A sustainable university? Tilburg University has not yet achieved its climate ambitions

According to the report Thirteen Shades of Green, universities have the knowledge and influence to be frontrunners in the climate transition, but are not making sufficient use of it. Tilburg University is also called to action because of delayed goals, incomplete emission data and a non-concrete sustainability policy.

Kevin van Schie, assistant professor at the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and member of the Green Young Academy (GrYA), contributed to the report Thirteen Shades of Green by The Young Academy, which was published last Tuesday. The report is both an analysis and a call to action.

‘Universities are large institutions with a considerable ecological footprint and have an important exemplary role. Not only for students, but also for the wider society,’ says Van Schie.

Shifting goals

Tilburg University is mentioned specifically in the report because of the shifting of its sustainability goals. For example, the university was supposed to open its Green Office in 2019, but that finally happened only in September 2025.

‘And whereas the university had previously declared that it wanted to completely stop using non-sustainable (fossil) energy sources in 2025, that ambition has now been weakened to aiming for a rapid reduction in the use of fossil fuels,’ says Van Schie.

Lack of concreteness

The report distinguishes three types of CO₂ emissions: direct emissions from own buildings and vehicles, emissions from purchased energy from, for example, power plants, and all other indirect emissions.

The latter category is the largest and most decisive. It includes, for example, commuting by students and teachers, air travel, hotel stays and office supplies. Yet this category is often not fully included, which means that the actual climate impact of universities can be underestimated.

The difficulty with these figures on emissions, Van Schie says, is that they are also incomplete. That is another point of criticism: ‘At Tilburg University, explicit data on these forms of emissions are missing, which indicates a lack of concreteness in the sustainability policy.’

Sustainable university

Tilburg University aims to be a sustainable university and is already taking several steps in that direction, says Van Schie. ‘For example, the university only reimburses commuting when employees travel to campus in a sustainable way by train, bicycle or on foot. We also see progress in the buildings; the Marga Klompé building was built circularly from recycled materials.’

Sustainability is a structural component within the university, responds Janneke Iven, spokesperson for Tilburg University. The university has a permanent Sustainability Manager and an active Green Office Team that involves students and staff in sustainability initiatives.

In terms of reporting, Tilburg University promises more transparency. ‘The CO₂ data have been recorded internally for some time, but will soon also be made public,’ says Iven. The university also acknowledges that its climate goals can be more concrete and is working on this through sustainability monitoring under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Some objectives have now been formulated more realistically. The university states: ‘Complete fossil freedom in 2025 is not achievable, but the ambition remains.’ In addition, Tilburg University is working within the collaboration Universities of the Netherlands to reduce CO₂ emissions in 2030 and 2050.

Not only Tilburg University

There is still work to be done, and certainly not only for Tilburg University. All Dutch universities are called upon to strive for a greener university. ‘Sustainability should not be a beauty contest with only visible symbolic actions, but requires structural changes in the entire organization,’ says Van Schie.

The report and Van Schie therefore mention several recommendations. All universities must be transparent, be accountable and give sustainability coordinators a permanent position. Only with continuity and cooperation between institutions can they truly realize their climate ambitions, according to the report’s authors.

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