WUR buildings and grounds

We take sustainability and biodiversity into account in all our building and green space plans. This makes Wageningen Campus a pleasant working and living environment for people, plants and animals.

The Wageningen campus resembles the centre of a large city in terms of bustle, but offers more space for nature. About 40 per cent of the surface area consists of greenery (in urban areas this is about 18 per cent).

Awards

WUR has been voted the most sustainable university in the world (Green Metric 2023). Wageningen Campus is among the 10 top campuses in the Netherlands.

The many trees with vistas, ponds and streams and the park-like centre make it a pleasant place for colleagues and students to meet.

We are also proud that the planting on campus reflects the work our researchers conduct here every day. Thus, you will find important ecological components such as wooded banks and green and ecological connecting zones on the campus.

Sustainability in and around WUR buildings

  • In 2025, our gas consumption will be 85% lower than in 2018. We do this partly through our heat and cold storage sources (WKO) on campus, which use heat pumps to provide gas-free heating and efficient cooling of buildings on campus
  • In winter, we heat our buildings at 19 degrees.
  • We install solar panels on all suitable roofs. Currently, we already have more than 30,000 square metres of solar panels.
  • Using smart control technology, we reduce energy consumption, sometimes by up to 30%.
  • We switch to LED lighting in all buildings.
  • We opt - where possible - for sustainable variants of maintenance and materials. In many existing laboratories, for example, we work with heat recovery and we use sustainable roofing, paint and window frames.
  • New buildings are also gas-free and consist of bio-based and recyclable materials as much as possible.
  • We use the BREEAM methodology in new buildings. This is the world's leading method for assessing the sustainability of projects in the built environment. WUR aims for at least the classification excellent and where possible outstanding within this methodology.
  • Stairway use is encouraged over lift use. Lifts are therefore placed out of sight in buildings.
  • Public transport and cycling are encouraged; on campus we have extensive bicycle parking facilities and our own bus stops. There are also charging stations for electric cars and a tyre pump that allows visitors to inflate their own tyres and thus save fuel.
  • We have a bike path made from biobased asphalt, developed by our own WUR scientists.