At the Green Office for KU Leuven, Campus Brussels, we’re a diverse bunch coming from different corners of the world but with a common interest that binds us - sustainability - and here are the people behind our projects: Coordinator for Campus Brussels - Sanaa Bari...
1 July 2021 - There’s definitely no better way to welcome the summer than going for some outdoor activity. Our Green Office team in Brussels took to the canal for kayaking and enjoying the afternoon breeze, thanks to Canal It Up who provided the equipment. It was a...
21 May 2021 - We had the pleasure of speaking to Andrea Salimbeni, researcher and representative from the Stop Global Warming campaign, about their petition for fixed carbon pricing in Europe. So why do we need a price on CO2? Can citizens like ourselves play a role...
Image source: The Designers StudioAre you still wondering what to do with your huge pile of clothes? Instead of throwing them away, here are 3 alternatives.Swap or Sell or Donate There are plenty of online platforms or applications where you can swap your clothes. You...
17 May 2021 - The Green Office for KU Leuven (Campus Brussels) took students on a tour of BIGH Farm at the Abattoir of Anderlecht to learn about sustainable farming in urban areas. It was a rainy day but that didn’t prevent the 25 of us from enjoying the visit and now...
This year, World Fair Trade Day took place on 9 May. Did you make any sustainable purchases this week? Buying products that were made ethically and gives the makers a fair price for their work is a conscious choice we can make everyday. To make this easier for you,...
It’s now spring and summer is coming soon, let’s go get some sun! Grab your bike and go for a ride through the many beautiful parks of Brussels. But what if you don’t have a bike? Don’t worry, this city’s got you covered with plenty of bike-share options. Here, we...
A recap of all the 2021 Sustainability Week events and links to the videos.
(photo source: https://www.condenast.com/glossary/data-sources) Sustainable fashion is gradually catching peoples' attention. Why is sustainable fashion becoming a trend? And why should we support it? Here are three reasons that will draw you into loving sustainable...
Work that makes a difference. That is the end goal of all those hours we spend in the books and in (virtual) lectures. Find out what is on the horizon for you at the Green Jobs Fair. As part of Sustainability Week, the Green Office is inviting companies based in...
26 March 2021 - We had an interesting chat with Anneleen Van Meervenne, co-founder of KRIKET, a company that produces healthy snack bars using crickets!Why eat crickets? Meat production accounts for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 25% of fresh water...
In most cases our first impression is that the fashion industry costs our earth one way or another, when in fact fashion and sustainability can coexist. So, as college students, how can we build budget friendly yet sustainable wardrobes? The very first step is to know...
Did you know that biodiversity is a key element for our wellbeing, including our physical and mental health? Did you also know that there is a link between biodiversity loss and increased risks of pandemics? 2020 and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up...
This semester, students of KU Leuven joined the volunteers at CollectMet on a number of occasions - helping to cook food on 9 November 2020 and helping to distribute food to the community on 7 and 14 December 2020. Collect Met is an initiative by Serve the City...
Did you know that 8% of greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste? By preventing food from ending up in landfills, you could reduce the CO2 that is released when food decomposes. And what if we tell you that you can save a lot of money as well? Here, we’ll share...
Did you know that the average Brussels resident wastes 16kg of proper food per year? This staggering amount makes households the biggest source of food waste. Such waste is hurting not only our wallets but our planet as well. Growing, processing, transporting, and...
This past Tuesday, November 24th, Students of KU Leuven (Campus Brussels) held a debate on the controversial topic of nuclear energy. Should Belgium continue to use nuclear reactors? Is it safe? Is it better for the environment? Here, we highlight the main arguments...
This autumn, the Green Office is heading into the forest to search for mushrooms. There are over 4,000 different mushroom species that grow in Flanders and we want to spot as many as possible. Through our DIY digital mushroom hunt you can join us! The Objective: All...
UPDATE 19/10 - Opening event cancelled The Student Repair Hub is kicking off another year with their opening event! On October 21st from 16:00 - 19:00, they will be hosting their first set of workshops on zero waste pumpkin carving and bike tire care and repair....
Thank you to everyone who came out for our Open Meeting last night! We loved sharing our ideas for this upcoming academic year, but now we are calling on you to join the Green Office and help us make those ideas a reality. Apply to become a Green Office member by...
The Green Office is closed until the beginning of the academic year. Do you have a voucher? Then you can exchange it soon. Keep an eye on our website for opening hours.
WE STAND WITH YOU Green Office stands with the #blacklivesmatter movement against systemic racism and discrimination. Green Office is primarily a place for sustainability. However, focus on sustainability goes hand in hand with attention for social inequality, gender...
The Green Office for KU Leuven is looking for new project managers. Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to join a team of motivated ambitious students who try to make KU Leuven a sustainable place? Pitch your own project idea and we’ll help you realize it....
The Tree Talks are a series of three lectures about companies that plant trees. In a short lecture (15 to 20 minutes) with a Q&A session afterwards, they explained how they manage their businesses, how they plant trees… The Tree Talks were organized during our...
Do you have any leftover veggies or fruits? Are you starting the weekend early? Take a look at these cocktail videos made by our event team! The cocktails are made from leftover strawberries, tomatoes and cucumber. Can you think of a better way to use leftovers? We...
Name: Pascale MaasProject: Brussels Hi there, could you quickly introduce yourself? I’m Pascale and right now I’m in the second year of my bachelor in Environment and Prevention Management at KU Leuven Campus Brussels. In my spare time, I keep busy with yoga, travel...
Name: Eline De WitteProject: Ecosia on Campus Hi there, could you quickly introduce yourself? I’m Eline, I’m in the first year of my masters clinical psychology (option children and teens). I’ve been interested in sustainability for a very long time and I...
Name: Monica LambrechtsProject: Stick to Reusables Hi there, could you quickly introduce yourself? My name is Monica Lambrechts, a 3d year bachelor student of Physiotherapy and Revalidation Sciences. How did you learn about the Green Office and about becoming a...
The Green Office for KU Leuven is a place where students can act for climate, sustainability and sustainable development. We want to offer a platform and build a community which creates awareness amongst students and society about climate change, plastic pollution and...
You can participate in our quiz every day of the Sustainability Week. And you can win a prize every day. Are you participating? Today’s quiz is online: click here. For updates, see our Facebook event.
Three still very useful facts about tap water. Did you know that the production of bottled water uses 2000 times more energy than tap water? Did you know that tap water is tested more often and more thoroughly than bottled water Did you know that it is 150 to 1000...
How many trees can you plant while sitting home? ? Share your Ecosia tree count and win beautiful prices, including a Greenway gift card, Ecosia T-shirts, movie tickets and small grocery bags. We will raffle the prizes among all participants. Like the Ecosia page, tag...
Given the recent developments regarding Covid-19, we have decided to cancel our activities until the end of March. We are closely following all KU Leuven advices and try to implement them as good as we can. Thanks a lot for your understanding! Do you have questions...
Yesterday, 10th of March, a panel of experts gave their views on the world-wide plastic problem. After an introduction by professor Kris Bachus, research manager of climate and sustainability at the HIVA Research Institute (KU Leuven), several companies joined us to...
Today in Veto, an article about our Ecosia launch. In the article, project manager Eline tells about the collaboration with the university’s ICT service: ‘We wanted to try Ecosia in two libraries, but ICTS wanted to implement it in all libraries and PC rooms.’ Read...
Consumers in Western countries waste an average of 100 kg of food annually. Fortunately, you can take action and reduce your food waste too. To spread awareness regarding this issue, the Sustainable Foods working group is organizing a second edition of the Dumpster...
Next week, we will be launching Ecosia in all KU Leuven libraries. In the first step, Ecosia will become the default search engine in some of the browsers. After an evaluation in May, we might decide to use to Ecosia in every browser. Besides that, a new screensaver...
In times where we hear each year 8 million tons of plastics go in our ocean, up to 50% of our coral reefs are dying, and every year around 270 million tons of plastic is still produced globally, we wonder: what is the future of plastics? How can we tackle this issue...
Want to know more about Green Office membership? Want to contribute to a healthier planet? Want to get to know like-minded people? Get to know us during our second-semester Open Meeting. We’ll give some information about our Green Office and the importance of our...
Quivr helps the Ecosia on Campus campaign to grow. From now on, a little info card will be shown on the dashboard of the Quivr app. Like this, we hope to reach more students and convince them to install Ecosia as their default search engine. Read more about the Ecosia...
While making our new website, we looked for ways to make reduce our digital footprint. This is what we discovered. A website’s footprint depends mostly on the way a website is hosted, because web hosting servers consume huge amounts of energy to keep websites online....
The Green Office will be closed during the study and examination period. See you in February!
Next semester, we will take the next step in our Ecosia on Campus campaign. In all KU Leuven libraries, a new screensaver will be shown on every desktop computer. A QR code will guide users to the Ecosia on Campus page. Like this, working together with KU Leuven ICTS,...
Yesterday, we invited all our members to the Green Office. Every working group gave an overview of their projects, focussing on the progress they made during the past semester. Afterwards, it was time for a party. We sat together for a nice Christmas meal, with dishes...
KU Leuven Student Services recently decided to ban all plastic cups from their offices at the Van Dale College. In order to communicate the change to all staff members and students, Student Offices asked the Green Office to design a banner. Fitting into the #tapitup...
From now on, it will impossible not to notice our cargo bike. In order to give our cargo bike better visibility in the streets, we designed new stickers with a big logo and bright colours. The stickers, containing no specific information and made out of a high-quality...
Yesterday, many students and staff members came to the Green Office for a lecture on the future of food. The lecture was given by a panel of four experts: Bram Van De Poel (professor at the Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven), Stefaan De Smet (professor at the...
Would you like to show your own cooking skills and also taste the meals of others? Next Wednesday, the Veggie Bag working group organizes a Veggie Potluck, during which you can bring your own veggie meal. Can be finger food, dips, soups, desserts or complex meals — it...
We are looking forward to tonight’s networking event by CORE colleagues. They will be introducing their new sharing system for reusable coffee cups. Curious! More info about the event on Facebook.
Tonight, a panel of experts will talk about the future of food production. We are happy to invite Bram Van De Poel (professor at the Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven), Stefaan De Smet (professor at the Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, UGent), Erik...
Did you already discover our Green Hands group? From this year on, we want to give everyone the opportunity of giving a hand once in a while, meeting new people and participating at our Green Hands-only events. Join us via our Green Hands Facebook group.
The repair café presents a homemade cosmetics workshop! Come over and learn how to create personalised and organic beauty products. Both your body and the environment will thank you! During the workshop, you will get the chance to make a body scrub, lip balm and a...
This afternoon, lots of students came and tasted our soup made with ingredients from the Veggie Bag. A speaker was present to talk about the farm where the veggies are grown. Thank you all to be present! We are planning more soup lunches next semester. You can also...
Wednesday, the Veggie Bag working group will be cooking some delicious soups. The ingredients will be taken from the Veggie Bag, which contains locally grown vegetables (read more about the initiative here). A speaker will come over and talk about the farm where the...
Wednesday, the Ecosia on Campus working group organized a pop-up at the Agora Learning Centre, to inform students about Ecosia. Why do we think that’s important? The aim of the Ecosia on Campus project is to make Ecosia more popular at KU Leuven. Our first goal is is...
Tomorrow, the Ecosia on Campus working group organizes a pop-up at Agora. Did you know that every web search has an environmental impact? The Ecosia on Campus projects aims to help you reduce your digital impact. Want to learn more about Ecosia and other ways to make...
December 3th, the Sustainable Foods working group will be organizing a vegan cooking workshop. Do you want to try new vegan recipes inspired by cuisines from different countries? Welcome to a cooking workshop where we will prepare a delicious three-course dinner with...
Did you know that ⅓ of all the food produced in the world for human consumption is thrown away every year? Learn more about the topic (and taste some dumpster food) during our Dumpster feast. As the Green Office’s purpose is to raise awareness among students to food...
All over the world, students are raising their voices for more climate action. Friday 29, the Global Strike for Future will take place in Leuven. Come and make some noise for the climate! More information on Facebook.
Did you already hear about the Rainbow Rule? The Rainbow Rule helps you to eat all nutrients essential for optimal health. During a cosy workshop, we will provide you with the necessary knowledge and inspiration to apply the rule in your daily life. After a short...
KU Leuven has launched its first Sustainability Report, a milestone in the university’s climate policy. The report gives a detailed overview of sustainable actions at the university. In an interview with KU Leuven News, Professor Van Acker, chair of the Sustainability...
Yes, you can! Be smart, download ecosia.co/KULeuven as your search engine and plant trees while surfing the internet. It’s free, respects your privacy and Ecosia plants a tree every 0,8 seconds! Read more about the campaign here.
Did you know you can jump in at the Green Office during our opening hours? If you have any question related to our projects or if you are curious to have a look the Green Office, please come in on Monday evening (18h-20h) or Tuesday morning (9h-11h). Can’t make it?...
At the Green Office, we are still enjoying our kick-off. Thanks for coming! [photos to be added]
We are proud to announce these partners will be present for our info fair. Academics for Development Leuven (AFD), Bos Fonds, CleanTech Challenge Belgium, Content, CORE, Green Office Living Lab, Greenpeace Leuven, LOKO, MAAKbar, Studenten Voor Solidariteit – Students...
WORKSHOPS • INFO FAIR • WELCOME RECEPTION • LECTURE Find out the full program ? ? CIRCULAR MINI WORKSHOPS 16:00 — 18:00 Green Office Repair Hub (Minderbroedersstraat 50) At the Green Office, we’re all about reduce, reuse, recycle. Did you know that you can repair your...
We will be starting our kick-off with a series of free workshops at the Repair Hub. This is what you can do. ☞ Upcycle a piece of fabric with a print of choice at the Scheefdruk truck.☞ Who can fix a bike tyre faster, you or your friend? Find out at Het Fietsatelier!☞...
We have started the interviews for new members. Don’t wait to apply if you want to become a Green Office member! Find out more on our membership page.
Yesterday, we invited all interested students to the Green Office for this semester’s Open Meeting. We provided information about our working, did a couple of brainstorm sessions, and gave everyone the occasion to ask questions about Green Office membership. We were...
Did you already discover our Repair Hub? For the first time, the Green Office’s kick-off will take place on two different spots. In the afternoon, we will be doing some nice workshops at the Repair Hub (Minderbroedersstraat 50). Afterwards, we will continue with the...
Want to know more about Green Office membership? Want to contribute to a healthier planet? Want to get to know like-minded people? Ready for a challenge? Get to know us! We’ll give some information about our Green Office and the importance of our Green Office members....
Are you interested in making our university more sustainable? Do you want to work on an exciting project? Registration for membership is open now! Go to our membership page.
We had a blast at the Orientation Days. Welcome to all (new) students! Don’t forget to check out our events!
For most of you, the beginning of the academic year might still be far away. Nevertheless, we are already working hard on our kick-off. In exactly one month, we will be starting our working year with workshops, an info fair, a reception, a lecture and much more. The...
In the coming weeks, the Green Office will be organizing five pop-ups. Join us between 12:00 and 14:00 and get to know us on your campus. This is where you can find us: 25.09 at Arenberg (lawn in front of Auditorium K) 27.09 at Groep T 03.10 at Campus Brussels (Duplex...
The Green Office for KU Leuven is looking for a new (Dutch speaking) coordinator. Do you want to support a team of fantastic students, and make KU Leuven more sustainable? There are still two weeks to apply. Read the full job description here.
Meanwhile, we are preparing for 2019-2020. Curious to know what our projects will be about? Stay tuned! … and already write October 10 in your calendars.
In order to make our digital communication easier to find, we are regrouping our Facebook pages. From September on, we won’t publish any new information on the Fair Fashion page, as well as on the GO Ecolicious and the GO Zero Waste page. All working groups will be...