Sustainability in Research

Sustainability research at Erasmus University Rotterdam connects to all five of our Impact Domains, but sits most centrally within Domain 3, a just transition to a sustainable society. Our researchers draw on our distinct profile in the social sciences, medicine and the humanities to understand and help resolve the tension between economic activity, social justice, and planetary limits.

Our ambition

We conduct research that fosters inclusive prosperity and enhances social and ecological resilience, prioritising sustainable development, social justice, and a healthy society through interventions that address these interconnected global and local challenges. Focusing on our unique profile within the social sciences, medicine and humanities, we co-create research by collaborating nationally and internationally as equal partners with other scientific domains and societal stakeholders. Through open and responsible science, we foster transparency and collaboration, reinforcing our role in the transition towards a sustainable, just and healthy society and planet within the regional and global innovation ecosystem.

1. Research agenda & focus

We prioritise sustainability by incentivising research aligned with EUR's strategic agenda on sustainability, with a focus on inclusive prosperity, including sustainable development, social justice, and a healthy society and planet. This also means enabling and rewarding careers focused on sustainability research.

2. Impactful research practices

In co-creating with societal stakeholders, we aim to enable impactful research practices. We engage with the (local) community, policymakers, and society to foster discussion and create feedback loops on research insights, particularly on sustainable development, social justice, and a healthy society and planet. Open and responsible science is our default — it enables engagement with our local community, strengthens applied research practice, and widens the use of our research data and findings.

3. Facilitating inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration

We foster a vibrant, diverse, and collaborative community of sustainability researchers, enabling inter- and transdisciplinary exchange within EUR, and collaboration with other universities, societal stakeholders, and industry.

4. Responsible and ethical research

We ensure that the way we do research is itself sustainable and ethical, integrating sustainability as a core criterion in research proposals, formal collaborations, and funding decisions, guided by a university-wide ethical framework. We also work to reduce the environmental impact of research itself, including through mitigating carbon-intensive field research and promoting regional collaboration.

Erasmus Initiatives

The Erasmus Initiatives are four ambitious programmes that work on the connection and interaction between science and society, between theory and practice, and that aim to increase the social and economic impact of their work.

More sustainability research at EUR

A fuller overview of EUR's sustainability research and initiatives is on its way — check back soon, or explore current output via our research portal.