs as tools for transformation in an unfair global food system. |
| | Data-driven nexus for sustainable building |
This project will develop a global open-science platform connecting sustainable building strategies to their ecological and social impacts. By integrating fragmented data, the project empowers professionals to design regenerative, nature-based architectural solutions, turning the built environment into a force for ecological regeneration and sustainability. |
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Incubator Grant initiatives |
| The living farm: co-creating a living lab farm for biodiversity and sustainability at Utrecht University |
This Incubator aims to establish a Living Lab Farm to explore how agriculture can support biodiversity, climate resilience, health, and social cohesion, while remaining economically viable. In collaboration with all seven UU faculties and external partners, the lab will test innovative farming practices, engage the public, and support landscape-scale sustainability transitions. |
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| The refinery of the future: a living lab for circular campus transformation |
This initiative aims to turn Utrecht Science Park into a living lab for circular innovation. By integrating CO₂ methanation and plastic pyrolysis into campus infrastructure, it transforms emissions and waste into valuable resources. Combining science, law, governance and education, it will offer a scalable model for sustainable campus transformation. |
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The Incubator Warfare Ecologies addresses the overlooked environmental impacts of war, before, during, and after conflict. It tackles critical gaps in knowledge, accountability, and resistance by combining remote sensing, interdisciplinary research, and community collaboration to expose ecological harm, support justice, and envision sustainable, post-conflict futures. |
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Ocean governance in a contested world order:
weathering the storm |
This initiative investigates how growing geopolitical tensions are reshaping the international order at sea. Combining insights from law, history, environmental science and sustainability studies, the team will explore how contestation affects ocean governance and the law of the sea. They will map key flashpoints, assess implications, and build a framework for more resilient and inclusive ocean governance. |
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Whose ocean is it? Who can speak on behalf of the ocean? How do we represent the ocean inclusively? This video is the result of the Whose Ocean project (one of our Signature Projects!) in which the team held a public assembly to explore ocean representation from a non-human perspective. The ocean needs a radical new diplomacy. In this project, we collaborated with Embassy of the North Sea, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Casco Art Institute.
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.png "Whose Ocean?") |
| As part of the Resourcefulness project, a series of events were organized around the theme Critical Materials & Critical Stories. At the heart of this was a special artist residency with Marcel Nonda and Olivier Fall Maye, two artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo. During their time here, they created powerful new work that bring artistic perspectives to global issues of extraction and sustainability. Their pieces are now on display in the entrance hall of the Vening Meinesz Building, well worth a visit if you're on campus! |
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The theatrical experiment THIS IS NOT A TRIAL took place on 18 and 19 June and was a great success. Audiences became the jury in a fictional ecocide trial, exploring legal and artistic perspectives on environmental justice. The project sparked meaningful discussions on accountability, more-than-human rights, and the costs of the green energy transition. A public conversation and verdict session on 26 June brought together researchers, experts, and audience members to reflect on the project’s thought-provoking outcomes.
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Documentary Aan de rand van het dorp
(At the edge of the village) |
What happens when a village decides to take sustainability into its own hands? We’re proud to have co-funded the Dutch documentary Aan de rand van het dorp (At the Edge of the Village), airing on July 5 at 15:30 on NPO 2, with a repeat on July 6 at 13:20.
Set in the small Frisian village of Wijnjewoude, this powerful 29-minute documentary follows a community determined to become the first energy-neutral and gas-free village in the Netherlands. But change sparks conflict. Two groups of villagers stand opposed: one eager for transformation, the other holding on to the past. A powerful story about the hopes and challenges of creating a more sustainable future - don’t miss it! |
Survey for sustainability professionals |
| Are you responsible for promoting sustainability within your organization? This survey explores the key competencies sustainability professionals need. It is part of a national study on a climate-just energy transition, conducted by Utrecht University, the Open University and other partners. Thank you for your contribution! |
Summer break - time to recharge |
Just like ecosystems need rest to flourish, we believe sustainability also means taking good care of ourselves. That’s why our newsletter is taking a short summer break!
We’ll be back in September with fresh stories, inspiring initiatives and new opportunities. In the meantime, feel free to visit our LinkedIn page for the latest news and events. We wish you a restorative summer with plenty of space for new ideas and perspectives!
Pathways to Sustainability Team |
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Wednesday 3 September, 12:30-16:00, Athens
Seminar: Environmental Crime, Policing & Social Control
Friday 5 September, 10.00 to 11.15, Academy Building, Utrecht
PhD Defense - Lis Suarez Visbal: Towards a Just and Transformative Circular Economy Transition in the Textile & Apparel Value Chain
Monthly on Fridays, from September 2025 to April 2026
Course Leadership and Sustainability for public professionals in Utrecht
Thursday 25 September, 9:30-21:00, Johanna Hudig Building, Utrecht
Workshop: Existential Risk in the Netherlands. A New Field of Study?
1–3 October, Utrecht University
Conceptualizing Geocide Conference
9-10 October, Egmond aan Zee
UU-NIOZ Early Career Scientist Symposium (UNECSS) 2025
Thursday 16 October, 14:00 to 18:00, location t.b.a.
Pathways to Sustainability Kickstarter workshop
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