The sector has a climate neutrality covenant with the government for 2040 (Convenant 2025), and some sector organizations defined the purpose of full resource circularity of the sector in 2050 (Visie Glastuinbouw Nederland). As a consequence, the sector will have to be far more circular in the use of resources by then. So far, estimates are that only less than 10 % of resources used are of a circular origin.
Resource circularity has a strong influence on energy use. For instance, producing virgin plastics from fossil fuel and burning waste plastic has a strong negative CO2 impact. The same holds for burning other waste streams from the crops, such as plant material polluted with plastics and other materials. Fertilizers need a lot of energy in the production, so the transition to organic fertilizers has a positive energy impact, but implementation needs a lot of changes.
More details on the topics/challenges and possible research questions will be provided in the promotional booklet, which will be published here when application opens on September 15th!
Main Challenge
How can the horticulture sector speed up the transition towards resource circularity, and to which degree can that lead to reduction in energy use?