Network Sustainability: Who does what?

Sustainability policy is a responsibility shared by the entire Ghent University community. University leadership must be convinced of its urgency. Staff and students must feel involved. Faculties must feel ownership of the transition plans.

Everyone Has a Role

These are the roles where you too can make a difference:

  • The central governing and advisory bodies — the Board of Governors, the Executive Board, and the Management Board — are responsible for realising the sustainability objectives. They monitor the implementation of measures and track progress.

  • The Sustainability Policy Committee oversees the sustainability policy, reviews the outcomes of the transition working groups, and monitors the roadmap.

  • The Sustainability Team, the central point of contact for sustainability, shapes and coordinates the university’s sustainability policy. The team leads the transition working groups, supports sustainability efforts in faculties, and assists directorates in implementing sustainability policy in practice. They set up living labs, connect expertise, engagement, projects, and ideas, and create a framework that encourages individual initiative. They communicate and raise awareness, expand and maintain the sustainability network, and report to and advise the central governing and advisory bodies.

  • The Thematic Working Groups consist of experts, policy officers, and committed staff and students. They work on thematic goals and transition pathways, shaping them further by sharing knowledge and experiences, offering policy advice and preparatory work, refining research questions, and experimenting in living labs. They are responsible for quality assurance and monitoring indicators, reporting on progress, and making recommendations for adjustments.

    The working groups include:

    • Thematic Working Group on Energy

    • Thematic Working Group on Water

    • Thematic Working Group on Biodiversity

    • Thematic Working Group on Sustainable Mobility

    • Thematic Working Group on Sustainable Travel

    • Thematic Working Group on Sustainable Food

    • Thematic Working Group on Circular Construction
    • Sustainable research and education is a yearly topic in the Sustainability Commission

  • Faculties and University Services contribute knowledge and expertise and play a key role in translating and implementing sustainability measures once they are adopted. Each faculty has its own sustainability commission or a representative for sustainability:

    • FPS: prof. Erik Paredis
    • FLW: prof. Andreas Niehaus
    • FPPW: prof. Ruth Krebs
    • FRE: prof. An Cliquet
    • FEB: prof. Brent Bleys
    • FBW: prof. Wouter Maes en prof. Kris Verheyen
    • FWE: prof. Johan Winne
    • FEA: prof. Dirk Stroobandt
    • FGE: Charlotte Scheerens
    • FDI: prof. Geert Janssens en Evelyne Meyer
    • FFW: prof. Christophe Stove

  • Transition Ghent University is an open think tank and network where experts, policy staff, and engaged members of the university community can propose new actions and ideas. It offers opportunities for active involvement in sustainability policy and provides a platform for ongoing dialogue about sustainability, climate change, and Ghent University’s role in these issues.

  • Green Office Gent, based on the international Green Office Model, is a hub where student employees and volunteers strengthen the sustainability policy by initiating and coordinating projects, experimenting, and connecting people and initiatives. Bottom-up ideas and sustainable projects are supported here.