Major European subsidy for research on circular economy
An international consortium headed by the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability has been awarded a subsidy for research on the circular economy where all raw materials are recycled.
Four million
The subsidy falls within the Marie Curie Innovative Training Network and amounts to four million euros. The research programme is expected to start in the autumn of 2016 and will last for three years.
Important role for Leiden University
The Leiden Centre for Environmental Sciences has an important role in this new network. Arnold Tukker, Professor of Industrial Ecology in Leiden and scientific director of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Sustainability, is heading the network. Fifteen PhD candidates will work within the network analysing the change to a circular economy from a number of different perspectives.
Broad consortium
The consortium comprises universities, companies and other organisations that are in a leading position in research on the circular economy. Participants include Linköping University in Sweden, the Aston Business School and Cranfield University. These last two institutions are heading major English programmes in this field. 'What's special about this is the collaboration with a large number of industrial companies and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,’ Tukker commented. This foundation works on the circular economy with such partners as Google, H&M and Unilever.