About Sustainability and circularity

One of the big questions of our time: how can we use our resources better so we don’t exhaust the Earth, pollute our environment, or put the future of humans and animals at risk?

This question is a major challenge today. Within the theme of Sustainability and Circularity, Fontys is addressing this issue on various levels, with a focus on transitioning to a circular economy. Circularity is a crucial element to ensure the Earth remains livable in the long term.

However, moving to a fully circular economy is difficult and needs big changes in society. Right now, about a quarter of the Dutch economy is circular. This means many materials are reused or recycled (Rijksoverheid). While this is a good step, there is still much work to do. The Netherlands aims to become fully circular by 2050.

At the same time, material use is increasing worldwide. More raw materials are needed for production, and waste is growing. Global CO2 emissions remain a problem too. This is why it’s important to speed up the move to a circular economy, not just in the Netherlands but also around the world. This requires major changes to how our economic systems work, both nationally and globally.

It’s clear that a circular economy is not only a national responsibility. It is a global challenge that needs countries to work together.