Green Team Veterinary Medicine
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has the ambition to make sustainability a key focus in everything we do. This includes our facilities and operations, determining research priorities, our educational programs, and in delivering animal healthcare. Our strategic agenda establishes our commitment to translate our green ambitions into concrete action plans to make the faculty sustainable. We are working on this both within and outside the faculty, with the assistance of the Green Team Veterinary Medicine, which consists of staff and students.
What can you expect from the Green Team?
The Green Team members serve as a think tank for new ideas, support and expedite concrete initiatives, share both good and bad examples, and aim to raise awareness within the faculty. The important topics (in no particular order): Energy and CO2, Sustainable employability, Travel, De Tolakker, Raw materials and waste reduction, Animal welfare, Water management, Animal-free Biomedical Translation, Biodiversity, Education and Research. You are always welcome to approach the members with your ideas and initiatives related to sustainability.
Do you want inspiration of sustainable actions by colleagues and students at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine? Then take a look at the stories at 'Go green external link'. (intranet, employee access mandatory).
Members of the Green Team
- "I was done with the huge focus on reducing my footprint. Instead, I now focus on increasing my restorative power and its impact. The Green Team is a great tool for that!"
- "It frustrated me that as an individual, I seemed to have little influence in limiting climate change until I read the book 'Growing Up While the World is on Fire' by Yvonne van Sark. This book precisely portrays the challenge faced by underage youth with similar feelings, who have limited opportunities to participate in policy discussions within organizations. It was then that I realized I am experienced enough to contribute to ensuring a large organization like the University becomes more sustainable. Since then, I have been passionately dedicated to making the UU and laboratory work more sustainable from within."
- "I work as an associate professor for the Department of Clinical Sciences. As a clinician, I see daily how many single-use disposables we use and how much waste we produce as a result. I am convinced that most of these could at least get a second life. For example, as materials for teaching. I am sure there is a lot of room for improvement and am excited to be part of the development as a member of the Green Team!"
- "As a PhD candidate working at the RMCU, I am passionate about 'greening' the laboratories and collaborating with the Green Teams of other research institutes at the Utrecht Science Park. I believe that with small adjustments, we can make a significant impact on making the faculty more sustainable!"
Email: n.e.wijnands@students.uu.nl- I'm a third-year undergraduate student studying Veterinary Medicine and a huge nature enthusiast, passionate about all animals living within it. I joined the Green Team because, in my opinion, there's room for improvement in animal welfare, especially for animals that don't necessarily live comfortably in our homes. That's why I'm dedicated to promoting a more sustainable (and, above all, animal-friendly!) faculty; for the sake of all animals!"
- "I read a lot about climate change and want to reduce my footprint. But contributing and participating is the best way to really do something with my climate stress."
Email: t.l.tjalma@students.uu.nl- "I want to work within the Green Team for a more systematic integration of sustainability in education. As a veterinary student, I have noticed that there is plenty of room for improvement here. I hope that in the future, students will learn about the impact of the veterinary sector on the environment and that students will get scientific guidance on how to take the 'greenest' path in the field, in the face of conflicting interests. The Green Team is a great tool for this and I am happy to be part of it."
- It's about our future, and even more so, the future of our children and grandchildren, the animals, and the earth.
Want to know more?
For more information contact programme leader Wim de Leeuw or one of the other members of the Green Team.
What is a Green Team?
Green Teams are working groups in which students and staff work together to make their faculty more sustainable. They map the status of sustainability at their faculty, look for solutions and initiate projects. Green Teams are an initiative of Green Office University of Utrecht.