Sustainability

The municipality of Groningen has set itself the goal of being CO2 neutral by 2035. Unfortunately, however, this includes 35% purchase of electricity outside the municipality. Student & Stad thinks this percentage is too high and does not want the municipality to be so dependent. We therefore want to reduce it to 20%, by ensuring more generation of solar energy by covering roofs and designating land for solar parks. We also want to place windmills, where we take into account the minimum distance from homes, and we want to talk to companies about what they need in the short term to switch to sustainable energy.

We will achieve complete CO2-neutral heating of buildings by 2040. This means that not only new, but also existing homes must be made more sustainable. We want to achieve this by providing subsidies to homeowners and by carrying out stricter checks on the correct energy labels of homes. New homes must also be built in such a way that they can be heated entirely electrically and we will realise more heat networks in densely populated areas of Groningen.

In addition to reducing the use of fossil energy, restoring nature is also of great importance to the municipality of Groningen. Student & Stad wants to realize growth in biodiversity and nature in both the rural and urban areas. We want to expand the existing forests and realize opportunities for growth in biodiversity everywhere in the municipality. We want to do this by, among other things, green roofs and green strips on agricultural land. We also see more parks for us in the city, which have cooling and recreation as an added benefit.

Waste is not worthless. By reusing raw materials we want to work towards a circular economy. We do this by reducing the use of plastic and throwing away less. We want to support student associations in this by sharing success stories and best practices with them. In addition, by collecting bulky waste four times a year free of charge, we want to reduce the amount of waste on the street. We also want to make the process of separating waste more efficient, so that more can be recycled and less waste ends up in nature or is burned.