The project addresses the significant negative impact of PFAS, or 'forever chemicals', which are deeply persistent and harmful to the planet and people. They are also widely used in healthcare, with 38% of PFAS pollution originating from the medical sector. The project underscores the urgent need to align healthcare practices with planetary boundaries.

In this study, Amsterdam UMC will focus on a 'living lab', where PFAS-containing products will be identified, and their essentiality will be assessed, as well as the availability of safe-and-sustainable-by-design(SSbD) alternatives.

Key research objectives include mapping PFAS use in medical tools, pharmaceuticals, and laboratories, assessing the feasibility of PFAS-free alternatives, and understanding barriers and facilitators to implementation.

Anticipated outputs include case studies of PFAS-free replacements, academic publications, and guidelines for sustainable healthcare practices.

Findings aim to guide broader industry changes, influencing policies and practices to promote sustainable, PFAS-free healthcare worldwide.

Project team:

• Dr. Niek Sperna Weiland (AUMC)
• Dr. Gonnie Alkemade (AUMC)
• Prof. Dr. Ans kolk (FEB)
• Dr. Antonia Praetorius (FNWI)
• Dr Catherine Volgenant (ACTA)

The project addresses the critical challenge of global water security, which is increasingly threatened by climate change, rising demand, and variations in water quantity, quality, and access. It highlights the need for sustainable water governance.

The study aims to develop the Water Quasi-Property Rights Atlas further. One of the project's primary objectives is to extend the atlas' scope to include countries in the Global North. Looking ahead, the project envisions evolving the tool into a participatory 'wiki-style' atlas, enabling experts worldwide to contribute case studies, regulatory updates, and insights, creating a dynamic and continuously updated resource.

Key research objectives include mapping water governance institutions, correlating governance structures with water security outcomes, exploring regional and local variability in water availability and infrastructure, and developing a contextualized framework for assessing water security across scales.

Anticipated outputs include an expanded global water atlas, academic publications, and a participatory platform for ongoing contributions. Findings will inform policies and practices, strengthening sustainable water management strategies worldwide.

Project Team:

• Dr. Elisabeth Kruger (FNWI)
• Prof. Dr. Joyeeta Gupta (FMG)

Algae are seen as a high-value feedstock in various industries, such as biodegradable materials, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and protein-rich nutrition. This project aims to increase yields and reduce costs, open new circular solutions, and understand and cater to consumer needs to accelerate the implementation of algae in the circular economy. The technology's economic and environmental impact is significant, with an extra 10 to 30% yield adding 100,000 to 300,000 euros per hectare per year, saving electricity and capturing CO2. 

The interdisciplinary team of researchers working on this project, is coming from the faculties of Science, Economics and Business, and Social and Behavioural Sciences. 

The project involves six external parties that span the entire value chain, including Chemtrix and Renolit for nanocrystal foil production, and four algae growers - AlgaSpring, Photanol, A4F, and Algae Holland. They span different climate zones and markets (A4F is from Portugal), which allows for exploration of diverse business cases. Besides facilitating testing, the partners will provide crucial contact and insights into market segments. 

Project team:

• Prof. Dr. P. Schall (FNWI)
• Prof. Dr. J. Huisman (FNWI)
• Prof. Dr. A. Kourula (FEB)
• Dr. Marijn Meijers (FMG)
• Prof. Dr. Edith Smit (FMG)

After the success of last year's Sustainable Prosperity Seed Grant project META, the team successfully applied to grow into a midsize project. The new and larger research project SISTEM-NL builds on the previous one in aiming to tackle microplastic pollution caused by microfibers released by washing textiles. It does this by estimating microfiber emissions in the Netherlands and testing the effectiveness of Citizen Science in addressing microplastic pollution. The study also aims to enhance public awareness and engagement, which is crucial in addressing microplastic pollution, by providing knowledge and communication tools. 

The interdisciplinary team consists of researchers from the Faculty of Science (Environmental Risk and Environmental Chemistry) and the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (Social Psychology and Persuasive Communication). 

The research is supported by private actors such as textile R&D developers (Avantium), textile production industry (Bell Rain), major suppliers (Groenendijk bedrijfskleding, MG Holland BV), and clothing retailers (Studio Anneloes). A special redesigned filter is provided by PlanetCare. Semi-public and public sector partners include Wetenschapsknooppunten, Plastic Soup Foundation, Amsterdam Green Campus, PULSAQUA, Dutch Sustainable Fashion Week, and Hogeschool InHolland. 

Project team:

• Dr. Z.M.C. van Berlo (FMG)
• Dr. C. Brick (FMG)
• Dr. L. Jacobs (FNWI)
• Dr. A. Praetorius (FNWI)

The project addresses sustainable development within the Port of Amsterdam (PoA). The different disciplines involved in this project will co-develop an innovative and interdisciplinary methodology for assessing the sustainability of port waterways. It considers the socio-economic and ecological significance of the PoA, and Its focal point underlines the central role cities play in preserving planetary boundaries.

The project's key research questions aim to uncover the sustainability understandings of different actors in the PoA, to identify conflicts and synergies among these perspectives, and determine ways to realize these synergies. 

Anticipated outputs of the project encompass a PoA waterways database, academic publications, and an integrated understanding of PoA's social, ecological, and technical systems elements (SETS). 

Project team:

• dr. Jannes Willems
• dr. Elisabeth Krueger
• prof. dr. Maria Kaika
• dr. Mark van der Veen
• dr. Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh
• prof. dr. Annemarie van Wezel
• de. Felipe Bucci Ancapi 

Nature protection is often conceptualized through different perspectives. Through an anthropocentric lens, nature is seen as commodity and financial instruments are formulated to incentivize nature protection, such as offsetting projects, carbon tax, and payments for ecosystem services. Through the lens of global commons, ecocentric conceptualizations recognize nature’s intrinsic value upon which legal mechanisms such as (climate) litigation, grievances mechanisms and third party interventions before courts of justice have been elaborated. In contrast to these western economic or legal perspectives, a third conceptualization of nature has been shaped through the lens of indigenous ontologies and socio-ecological stewardship. According to this relational perspective, humans and nature are indivisible and interdependent, and therefore, the protection of nature requires alternative ways to think about nature and rights.

Under the Rights of Nature label, this emergent perspective has been materialized in policies mostly in the Global South. Recently, this narrative is gradually becoming a global movement and slowly gaining traction in European jurisdictions, including the Netherlands. This project aims at assessing the development of the narratives and practices of Rights of Nature in the Netherlands and how this new perspective interplays with anthropocentric and ecocentric conceptualizations of nature which are grounded on western ontologies. To this goal, this project will carry out three main activities:

1. Identify the current Rights of Nature stakeholders and initiatives in the Netherlands;

2. To engage scholars and Rights of Nature stakeholders in developing practical applications of the theoretical insights;

3. To examine the conceptualisations of the rights of nature in The Netherlands (and EU to some extent) and assess their connection and contrasts with the Global South conceptualizations.

Project Team:

• Laura Burgers (Project Coordinator, FdR)
• Fabio de Castro (Project Coordinator, CEDLA-FGw)
• Colin Hicks (Project Coordinator, FMWI)
• Matteo Fermeglia (Project Coordinator, FGw)
• Rebeca Ibañez Martín (Collaborating Researcher, FMG)
• Gabriela Russo Lopes (Postdoc, CEDLA-FGw)
• Emilia Guzman (Student assistant, FdR)
• Tessel Boek(Student assistant, FdR)

Activists, NGOs, and broader social movements mobilize to enact economic change by supporting market-based solutions to social and environmental issues, such as renewable energy, fair trade, green transportation, ethical fashion, and meat alternatives. What are the strategies that make activists more or less successful in supporting sustainable markets? And in which contexts are they likely to succeed? A pilot study will be conducted to understand the impact of civic organizations on the energy transition over the past four decades across European countries.

Overall project goal: The broader aim is to develop an interdisciplinary project on how activist mobilization shapes sustainable markets. We envision a comparative perspective to examine the renewable energy market across all European Union countries, coupling longitudinal industry data with historical country case analyses supported by newspaper and NGO (digital) archives. The project will identify (i) how activists’ strategies to oppose brown energy versus promote green energy affect the transition to more sustainable energy; (ii) how the social, political, cultural, and industry context strengthens or hampers the influence of activists.

Project team:

• Dr. Panikos Georgallis, Associate Professor of Strategy (FEB)
• Prof. Peter van Dam, Professor of Dutch History (FGW)

Individual Contribution to Sustainability Challenges and Prosperity

Sustainable consumption is critical for tackling global challenges like climate change, water scarcity, and resource depletion. By adopting sustainable consumption behaviors, such as reducing meat and dairy consumption, individuals can directly contribute to reducing their ecological footprint. Social media influencers, particularly green influencers ("greenfluencers"), offer a promising way to drive such change. Hailed as a ‘secret weapon for sustainability,’ they might hold potential to spark wide-reaching environmental progress (Narayanan, 2024).

The Current Evidence: Promising but Limited

While greenfluencers can influence pro-environmental attitudes and intentions (Breves & Liebers, 2022), existing research relied on cross-sectional experimental studies, revealing three research gaps:

1.The Intention-Behavior Gap:

Previous research has often focused on measuring intentions rather than actual behaviors. However, it is well-established that intentions do not always translate into actions (Webb & Sheeran, 2006). As a result, it remains unclear whether greenfluencers can effectively inspire their followers to adopt more sustainable consumption behaviors.

2. Neglect of Parasocial Relationships:

Parasocial Relationships, the one-sided bonds individuals form with media figures over time (Horton & Wohl, 1956), have been neglected in greenfluencer studies, despite their important role in amplifying influencer effects (e.g., Breves & van Berlo, 2024).

3. Inconsistent Sustainability Behavior of Greenfluencers:

Greenfluencers, while promoting sustainable behaviors, may occasionally showcase instances of non-sustainable consumption alongside their consistent moral messaging. This mixed approach could influence their followers in various ways. On one hand, research on minority influence suggests that consistent moral messaging from moral innovators, such as greenfluencers, can prompt majority members to reconsider their views and adopt new behaviors (Judge et al., 2024). On the other hand, displaying occasional inconsistent behavior might strengthen followers' parasocial relationships with greenfluencers through increased social identification, potentially fostering sustainable behaviors in a different way.

Research Aim and Methodology:

Our interdisciplinary project, ECoLoGIC, aims to explore the long-term effects of greenfluencers on individuals' sustainable consumption behavior, aligning with the key objectives of the Sustainable Prosperity theme. Initially, we will examine whether greenfluencers can influence individuals’ behavior and investigate whether their impact is enhanced by demonstrating consistent behavior or if occasional instances of inconsistent behavior might actually prove beneficial.

For the first step in this project, we aim to design an AI-generated greenfluencer inspired by real greenfluencers and create Instagram content (posts, stories, reels) for three experimental conditions (consistent greenfluencer condition, inconsistent greenfluencer condition, control condition).

The study will assess the impact of these influencers on participants' parasocial relationships and daily sustainable consumption behaviors using a six-week experience sampling method (ESM). Individuals will receive daily influencer content (e.g., based on the Veggie Challenge; https://veggiechallenge.org.uk/) and questionnaires using the Avicenna ESM smartphone application. Earlier experience of the lead researcher with using ESM over several weeks (e.g., Breves & van Berlo, 2024) will ensure the feasibility of the project (e.g., by using incremental incentives to mitigate potential drop-off concerns).

Project team:

Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences:
•Dr. Priska Breves (Lead Researcher, Assistant Professor of Persuasive Communication; Amsterdam School of Communication Research)
•Dr. Cameron Brick (Assistant Professor of Social Psychology; Program Group Social Psychology)
Faculty of Economics and Business:
•Dr. Marlene Vock (Assistant Professor of Marketing Centre for Responsible Consumption): Assistant; Coordinator of the Centre for Responsible Consumption)
•Dr. Joris Demmers (Associate Professor and Head of the Marketing Department)
Faculty of Science:
•Dr. Hamed Seiied Alavi (Assistant Professor in Human Computer Interaction, founding member of the Digital Interactions Lab in the Faculty of Science)

Humans and nature have a long history of interconnections, and humans have modified forests, including tropical rainforests, for over 12,000 years. Human action can affect biodiversity patterns and forest functionality (including global carbon cycling) as much on timescales of 100s of years in tropical forests. For example, Amazonian rainforests account for 17 of all terrestrial carbon cycling in Earth’s biosphere. Natural environments in tropical forests also play a large role in shaping people and their social relations, imaginaries, and political empowerment struggles.

Agroforestry systems in Amazonian rainforests are key examples of mutual human-environment interconnections. They cover a spectra of forest-based production systems with different levels of management intensities, from extraction of usable forest products, to moderated management of multi-crop plantation of forest tree species, and forest species enrichment, such as cacao (Theobroma cacao) and açai palm (Euterpe oleracea). How these varying forms of agroforestry affect tropical forest biodiversity and functionality, however, remains unclear.

We propose to integrate remote sensing analysis to classify agroforestry systems and assess aspects of forest functionality. We are going to use with ground-based ecological and sociological data using one agroforest case-study site in the Brazilian Amazon to address the following research questions:

1. To what degree can the three types of agroforestry systems (anthropogenic forests) be identified, differentiated, and categorized using remote sensing analysis?
2. Based on previous studies and ground-based qualitative data, which socioecological functions can be associated with different types of anthropogenic forests?

Project team:

• Crystal McMichael (Project coordinator, FNWI)
• Fabio de Castro (Project coordinator, CEDLA-FGw)
• Gabriela Russo Lopes (Postdoc, CEDLA-FGw)
• Vincenzo Carbone (PhD, CEDLA-FGw)
• Pablo Cavanagh (Student asssistant, FNWI)
• Anna Zoeters (Student asssistant, FNWI)
• Majoi do Nascimento (Guest researcher, University of Southampton)
• Miqueias Calvi (Guest researcher, Federal University of Pará)

Why worry? Exposing the invisible threat in our drinking water

An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Public Awareness and Industry Lobbying Strategies on PFAS Contamination

Introduction and Context

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals widely used in consumer products andindustrial processes due to their chemical and thermal stability, as well as incompatibility with both water andhydrocarbons. However, their persistence in the environment and bioaccumulation potential in humans andwildlife have raised significant concerns regarding ecological and public health safety (Sadia, 2024). Inresponse, regulatory authorities have implemented measures to restrict the use and production of variousPFAS. Recently, the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) proposed a comprehensive ban on PFAS as group,which has sparked significant opposition from industry stakeholders who argue that these substances areessential and safe (Scott, 2023).

Despite the extensive research on the toxicity and adverse effect of PFAS on human and environmental health, public awareness of these substances remains limited within the EU, even with significant media coverage through newspapers, TV news, and visualization maps (Gary et al., 2023). Public health advocacy in the USA has historically played a crucial role in driving regulatory changes, often in the face of significant industry resistance (Batt et al., 2020; Fitzgerald, 2022). However, efforts in the EU driven by ECHA have not gained equivalent traction, as evidenced by thousands of public comments received by regulatory bodies, mostly from industry (ECHA, 2024). This project focuses on PFAS contamination in the Netherlands and the specifically Dutch narratives about water that have shaped the debate on PFAS. It assumes that to address PFAS inaction, we need to develop deeper insights into regional and cultural conceptualizations of water and water crises. Historically, pollution narratives in The Netherlands reveal patterns of systemic neglect and exploitation that resonate with current PFAS inaction. Drawing connections between environmental crises in the past underscore deeper issues of accountability, societal invisibility, and distribution of power in addressing environmental harm.

This project combines methods from computational social science and narratology to systematically examine public awareness of PFAS contamination and critically evaluate the lobbying strategies and arguments advanced by the chemical industry. By integrating these findings with perspective from environmental chemistry and cultural analysis, this research aims to construct evidence-based strategies that can elucidate the complexities of PFAS contamination and inspire informed public advocacy for effective regulatory and societal action.

Research Questions

Scientific Understanding:
1. What are the levels and distribution of PFAS in drinking water in The Netherlands?
2. How can scientific data on PFAS contamination be effectively visualized and communicated to enhance the general public understanding and awareness?

Cultural Analysis:
3. How can a cultural analysis of dominant narratives of water and water crises in Dutch culture, as represented in literature, film, etc., help us understand the current debate about PFAS contamination?
4. How can a narratological analysis (based on output RQ3) of debates about PFAS contamination in Dutch (social) media increase our understanding of current PFAS inaction?

Industry and Public Analysis:
5. What are the dominant themes, arguments and strategies employed by the chemical industry to lobby against PFAS bans in Europe, and how do these tactics shape public and policymaker perception?

Call to Action:
6. What evidence-based communication strategies and storytelling methods can empower citizens to advocate for stronger PFAS regulations and effectively counter industry opposition?
7. How can the rhetoric and affective expertise of eco-artists, such as De Onkruidenier, contribute to public awareness and empowerment in the fight for clean water?
8. Develop a digital intervention by Computational Social Science aiming for behavior change Educational Questions: Challenge Computational Social Science

We challenge students to develop an innovative digital intervention that transforms complex scientific data about PFAS contamination into accessible public knowledge whille creating concrete pathways for civic action. The desired digital intervention should combine data visualization, community engagement strategies, and policy advocacy tools to make the invisible threat of PFAS visible, mobilize public support for stricter regulations, and pressure industrial stakeholders to take responsibility. This project requires students to analyze public response data, develop a strategy that effectively communicates the threat of PFAS, and create digital intervention that bridge the gap between scientific understanding and public action, ultimately contributing to meaningful policy change in PFAS regulation and mitigation.

Project Team:

• Prof dr. Michiel Kraak, Professor of Aquatic Ecotoxicology, FNWI, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics
• Dr Marrigje Paijmans, Assistant Professor in Dutch Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Capaciteitsgroep Nederlandse Letterkunde
• Dr Mohammad Sadia, researcher with a recently completed PHD in the European interdisciplinary PERFORCE3 ITN project working on PFAS in the drinking water cycle and its significance for human exposure.
• Computational Social Science, graduation students CSSci will develop, parallel on this research project, a digital intervention aiming for behavior change. Support by Dr. Mohammad Sadia, and the partnerships team with Drs. Suzanne Hansen, head of partnerships (lead DoMoreForWater.org) & Emma-Rose Blacher, student Computational Social Science

The outer space industry is rapidly evolving into a trillion-dollar sector, driven by significant investments from major tech companies1. This transformation marks the beginning of the so called ‘New Space’ era, characterized by the emergence of profit-oriented activities such as asteroid mining, communications, tourism and travel. At the same time, the outer space industry significantly contributes to environmental pollution, with many satellites ultimately becoming debris orbiting Earth. There are approximately 130 million fragments of space debris floating in low Earth orbit, with a total mass exceeding 9,500 tonnes.2 Each year, about 80 tons of space debris re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. While most of this debris harmlessly disintegrates, the breakdown process releases chemicals that can deplete ozone and contribute to atmospheric pollution.

Proponents of the New Space economy argue that commercializing space could help mitigate Earth’s climate challenges, through innovations such as reusable rockets and satellites or by relocating polluting industries to outer space. However, this shift raises critical sustainability concerns and highlights the need for updated international regulations to manage these new activities responsibly. This project aims to investigate how major corporate players in the commercial space industry communicate about and conceptualize the sustainability of their activities and the actions they take in this regard. Additionally, the research will identify environmental risks and highlight gaps in current regulations governing commercial space activities. The insights gained will help policymakers, at the EU and national level, develop fair and sustainable space policies for the future.

Scientific relevance and impact

This project integrates regulatory and political science perspectives to examine the New Space economy, focusing on how power, ideologies, and discourse shape the sector, moving beyond traditional hard science approaches. Using computational text analysis, it investigates how private space companies position themselves in the market, emphasizing sustainability. Drawing on interdisciplinary expertise at the UvA, it applies advanced computational methods to address pressing societal challenges and aligns with the Sustainable Prosperity initiative’s goal of fostering sustainable economic practices and redefining the roles of governments, businesses, and legal frameworks in these transformations.

Societal relevance and impact

This project holds social relevance as it explores the necessary legislation to regulate commercial space activities and ensure their alignment with sustainability principles. It also sheds light on the involvement of private companies in global space activities and examines their commitment to sustainability. This analysis is crucial for government agencies collaborating with the private sector in space initiatives and for legislators drafting laws to govern these activities.

Project Team

Core team:

• Dr Diliara Valeeva (FMG), Assistant professor in political science
• Dr Julia Muraszkiewicz (FDR), Lecturer in space law
• Dr Jelke Bloem (FGW), Assistant professor of computational humanities

Faculty Advisors:

• Prof Eelke Heemskerk (FMG)
• Prof. Arianna Betti (FGW)
• Prof. Paul Groth (FNWI)
• Prof. Joris van Hoboken (FDR)

The global economy’s current organization of supply chains poses environmental challenges and is vulnerable to environmental change. New legislation is holding firms responsible for environmental harm, but little is known about the firms’ adjustments to supply chains. 

This project reveals the potential of legislation around sustainable supply chains and aims to project into the future how supply chains may change as a result of law and a range of other factors. The findings may prove valuable to businesses, civil society, and governments who are looking to develop strategies and regulatory instruments for sustainable supply chains. 

The project combines expertise from Law, Political Economy, and Computational Science to develop a new methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainable supply chain regulations in reducing environmental risks.

Project team:

• Luc Fransen (FMG)
• Klaas Eller (FdR)
• Mike Lees (FNWI)
• Diliara Valeeva (FMG)

Energy Labels is an ongoing UvA project at the Science Faculty that aims to quantify the energy consumption of digital services in real-time. This project adds to that with an interdisciplinary approach that explores the real-world usage and enforcement of the outcomes of the Energy Labels project. By doing that it aims to promote a reduction in the ecological footprint of digital services. 

The interdisciplinary team exists of researchers from the faculties of Law, Economics and Business, and Science. They will work on designing, implementing, and standardising the energy labels. By exploring how the Energy Labels tool can be used to induce a real-world reduction in carbon footprint, the project intends to run a pilot experiment to nudge users towards energy-saving behaviour. 

This project looks at the environmental impact of digital services in the Netherlands, where data centres consume three times more energy than the national railway company. Through behavioural interventions, law, and policy changes, the project aims to achieve significant savings in CO2 emissions at a national and potentially international level.

Project team:

• Dr. Anuj Pathania (FNWI)
• Dr. Giorgia Romagnoli (FEB)
• Dr. Candida Leone (FdR)

Collective ownership in the form of Community Land Trust (CLT) has the potential to become a tool for the city of Amsterdam to improve the welfare of its residents in a sustainable way. CLT is an alternative vision of private land ownership. It is a non-profit, democratic and community-led organisation that typically develops and manages housing for disadvantaged members of society. 

This project aims to develop the necessary interdisciplinary understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of CLTs. The project takes place in collaboration with a passionate community of local CLT change agents. 

• Participating faculties: FdR, FMG, FGw and FNWI 

• Contact person: Mendel Giezen

Washing behaviour is often overlooked as part of the ecological footprint of textiles. Indeed, washing textiles causes the release of synthetic microfibres that end up in the environment in the form of microplastics.  

This project will develop new, human-centred research methods to collect data on household emissions. The overarching goal of this project is to investigate how local behavioural changes can help reduce global pollution problems. In doing so, the team investigates how ‘citizen science’ leads to learning and engagement, and thus can encourage environmentally friendly behaviour. 

• Participating faculties: FNWI, FMG and FEB 
• Contact person: Lies Jacobs 

Listen more about the project (NPO Radio 1, February 2023, in Dutch)

Healthcare has a significant environmental footprint. Assessing the environmental impact of healthcare processes is a crucial step in enabling a transition to sustainable prosperity, both within Amsterdam and internationally.  

Within this project, several Amsterdam UMC intersectoral care pathways with high volume and potentially high environmental impact will be identified. Then, one care path will be mapped in detail (with a causal loop diagram), its carbon footprint will be quantified through a Life Cycle Assessment, and an Action Scales Model will be used to identify key levers for lasting change. 

• Participating faculties: UMC, FMG and FEB 
• Contact person: Niek Sperna Weiland