Projects
Properties, dynamics and sustainability indicators of semi-urban areas KU Leuven
In Flanders problems arise when trying to delineate rural and urban
zones using geographical and ecological standards. These problemsoccurs because large parts of the flemisch landscape consist of a
'hybrid' form of landuse, with rural as well as urban properties. This
area can be called the semi-urban area and in Flanders it does not only
show up at the urban fringes (but also along major transportation ...
Development of an indicator of soil quality to evaluate the ecological sustainability of the use of lignocellulosic agricultural streems in the Flemish bioeconomy Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Life Cycle Assessments or LCAs were originally designed to evaluate the sustainability of the fossil fuel based industry. Since the 1990s, the method has been applied to food products to calculate the ecological footprint of a product and its packaging. Subsequently, entire agricultural production systems were also studied, which revealed the difficulty in evaluating their environmental ...
Preserving Tradition, Enhancing Sustainability? Exploring Price Premiums, Nutritional Quality and Animal Welfare of EU Geographical Indications KU Leuven
In an era marked by increasing uncertainty due to climate change, economic volatility and geopolitical tensions, the very fabric of current food systems is under scrutiny. The quest is for a profound shift toward food production and consumption that is not only resilient, but also equitable, high in quality, environment- and animal-friendly as well as healthy. Amongst others, the EU proposes to strengthen its geographical indications (GIs), ...
Measuring what matters: Improving usability and accessibility of policy frameworks and indicators for multidimensional well-being through collaboration Ghent University
Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the European Union's policies on environmental and social sustainability requires a comprehensive measure of human progress that does not focus solely on GDP. However, the evidence on alternative approaches is fragmented and the lack of consensus on competing indicators and policy frameworks is a mAchieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the European Union's ...
Towards a sustainable wellbeing economy: integrated policies and transformative indicators Ghent University
Growth at all costs does not make for a successful economy. Success should not be measured by gross domestic product (GDP) only. The EU-funded ToBe project will look beyond GDP to build an understanding of a sustainable well-being economy by developing integrated policies and transformative indicators. To contribute to the theoretical and empirical knowledge in the field of sustainability transformation, the project will bring together ...
Modelling of material, energy and exergy exchanges within the technosphere for the development of circularity indicators Ghent University
Development of new indicators to measure the decrease of the use of natural resources and the increase of the efficiency of use of waste streams are envisioned. Databases will be a starting point to perform Material, Energy and Exergy Flow Analysis, which will be used to elaborate the indicators. They will be tested and validated in different case studies.
Integrating SOil Biodiversity to Ecosystem Services: testing cost-effectiveness of Soil Biodiversity indicators and the provision of soil biodiversity-based Ecosystem Services to build better land management solutions that effectively implement the EU Soi KU Leuven
The aim of the EU Soil Strategy is that by 2050 all soils in the EU are healthy. However, cost-effective indicators for soil biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services are missing, and so are cost-effective measures for restoring soil health. SOB4ES will contribute to the Mission A Soil Deal for Europe by: (1) elucidating soil biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and services for major land uses and land use intensity changes; ...