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Using procurement power to accelerate sustainable city logistics

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The role of software agents in the life cycle of a product

This papers presents some ideas to use so-called software agents as a software representation of a product not only during manufacturing but also during the whole life cycle of the product. Software agents are autonomous entities capable of collecting useful information about products. By their design and capabilities software agents fit well in the concept of ubiquitous computing. We use these agents in our newly developed manufacturing process. This paper discusses further use of agent technology.

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Agents in domestic environments

Athor supplied : "This paper describes an agent-based architecture for domotics. This architecture is based on requirements about expandability and hardware independence. The heart of the system is a multi-agent system. This system is distributed over several platforms to open the possibility to tie the agents directly to the actuators, sensors and devices involved. This way a level of abstraction is created and all intelligence of the system as a whole is related to the agents involved. A proof of concept has been built and functions as expected. By implementing real and simulated devices and an easy to use graphical interface, all kind of compositions can be studied using this platform."

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Entrepreneurs as Agents of Change

Over recent years aspects of sustainability have claimed a central role in many countries. As a result research for sustainability has become an important driver for innovation. This paper describes developing a model that supports SMEs in integrating sustainability in their business and innovation processes. In general innovation and entrepreneurship are important in the realm of national economies because they hold the key to the continuity and growth of companies and economic growth within a country. National governments are spending vast sums of money to enable and improve innovation management and entrepreneurial behaviour within organizations. This is also the case in The Netherlands. Partnerships involving universities (education), companies (preferably SMEs) and industrial associations (business) and representatives from governmental organizations (community) are stimulated and should be geared towards: the development of sustainable networks, a contribution to regional economic growth within sectors, the development of learning communities in which best practices are shared, knowledge circulates and knowledge is created through applied research and last but not least sustainable relations are developed between universities and the business community. Within the centre for innovation and entrepreneurship at our university we have taken the initiative to develop an innovation programme for entrepreneurs in the construction industry to help them integrate sustainability in their business processes, while simultaneously professionalizing students and teachers. Sustainability and concern for the environment are two of the main reasons for entrepreneurs to look for opportunities to innovate. Policy measures are aimed at reduction of CO2 emission, waste management and alternative use of energy sources and materials. In line with these measures companies are urged to integrate sustainability in their business processes and search for innovative sustainable solutions. This paper describes the experiences with a number of SMEs in the construction industry and the barriers entrepreneurs encounter on the road towards sustainability. We focus on the role of the entrepreneur in the process of sustainable innovation and development. We conducted exploratory research and through an organisational analysis and in-depth interviews with the owners/managers of the companies insight was gained in innovation processes towards sustainable development. Conclusions show that one of the main bottlenecks is the dilemma posed by the need for profit for the continuity of a company, while taking into account people and planet. The dilemmas of innovation are described as issues that need to be addressed and which influence the innovative capacity of companies and organizations. This paper deals with the underlying factors related to the dilemma between sustainability and growth/profit.

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Personen 1

persoon

Wouter van Tankeren

Researcher/Lecturer

Projecten 11

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Academy for Sustainable Future Educators

Teachers have a crucial role in bringing about the extensive social changes that are needed in the building of a sustainable future. In the EduSTA project, we focus on sustainability competences of teachers. We strengthen the European dimension of teacher education via Digital Open Badges as means of performing, acknowledging, documenting, and transferring the competencies as micro-credentials. EduSTA starts by mapping the contextual possibilities and restrictions for transformative learning on sustainability and by operationalising skills. The development of competence-based learning modules and open digital badge-driven pathways will proceed hand in hand and will be realised as learning modules in the partnering Higher Education Institutes and badge applications open for all teachers in Europe.Societal Issue: Teachers’ capabilities to act as active facilitators of change in the ecological transition and to educate citizens and workforce to meet the future challenges is key to a profound transformation in the green transition.Teachers’ sustainability competences have been researched widely, but a gap remains between research and the teachers’ practise. There is a need to operationalise sustainability competences: to describe direct links with everyday tasks, such as curriculum development, pedagogical design, and assessment. This need calls for an urgent operationalisation of educators’ sustainability competences – to support the goals with sustainability actions and to transfer this understanding to their students.Benefit to society: EduSTA builds a community, “Academy of Educators for Sustainable Future”, and creates open digital badge-driven learning pathways for teachers’ sustainability competences supported by multimodal learning modules. The aim is to achieve close cooperation with training schools to actively engage in-service teachers.Our consortium is a catalyst for leading and empowering profound change in the present and for the future to educate teachers ready to meet the challenges and act as active change agents for sustainable future. Emphasizing teachers’ essential role as a part of the green transition also adds to the attractiveness of teachers’ work.

Lopend

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Biobased leer op basis van mycelium

Dit project richt zich op de ontwikkeling van de biotechnologische en chemische procesvoering om op basis van mycelium een alternatief voor leer te produceren. In vergelijking met leer is het voordeel van mycelium dat geen runderen nodig zijn, de productie kan plaatsvinden onder industriële condities en met gebruik van reststromen, de CO2 uitstoot alsook hoeveelheid afval verlaagd wordt, en het gebruik van toxische stoffen zoals chroom wordt vervangen door biobased alternatieven. In het project zullen de procescondities worden bepaald die leiden tot de vorming van optimaal mycelium. Daartoe zullen twee verschillende schimmels worden gekweekt in bioreactoren bij de Hogeschool Arnhem Nijmegen (HAN), waarbij specifiek de effecten van de procescondities (temperatuur, pH, shear, beluchting) en de samenstelling van het kweekmedium op groei van het mycelium en materiaal eigenschappen zullen worden onderzocht. De meest optimale condities zullen vervolgens worden opgeschaald. Op het op deze wijze verkregen materiaal zal Mylium BV een aantal nabehandelingsstappen uitvoeren om de sterkte, elasticiteit, en duurzaamheid van het product te vergroten. Daartoe worden biobased plasticizers, cross-linkers en/of flexibility agents gebruikt. Het resulterende eindproduct zal middels specifiek fysieke testen vergeleken worden met leer alsook worden voorgelegd aan mogelijke klanten. Indien beide resultaten positief zijn kan het betreffende proces na het project verder worden opgeschaald voor toepassing naar de markt.

Afgerond

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Carbon management for tour operators (CARMATOP)

Client: Foundation Innovation Alliance (SIA - Stichting Innovatie Alliantie) with funding from the ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) Funder: RAAK (Regional Attention and Action for Knowledge circulation) The RAAK scheme is managed by the Foundation Innovation Alliance (SIA - Stichting Innovatie Alliantie) with funding from the ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). Early 2013 the Centre for Sustainable Tourism and Transport started work on the RAAK-MKB project ‘Carbon management for tour operators’ (CARMATOP). Besides NHTV, eleven Dutch SME tour operators, ANVR, HZ University of Applied Sciences, Climate Neutral Group and ECEAT initially joined this 2-year project. The consortium was later extended with IT-partner iBuildings and five more tour operators. The project goal of CARMATOP was to develop and test new knowledge about the measurement of tour package carbon footprints and translate this into a simple application which allows tour operators to integrate carbon management into their daily operations. By doing this Dutch tour operators are international frontrunners.Why address the carbon footprint of tour packages?Global tourism contribution to man-made CO2 emissions is around 5%, and all scenarios point towards rapid growth of tourism emissions, whereas a reverse development is required in order to prevent climate change exceeding ‘acceptable’ boundaries. Tour packages have a high long-haul and aviation content, and the increase of this type of travel is a major factor in tourism emission growth. Dutch tour operators recognise their responsibility, and feel the need to engage in carbon management.What is Carbon management?Carbon management is the strategic management of emissions in one’s business. This is becoming more important for businesses, also in tourism, because of several economical, societal and political developments. For tour operators some of the most important factors asking for action are increasing energy costs, international aviation policy, pressure from society to become greener, increasing demand for green trips, and the wish to obtain a green image and become a frontrunner among consumers and colleagues in doing so.NetworkProject management was in the hands of the Centre for Sustainable Tourism and Transport (CSTT) of NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. CSTT has 10 years’ experience in measuring tourism emissions and developing strategies to mitigate emissions, and enjoys an international reputation in this field. The ICT Associate Professorship of HZ University of Applied Sciences has longstanding expertise in linking varying databases of different organisations. Its key role in CARMATOP was to create the semantic wiki for the carbon calculator, which links touroperator input with all necessary databases on carbon emissions. Web developer ibuildings created the Graphical User Interface; the front end of the semantic wiki. ANVR, the Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour operators, represents 180 tour operators and 1500 retail agencies in the Netherlands, and requires all its members to meet a minimum of sustainable practices through a number of criteria. ANVR’s role was in dissemination, networking and ensuring CARMATOP products will last. Climate Neutral Group’s experience with sustainable entrepreneurship and knowledge about carbon footprint (mitigation), and ECEAT’s broad sustainable tourism network, provided further essential inputs for CARMATOP. Finally, most of the eleven tour operators are sustainable tourism frontrunners in the Netherlands, and are the driving forces behind this project.

Afgerond

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Creatieve professionals: change agents in het MKB?

Samenwerking tussen organisaties en creatieve professionals (kunstenaars en ontwerpdisciplines), zogenaamde cross-overs, vormen dé nieuwe samenwerkingsvorm de laatste jaren binnen organisaties in Nederland medio 2017. Uit recent onderzoek van het lectoraat Innovatief Ondernemen van Zuyd Hogeschool blijkt dat in Zuid-Limburg ongeveer 50% van de MKB-bedrijven jaarlijks samen werken met creatieve professionals. Creatieve professionals brengen vanuit de kunsten een voor organisaties nieuw en uniek perspectief van design thinking in met een daar aan gerelateerd handelingsrepertoire (‘change agents’) en methoden (art based interventions (ABIs) of artistic interventions). Er is een eerste notie dat de verbinding van het economische domein (organisaties) met het domein van de kunsten vruchtbare samenwerking op kan leveren. Maar uit eerste verkenningen is ook duidelijk dat zowel organisaties als creatieve professionals concrete handvatten nodig hebben voor vruchtbare samenwerking. Er is binnen Nederland echter nog nauwelijks onderzoek gedaan naar de rol van creatieve professionals in initiatieven als cross-overs, business development en innovatie. Dit onderzoek betreft een eerste verkenning naar het fenomeen van samenwerking tussen organisaties en creatieve professionals. Hiervoor worden 4-5 cases bestudeerd van organisaties die hebben samen gewerkt met creatieve professionals. Daarnaast zal een literatuurstudie worden uitgevoerd naar cross-overs en overige samenwerkingsvormen tussen organisaties en creatieve professionals. Het resultaat van dit onderzoek is om via een verdiepende verkenning naar de samenwerking van creatieve professionals en bedrijven/ publieke organisaties meer inzichten in de factoren die samenwerking tussen MKB bedrijven en creatieve professionals beïnvloeden, te krijgen. Met deze verkenning willen we de basis leggen voor vervolgonderzoek (RAAK MKB-aanvraag), waarbij focus op het perspectief van design thinking, de wijze van samenwerking, het handelingsrepertoire (‘change agents’) of bijvoorbeeld op methoden die zijn gehanteerd, aandacht zullen krijgen.

Afgerond

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Forts in Transition

Former military fortifications are often repurposed for tourism and recreation. While some of over 100 Dutch forts are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, a substantial number are currently underdeveloped, putting their cultural and natural heritage at risk. Developing these forts in a conscious and collaborative way promises to not only preserve their heritage value, but also facilitate enjoyable and healthy experiences for visitors. Moreover, under-developed forts provide an opportunity to solve another pressing challenge, namely overtourism. Visitor pressure at tourist attractions has led the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions to call for spreading visitors to lesser-known areas. Less-developed forts are among the most promising of these. Development initiatives depend on a transition from isolation to cooperation across sites. However, for cooperation to be effective, agencies managing these forts have indicated an urgent need for data on visitor characteristics and experiences. The purpose of the present project is to measure and analyze visitor demographics, motivations, and experiences at less-developed forts, and to develop a toolkit to inspire, support, and monitor development of these forts for natural and cultural heritage preservation and improved visitor experience. This proposal builds on the previous project, “Experiencing Nature” which utilized Breda Experience Lab technologies to measure visitor experiences at Fort de Roovere. We now aim to broaden this proven approach to a broader variety of forts, and to translate visitor data into actionable advice. The consortium includes a changemaking network of the Alliantie Zuiderwaterlinie (NL), Regionale Landschappen (VL), and Agentschap Natuur en Bos (VL). This Dutch-Flemish network aims to connect formerly isolated forts to one another, and represents a broad diversity of fortified sites, each with unique challenges. The project will thus facilitate interregional collaboration, especially toward coming Interreg EU proposals, and inform interregional marketing campaigns and planning for management and conservation.

Lopend

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Groen Grond Infra-loonwerk als “Change Agent”?

Werknemers en werkgevers in de Groen Grond Infra (GGI) sector krijgen een steeds grotere rol in de natuurinclusieve transitie binnen de agrarische sector en GGI. Deze groene transitie vereist verschillende soorten kennis, investeringen en inzet van loonwerkers. De betrokken loonwerkers moeten nu niet alleen taken uitvoeren maar ook meedenken over hoe die taken uit te voeren om bij te dragen aan de groene transitie. Een belangrijk onderdeel van deze verandering is dat werknemers als "change agents" gaan optreden. Dit betekent dat ze, dankzij hun kennis en houding, helpen om de groene transitie te realiseren. De GGI-sector omvat veel verschillende werkterreinen, zoals cultuurtechniek, agrarisch loonwerk en beheer van groene ruimtes. Om studenten op te leiden voor de arbeidsmarkt in deze diverse sector, is een nieuwe aanpak nodig. Deze aanpak moet de diversiteit van de sector bedienen en studenten stimuleren om een ondernemende en duurzame rol aan te nemen. Bedrijven, studenten, docenten, onderzoekers en andere betrokkenen gaan in een praktijkonderzoek een leeromgeving creëren die opleidt voor deze "change agents". In dit pilot-onderzoek werken studenten, bedrijven, een docent-onderzoeker, een practor en lector samen met vraaggestuurd onderwijs. Dit betekent dat de leerbehoeften van de studenten centraal staan, binnen kaders van duurzaamheid en natuurinclusiviteit. Het bedrijfsleven en het onderwijs faciliteren het leerproces, bewaken de kaders en reflecteren met de studenten op hun toekomstige rol als "change agents" in de GGI-sector. Het doel van dit pilot-onderzoek is dat studenten GGI(loonwerk) vaardigheden en tools ontwikkelen om mee te denken binnen de groene transitie. Door middel van interviews, Situational Judgement Tests en rubrics wordt inzicht verkregen in dit proces. De onderzoeksvraag is: Hoe kan vraaggestuurd onderwijs, vormgegeven door studenten, bedrijfsleven en Terra MBO, bijdragen aan een ondernemende houding bij GGI-studenten, zodat zij beter kunnen functioneren als "change agents" in toekomstbestendig loonwerk?

Lopend

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Light-Up: development of advanced reaction set-ups for light-fueled multiphase chemistry

Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (ZUYD) and partners will develop photoflow chemistry reaction set-ups that will be powered with light as sustainable energy source, and as such contribute to the transition of the current chemical industry to a climate neutral one. To develop these reaction set-ups, a consortium of partners from the Dutch, Belgian and German chemical and high-tech ecosystems will cover all aspects related to required hardware, e.g. transparent reactors and energy-efficient light sources, automation and multiphase reactions. The mix of partners from academia (University of Amsterdam: the Noël group), an applied research organization (TNO), Center of Expertise CHILL, ZUYD, the Brightlands Chemelot Campus and multiple companies (Beartree Automation, Chemtrix, Creaflow, Ecosynth, De Heer, Innosyn, Mettler-Toledo, Peschl Ultraviolet and Swagelok Nederland) ensures an efficient and integrated development along technology readiness levels (TRL) ranging from two/three to five/six. Together we will answer the overarching question: With which advanced reaction set-up(s) can we efficiently perform and further optimize multiphase solution-based photochemical reactions that require gas and/or solid reagents, and efficiently showcase our capabilities? The development of the advanced reaction set-ups will allow us to answer our research question: How far can we extend the applicability of photoflow transformations beyond the current commercial state-of-the-art by the use of advanced reaction set-ups? Dissemination of several demonstrator transformations using our advanced set-ups will showcase capabilities of Light-Up partners and speed up the uptake of photoflow chemistry in industry. We will develop the next generation of advanced reaction set-ups for photoflow chemistry by combining the knowledge of the chemical and high-tech sectors, and facilitating knowledge exchange between sectors, to contribute to a climate neutral industry.

Lopend

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Remediation of comPromised IoT Devices

Despite the benefits of the widespread deployment of diverse Internet-enabled devices such as IP cameras and smart home appliances - the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) has amplified the attack surface that is being leveraged by cyber criminals. While manufacturers and vendors keep deploying new products, infected devices can be counted in the millions and spreading at an alarming rate all over consumer and business networks. The objective of this project is twofold: (i) to explain the causes behind these infections and the inherent insecurity of the IoT paradigm by exploring innovative data analytics as applied to raw cyber security data; and (ii) to promote effective remediation mechanisms that mitigate the threat of the currently vulnerable and infected IoT devices. By performing large-scale passive and active measurements, this project will allow the characterization and attribution of compromise IoT devices. Understanding the type of devices that are getting compromised and the reasons behind the attacker’s intention is essential to design effective countermeasures. This project will build on the state of the art in information theoretic data mining (e.g., using the minimum description length and maximum entropy principles), statistical pattern mining, and interactive data exploration and analytics to create a casual model that allows explaining the attacker’s tactics and techniques. The project will research formal correlation methods rooted in stochastic data assemblies between IoT-relevant measurements and IoT malware binaries as captured by an IoT-specific honeypot to aid in the attribution and thus the remediation objective. Research outcomes of this project will benefit society in addressing important IoT security problems before manufacturers saturate the market with ostensibly useful and innovative gadgets that lack sufficient security features, thus being vulnerable to attacks and malware infestations, which can turn them into rogue agents. However, the insights gained will not be limited to the attacker behavior and attribution, but also to the remediation of the infected devices. Based on a casual model and output of the correlation analyses, this project will follow an innovative approach to understand the remediation impact of malware notifications by conducting a longitudinal quasi-experimental analysis. The quasi-experimental analyses will examine remediation rates of infected/vulnerable IoT devices in order to make better inferences about the impact of the characteristics of the notification and infected user’s reaction. The research will provide new perspectives, information, insights, and approaches to vulnerability and malware notifications that differ from the previous reliance on models calibrated with cross-sectional analysis. This project will enable more robust use of longitudinal estimates based on documented remediation change. Project results and methods will enhance the capacity of Internet intermediaries (e.g., ISPs and hosting providers) to better handle abuse/vulnerability reporting which in turn will serve as a preemptive countermeasure. The data and methods will allow to investigate the behavior of infected individuals and firms at a microscopic scale and reveal the causal relations among infections, human factor and remediation.

Lopend

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Rollen in de economische transitie

"Om een betere wereld te creëren, is het essentieel én mogelijk om de krachten van verschillende individuen en organisaties te bundelen en niemand achter te laten" (SDG Nederland, z.d.). De Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) geven richting hoe de mondiale uitdagingen van deze tijd op te pakken. Diepgaande transformaties van systemen zijn voorwaarde voor de realisatie van de SDG’s en dat vereist actie van iedereen op alle niveaus. Ook het economische systeem zal ingrijpend moeten veranderen. Wat de SDG's niet beschrijven is de manier waarop en de rollen waarin mensen en kleine organisaties daaraan kunnen bijdragen. Organisaties zoals MVO Nederland en het World Economic Forum benadrukken dat nieuwe rollen, handelingsperspectieven en competenties nodig zijn voor een nieuwe economie. Dat kan bedragen aan een gevoel van eigenaarschap en onafhankelijke actiemogelijkheden (de agency van mensen) om systeemveranderingen mogelijk te maken. Ook als individu zoeken mensen naar manieren om bij te dragen zoals te zien is in trends als hergebruik, consuminderen of sustainable consumption. In dit postdoconderzoek wordt de vraag onderzocht welke rollen mensen kunnen innemen om bij te dragen aan een economische transitie. Door een co-creatief en iteratief proces van design-research worden deze rollen op reflectieve manier naar boven gebracht. Het onderzoek kijkt naar zowel huidige rollen in vernieuwende ondernemende praktijken als naar de verbeelding van mogelijke toekomstige rollen. De rollen en handelingsperspectieven bouwen voort op een theoretisch framework dat wordt uitgewerkt in een toolkit en training. De toolkit helpt studenten vanuit diverse vakgebieden en professionals in ambitieuze bedrijven en instellingen in het vinden van rollen die bij hen passen om bij te dragen aan alternatieve economische toekomsten. Het onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd door Ine Mols, docent van de opleiding International Business, academie Ondernemerschap en Innovatie (AOMI) en onderzoeker verbonden aan het lectoraat Improving Business, onderdeel van het Expertisecentrum Sustainable Business (ESB).

Afgerond

Producten 1.324

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Using procurement power to accelerate sustainable city logistics

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