Upcoming Events

September 29, 2020

Circular Economy Lab 22: Circular procurement of ICT

The Utrecht Sustainability Institute organizes the 22nd Circular Economy Lab in collaboration with the Amsterdam Economic Board.

This time, the focus is on circular options for ICT equipment in the workplace. Computers, servers and monitors have a huge impact on the environment. Production and use require a lot of energy and the products contain critical metals. The short depreciation period results in the disposal of millions of tons of electronic equipment every year, which means that critical metals are quickly depleted. There is a lot of potential for smarter and circular solutions, such as life extension. But in practice, little use is made of this in the workplace.

During the Circular Economy Lab: Circular procurement of ICT, we identify the bottlenecks together with experts and front-runners and determine how we make circular solutions accessible and upscale. We focus on purchasing organizations (buyers, category and contract managers, maintenance and service around ICT) and on vendors / suppliers of ICT equipment. At the end of 2020 we will organize a Circular Economy Lab about data servers.

The 22nd Circular Economy Lab goes online to offer everyone the chance to be there. Join the open panel discussions with experts. Share your own experiences, learn from each other and ask the questions that help you further. Register now.

Utrecht Sustainability Institute & Amsterdam Economic Board

September 30, 2020

Real Estate in the Six-foot Society

the first Global Edition of Real Estate Futureproof (REF), themed ‘Real Estate in the Six-foot Society’ takes place. REF is the biggest and most innovative online real estate event.

Professionals from all over the globe meet here virtually in order to gain insights into the newest trends, share knowledge, and build commercial relations. Already more than 3.000 professionals hit the attend button!

In line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the REF event is divided into 11 Future thematic pillars: Offices, Smart Cities, Construction, Energy, Retail, Logistics, Space as a Service, Houses, PropTech Investing in Real Estate, Architecture and Smart Buildings

October 8, 2020

Utrecht Region Get Connected annual conference

Future perspective in special times

We cordially invite you to be digitally present at the Utrecht Region Get Connected annual conference on October 8, 2020. Between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm we organize various digital sub-sessions with a multitude of partners and live from Studio 21 in Hilversum. plenary program. Despite the special times, we will come together (digitally) on 8 October in a program full of inspiration, creation, collaboration and meeting.

Together with our network, we are optimistic about the future. With 'healthy urban living' as our common compass for several years now, we are working on a future-proof living environment with healthy people and a focus on valuable digitization.

We do not close our eyes to the consequences of the corona pandemic. For example, since the beginning of April we have been working together as a region in the Utrecht Region Economic Corona Alliance, in which we help entrepreneurs to be able to continue to do business even in corona time. The annual conference will not only pay attention to this, but also to the impact of corona on jobs in the region.

A powerful tool to arrive at impactful solutions for healthy urban living is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Our region has everything it takes to become the hub when it comes to human-centered AI: people at the center of healthy urban life. On October 8, we will discuss this in the program.

Future perspective in special times, towards a green, healthy and smart future. How do we see that for us? How do we organize the recovery plans in such a way that we emerge stronger from the crisis and at the same time take a significant step towards the goals of the climate agreement? And how are we set up as a region for this? What role can the new Regional Development Agency (ROM) Utrecht region play, for example, as an important extension of the regional instruments? These are all questions that will pass in review on 8 October. In the near future we will announce more about the program via our website.

Do you know all 17 SDGs ?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

International Electric Vehicle Symposium Lyon: World of E motion

The future of sustainable mobility also depends on major changes to infrastructures, such as electrification, connectivity and driverless vehicles.

To prepare for these changes, it is essential to fully understand how new technology will be used for mobility in the future, as well as the related business models and issues surrounding social acceptability.

The Netherlands: Number of all-electric cars has doubled

On 1 January 2019, there were nearly 45 thousand fully electric vehicles (FEVs) in the Netherlands, twice the number recorded one year previously.

source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), based on vehicle licence registration records of the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW).

Natural Swimming Pool

Swimming pool De Peppel in Ede has opened a new swimming pool on April 29th, which is purified by nature itself and to which no drop of chlorine has been added.

Purification of the water is done by plants and bio filters. Although the visitors could immediately take a dive after the opening, the water temperature was still cold The bath cannot be heated like a regular swimming pool. "The plants don't survive that," a spokesperson explains. "At 14 to 15 degrees it is pretty cool, but the intention is for the sun to warm up the water this summer period."

Social issues highest priority at CBS seminar

At the second Big Data Matters seminar last 14th of April, organized by the Center for Big Data Statistics (CBDS, part of the Dutch Statistics Agency CBS), discussed how data-driven management is possible with big data. This was done on the basis of current social issues such as mobility, energy transition, labor market and air quality. Companies, governments at all levels, knowledge institutes and universities were represented.

Air Quality:

Both the social themes and the researched data sources (such as mobile telephone data for making statistics) were very diverse. Sofie De Broe, scientific director of the CBDS: "Large cities are increasingly confronted with the theme of air quality. Citizens are worried and ask for information. For example, Eindhoven is a fairly stony city with many streets where the so-called canyon effect can occur, because fine dust concentrates in the narrow streets with high buildings. For this type of cities it is necessary to develop scenario development and to determine the impact of these scenarios on the health of their inhabitants. As Statistics Netherlands, we can offer added value here by adding data from Statistics Netherlands' RIVM air quality data, such as building data from the Basic Addresses and Buildings Register (BAG). By linking socio-demographic variables to the data on buildings, you can, for example, make clear which population groups are exposed to air pollution. "

Krimpen aan den IJssel and Rijswijk participants at UNECE "Day of the Cities" Geneva

During the Day of the Cities in Geneva at April 8, 33 Countries and 50+ Mayors shared practical insights to ensure approaches for sustainable smartcities and how to use drivers for the SDG's and UNECE tools & experience to support this transition.

Mayor Michel Bezuijen and Ilonka Nagy of Municipality Rijswijk

Mayor Vroom is the first mayor in the Netherlands to use the United Smart Cities KPI's to evaluate and audit urban development policies. He is also the first mayor to embrace the international initiative "Join Smart City", a new digital social platform that engages citizens in various city processes and allows them to communicate their needs and wants.

Spijkenisse opens first Solaroad

8 March 2019 Spijkenisse & Haarlemmermeer: Dutch first Solar Roads which actually works as a solar panel becomes reality in Spijkenisse and Haarlemmermeer. This Solar Road captures sunlight and converts it into electricity to be used for all kinds of purposes like lighting, traffic systems, households and also electric vehicles.

Forbes interview with Mayor Jack Mikkers of Den Bosch:

Mayor Jack Mikkers explains the Smart City Strategy of the city of Den Bosch and also how The Netherlands as relatively small country still have a leading role.

Gondolas as alternative of bridges?

Thinking of Gondolas, one thinks at Winter Sports in Austria. Ever imagined using ropeways as an cheap, sustainable and alternative solution for crossing roads and rivers in modern cities? Isn't it Smart?

Deutsche Telekom and United Smart Cities sign extensive global partnership

September 17th 2018, Organisation for International Economic Cooperation (OiER) and Deutsche Telekom have announced a far-reaching collaboration to join forces in supporting cities to become smarter and more sustainable under the umbrella of the programme United Smart Cities (USC). Read more......

JOINSMART.CITY and Riab telematics signs cooperation agreement for Netherlands

OTT smart city rollout will be accelerated in the Netherlands through this partnership

Amsterdam, 05.June 2018. Riab telematics announces partnership with Your Digital Innovation GmbH to rollout the OTT citizen engagement platform in the Netherlands. Read more......