Sustainability Week 2025

From 6 to 10 October, it's Sustainability Week at the University of Groningen! Get inspired, boost your sustainability knowledge, and gain new insights. This year, we're once again organizing several lunch walks, a keynote lecture in collaboration with Studium Generale, a film night with the Forum, and the one and only Great Green Pub Quiz.

New this year is the concert (and lecture) we're organizing with the Forum on Friday. Have you ever wondered what plastic sounds like? Prepare to be amazed by the alienating plastic percussion of the Soundtrack of the Plastic Age.

Scroll down to read more about the events!

Bonus event (film) | Nocturnes

Before Sustainability Week kicks off, you can already visit the InScience Film Festival in the Forum on Wednesday, 1 October (in collaboration with Studium Generale).

Every night, a valley in the Eastern Himalayas is illuminated by a luminous canvas, awash with buzzing insects, subjected to the loving gaze of a small research team.

With lush, misty mountain landscapes as her office, Mansi dedicates her life to the mechanical and time-consuming process of observing, photographing, and measuring a specific species of moth. She could be the archetypal scientist—steady, sharply focused, and a little bit crazy. Through intimate conversations and a slow-paced film, the film reveals Mansi’s drive and how her infectious passion for moths gradually takes hold of her native assistants. It is a radiant eco-documentary, made all the more beautiful by the captivating sound, and a whispering plea to face the far-reaching consequences of human-induced global warming.

Afterward, join the discussion with Casper van der Kooi (evolutionary biologist at the University of Groningen). The discussion will be in Dutch.

Wednesday 1 October, 19:00-21:00
Forum Groningen

For more information and tickets, please visit the Studium Generale website.

Keynote | Green pushiness or much-needed climate politics

Jaap Tielbeke

In the previous cabinet, it was still called a Minister for Climate and Green Growth. But infinite growth on a finite planet seems impossible. That was already the revolutionary message of the 1972 report "Limits to Growth" by the Club of Rome, which had a global impact. It was also widely read in the Netherlands: the paperback edition sold 250,000 copies. In this lecture, climate journalist Jaap Tielbeke demonstrates the impact of this report—but also how few of the original warnings were actually heeded. Should we blame each other for not heeding this primal warning? Or is it time for more "green nonsense"?

Jaap Tielbeke has been deputy editor-in-chief of De Groene since December 2024. He studied international relations and philosophy before joining this weekly magazine as an editor in 2015. He writes primarily about ecological woes and attractive alternatives.

Monday 6 October, 20:00-21:30 (walk-in 19:45)
Aula, Academy Building
Please note, this lecture is in Dutch

This lecture is organized in collaboration with Studium Generale

Walk | Foraging on the Zernike Campus

When Sanne Scheltena (cultural anthropologist and forager) looks around, she sees edible plants everywhere. For most people, this is forgotten knowledge. We often have no idea what grows around us and what is edible. During this guided tour she is happy to share the forgotten knowledge about edible wild plants.

Tuesday 7 October, 12:00-13:30 (limited amount of tickets available!)
Zernike Campus, Willem-Alexander Sportcentrum

This tour will be in English.

Event | Community meeting + award ceremony Green Labs

More information will be added soon!

Tuesday 7 October, 15:00-17:00 (including drinks)
Linnaeausborg, 5171.0415 (Het Oog)

This event will be in English.

Walk | Nature in the city

Join a 'Nature in the city' walk through Groningen and discover, under the guidance of urban ecologist Jan Doevendans, how nature thrives in the city. During this walk, you will learn where and how different bird species live in Groningen, as well as about the existence of urban animals such as martens and bats. Discover the hidden nature within the built environment and experience what else can be found in Groningen's urban jungle.

Jan Doevendans is one of the first independent urban ecologists in Groningen and the Netherlands.

Wednesday 8 October, 12:00-13:30
Start: AMD, Visserstraat 49

This tour will be in Dutch.

Film | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

This year, we join Studio Ghibli’s 40th Anniversary in the Sustainability Week, in collaboration with the Forum: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind! An animation film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Enter the visionary animated film with which Studio Ghibli took its iconic first steps. Director Hayao Miyazaki paints a breathtaking future in which the Earth is ravaged by poisonous forests and giant insects, and humanity struggles for both survival and meaning. At the heart of this story is Nausicaä, a young princess with a deep love of nature and a rare ability to communicate with the creatures of the "Toxic Jungle." When her peaceful valley is threatened by war and destruction, she faces the impossible choice between struggle and reconciliation—between fear and hope.

Nausica of the Valley of the Wind is not only a timeless animation masterpiece but also a gripping ecological fable perhaps more relevant today than ever. The film marks the beginning of Miyazaki's oeuvre, which centers on themes of environmentalism, pacifism, and feminine power.

Wednesday 8 October, 19:00-21:00
Forum Groningen, Camera 2

Tickets A special rate is available for UG students and staff. You'll receive a €5 discount on your ticket by using the code SW2025 at the checkout. At the entrance to the film you may be asked to show your employee or student card. You can purchase your tickets on the Forum website using the button below. .

The movie is Japanese, with English subtitles.

Walk | PlatteGrunn

There are so many sustainable initiatives, shops and places in the city of Groningen that there are always a few that escape your attention. Do you know where can you do plastic-free shopping? Or maybe you want to know more about what the municipality is doing to make the city center greener.

For the "Sustainable Experience" project, the Green Office began mapping sustainable Groningen in 2018. That year, the first sustainable city map was published in print, providing an overview of sustainable shops, initiatives, and restaurants in Groningen. Later, the map was converted to a Google Maps version that could be more easily updated. In 2025, the Green Office began collaborating with Groener Groningen (Greener Groningen). The latest version of the map, "PlatteGrunn," is now available. You can consult the map yourself, but it is of course much more fun to go out together.

On Thursday, October 9, the Green Office will organize a guided tour through the city center to show various green places. Come with us to discover the city from a green point of view. The tour includes a small dish!

Why PlatteGrunn? A small language lesson: In Dutch 'plattegrond' (literally 'flat ground') means a detailed (city) map. 'Grunn' is the local way of saying Groningen. That's why we now have a Plattegrunn! Made to guide you through sustainable Groningen.

Thursday 9 October, 12:00 - 13.30
Start: AMD, Visserstraat 49

The tour will be in English.

Event | Great Green Pub Quiz

Prepare for the Great Green Pub Quiz! Can you separate eco-facts from eco-fiction? Do you know everything about solar panels, biodiversity or climate change? Then make sure you are there and beat your colleagues, friends or fellow students!

The quiz consists of three exciting trivia rounds: general knowledge, local sustainability knowledge and music questions. Don't miss this opportunity for a fun outing and to learn more about this crucial topic.

You can sign up as an individual (and join a group on the spot) or as a team. You can indicate this on the registration form! A team consists of 4-5 people.

Thursday 9 October, 20:00-22:00
Café De Toeter

The quiz will be held in English.

Concert | Soundtrack of the Plastic Age

A new era asks for a new soundtrack. Experience the hypnotic power of percussion music and video projections in a surreal world of plastic waste.

Rogier de Nijs (composer and percussionist) is continually inspired by this age of waste and pollution. On International Sustainability Day, you can hear (and see!) the Soundtrack of the Plastic Age live at the Forum. De Nijs will perform with two other percussionists on instruments and in an apocalyptic setting made from recycled plastic materials.

Prior to the performance, there will be an introductory lecture by Gita Maas of the North Sea Foundation. How do we stop the flow of plastic into our oceans? What kind of things are found on the beaches? Plastic is and remains the main culprit (89%), but how do we reduce it when plastic production continues to increase worldwide? Join us for a reflection and be amazed by the explicable and inexplicable discoveries on our beaches.

Friday 10 October, 20:00 - 22:00
Rabo Zaal, Forum

Tickets A special rate is available for UG students and staff. You'll receive a €5 discount on your ticket by using the code SW2025 at the checkout. At the entrance to the film you may be asked to show your employee or student card. You can purchase your tickets on the Forum website using the button below.

This event is organized in collaboration with the Forum.