Examining the sustainability aspects of biotechnology, especially those related to the production of ethanol from biomass.

We aim to develop a microfluidic platform that can parallelize testing the performance and characteristics of pure, mixed and environmental bacteriophage samples.

The planetary boundaries concept defines the environmental limits within which humanity can safely operate, that is, the Earth System processes that set safe boundaries for human activities.

An overview of research themes and possible research projects

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotores: Dr. ing. M.G. Vijver, J.P.M. Vink

RaMa-Scene is a web-application to create and analyse circular economy scenarios using Multi-regional Environmentally Extendend Input-Output Analysis.

The EEE lectures are a monthly cross-disciplinary lecture series where globally renowned and inspiring thinkers and scientists are invited.

The institute is lead by the Scientific Director, prof.dr.ing. Martina G. Vijver, in collaboration with the Management Team.

Material outflows from industrial economies.

As a contribution to the changing legislation and evolving societal attitudes concerning environmental issues, this project aims to enhance and manipulate the plants’ own natural defense mechanisms against western flower thrips (WFT).

In-use stocks of products can be considered as intermediaries between human needs and the physical world.

A sustainable resource management is an essential aspect to satisfy the current human needs without compromising the needs of future generations.

This thesis investigates how the assessment of circular economy (CE) at the macro-economic level can be facilitated and promoted⁠.

The main question I want to answer is about the mutual influence between the cultural and settlements changes that occurred between the Bronze and the Early Iron Age in Margiana and the management of water resources.

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are widely used, and nanotechnological innovations grow with rapid pace. Studies on nanotoxicology have demonstrated that chemical toxicology as well as particle toxicology should be accounted for in predicting the safety of ENMs.

As a non-invasive genetic method, eDNA based approaches have become an important component of ecologists' and environmental managers' toolkits for biomonitoring in conservation and an increasingly important source of ecological knowledge.

Overview of CML software and data

Giovanni Gruni, Assistant Professor European Law, will take part to the International Law Association committee on international trade law, sustainable development and the Green economy. The meeting will be held at King's College, University of Cambridge on the 11th of November.

CitiObs will consolidate and apply tools and practice-based knowledge for co-creating data, knowledge and local action regarding the environmental impacts of climate change and human activity in the urban context via Citizen Observatories.

Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)

Covering the entire chain of Environmental Risk Assessment

Until 15 May, Open Space will give room for artistic creation and experimentation in a partnership between artists and astronomers. The project is a collaboration among Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), Korzo and the Leiden Observatory. Starting on 3 May, young dancers of NDT 2, three choreographers, three…

Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)

Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)

A new study from Leiden researchers shows that the carbon emissions of building materials are set to grow if we do not act rapidly. Even with known interventions implemented in concert, these emissions are much larger than the remaining 1.5 degree budget for building materials at today’s share, the…

The Council of State in the Netherlands gave a ruling in the so-called Porthos case which revolves around the exemption currently in place for nitrogen emitted during the construction of major projects such as housing. The Administrative Law Division of the Council of State ruled that the partial construction…

At the start of the 20th century there were fewer than 2 billion people. Now at over 7 billion, Earth’s population is on target to reach 8 billion by 2027. How has this dramatic increase in human population impacted Earth’s life support systems and natural resources? How should we understand the meaning…

How can we organise society so as to keep our planet habitable for us and for all other life forms around us? To answer this question, Leiden researchers collaborate across disciplines, from biology to data science, and from environmental economy to archaeology.

Book Launch

Overview of the publications of the department of Environmental Biology (1972-2015)

Archaeologist Fulco Scherjon has used computer simulations to identify where and how Neanderthals lived in West Europe. What stood out was that they probably had lots of children and lived in smaller groups than was previously thought. PhD defence on 28 May.

Recent publications

Integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) with life cycle costing (LCC) offers the opportunity to simultaneously analyze the environmental and economic aspects of product alternatives, for the integration of which a unified computational has been proposed by Heijungs et al. (2013) [1]. The project aims…

What does it mean to eat healthily and responsibly? This question is gaining a new urgency now that in many countries undernourishment is being overtaken by diseases of affluence, such as obesity, and we are also becoming more aware of the environmental impact of our eating habits. It’s time to take…

The Netherlands is not particularly rich in ‘wild nature’. Comparatively, what we have is a lot of intensively used agricultural land. This means that from nature’s perspective there much to be gained by combining the ‘nature’ and ‘agriculture’ functions. Not an easy task in such a densely populated…

The International Institute of Air and Space Law, founded in 1985, collaborates with many world-class academic institutions.

What are the possibilities of converting biowaste streams into value added products? What current and future technologies will enable this transition with minimal environmental and economic costs? The researchers in H2 steel project will enable the transition of sewage sludge into green hydrogen, steel…

Some examples of research questions include: What framework of circular strategies should local practitioners use? How should practitioners organize their monitoring of the circular economy activities in the region of interest? What are the main products that have the most circular potential in the…

What are the life-cycle environmental impacts and risks to human health and ecosystems of a III-V/Si PV system? How can these be expected to change when the system is deployed at industrial scale? What are the most favourable recycling scenarios?

The IBL represents the core of modern biological research at Leiden and we interact closely with the other life science Partner Institutes in the faculty:

Research carried out at Leiden University contributes to our knowledge of sustainability. This is essential if we want to work together to find solutions to pressing issues, such as the current climate emergency and the shortage of raw materials.

Leiden University purchases a wide range of goods and services every year. To a greater or lesser extent, they all have an environmental impact.

Description of Biotic ligand models: making an inventory of available models & assessment of the variability of the predicted HC5 using the BLMs in different Dutch water types (2005 - 2007)

How can we develop a new organic redox flow battery suitable to work at higher temperatures?

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of Leiden University Medical Center and the Faculty of Science with two universities in Indonesia.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about education or research at the Living Lab. You can contact the secretariat of the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML).

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