EFR, the school association of Erasmus School of Economics, is the winner of the Sustainability Award. This was announced during the ceremony of the Opening of the Academic Year 2023-2024, on Monday 4 September. The prize is awarded to an individual or group who has the best existing or new initiative to make a positive contribution to the sustainability of Erasmus University Rotterdam.
EFR first CO2 neutral school/study association in the Netherlands
The jury unanimously decided to award EFR because of their special achievement of being the first CO2 neutral school/study association in the Netherlands to mainly use public transport, to offer plant-based or vegetarian food, and to take other concrete measures to reduce or prevent negative environmental impact.
The plan for spending the prize money also appeals to the jury: to organise a Sustainability Festival on campus Woudestein together with all other study associations and the Erasmus Sustainability Hub. The jury likes to challenge EFR to also apply innovative activities in the content of the festival, in addition to the now well-known clothing swaps and the offering of plant-based food.
Footprint of EFR’s office in G building hardest thing to tackle
During the past years, EFR has reduced and offset its footprint to such an extent that the association is fully CO2 neutral. Most of the gains are made by taking the train or bus for two of the association's trips abroad, rather than flying. In addition, all food served at events is now vegetarian by default and attention is paid to waste and recycling. The hardest thing to tackle was de footprint of their office in the G building. All the emissions that EFR was ultimately unable to reduce were calculated and offset by investing in projects. Such as the preservation of forests in Brazil and the construction of small-scale wind farms in India.
About the Sustainability Award
The Sustainability Award is awarded to an individual or group who has the best existing or new initiative to make a positive contribution to the sustainability of Erasmus University Rotterdam. The award has a monetary value of maximum € 5,000 to be invested in the initiative plus a certificate of appreciation. The prize is awarded annually during the opening ceremony of the new academic year.
- More information
For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Media & Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Economics: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl, +31 6 53 641 846.
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