Green Talk

[Nederlands onderaan]

🇬🇧 In this episode, we explore the environmental impact of our food systems with Ines Cottignie, a PhD student at KU Leuven working on the protein transition in Flanders. Together, we debunk some myths surrounding plant-based protein and investigate concrete individual and societal steps to shift our diet. This podcast was recorded during the Veggie month at the Student restaurant 'Alma' at the KU Leuven as part of a broader Proteinshift campaign at our university.

Here are some interesting  articles and cooking inspiration for you:

• ProteinShift KU Leuven: Read more about the university is doing here: https://www.kuleuven.be/engage/english/sustainability/greenofficeforkuleuven/what-we-do/policy/community-action-proteinshift
• Our World in Data: Meat and Dairy Production (2023): https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production
• BBC: What is the lowest-carbon protein? (Isabel Gerretsen, 2025) https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221214-what-is-the-lowest-carbon-protein
• Fit Green Mind: Plant-based (student friendly) food content for inspiration 😊 https://fit-green-mind.com/

• Organisations in Belgium related to this topic: bevegan.be, ProVeg.org, KlimaatContact.be
• Petitions you could sign to support this topic act.weplanet.org/p/noconfusion-petition and https://www.change.org/topic/plant-based-en-us

🇧🇪 In deze uitzending verkennen we de milieu-impact van onze voedselsystemen samen met Ines Cottignie, een doctoraatsstudente aan de KU Leuven die onderzoek doet naar de eiwittransitie in Vlaanderen. Samen ontkrachten we enkele mythes rond plantaardige eiwitten en onderzoeken we concrete stappen die we als individu en als samenleving kunnen zetten om onze eetgewoonten te veranderen. Deze podcast werd opgenomen tijdens de Veggie-maand in het studentenrestaurant ‘Alma’ van de KU Leuven, als onderdeel van een bredere Proteinshift-campagne op onze universiteit.

Hier zijn enkele interessante artikelen en kookinspiratie voor jou:

• ProteinShift KU Leuven: Lees hier meer over wat de universiteit doet: https://www.kuleuven.be/engage/duurzaamheid/green-office/wat-we-doen/beleid/community-action-eiwitshift
• Our World in Data: Vlees- en zuivelproductie (2023): ⁠https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production⁠
• BBC: Wat is de meest koolstofarme eiwitbron? (Isabel Gerretsen, 2025) ⁠https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221214-what-is-the-lowest-carbon-protein⁠
• Fit Green Mind: Plantaardige (studentvriendelijke) recepten ter inspiratie 😊 ⁠https://fit-green-mind.com/⁠
• Organisaties in België gerelateerd aan dit onderwerp: ⁠bevegan.be⁠, ProVeg.org, KlimaatContact.be
• Petities die u kunt ondertekenen om dit onderwerp te steunen: ⁠act.weplanet.org/p/noconfusion-petition⁠ en ⁠https://www.change.org/topic/plant-based-en-us⁠

Each year, the Flemish government honors groundbreaking student research that helps build a more sustainable future through the Future Proef Award.

Alexia Chalouli, an alumna of the KU Leuven master’s program in Urbanism, Landscape & Planning, took home the top prize last year with her thesis about fire-resilient landscapes and shared infrastructures as a vision of holistic sustainability.

In this episode, Alexia shares the story behind her award winning research. What inspired it? How did it contributes to sustainability? And what it was like to compete in the Future Proef Award?

Listen to discover how one student’s ideas can shape a more sustainable tomorrow.

Learn more about the Future Proef Award here: Future Proef Award – KU Leuven

Welcome back to the Green Office Podcast! All of us ultimately have some habits and customs which we perceive as normal and mundane, but little do we know that exactly these may not be as sustainable as we first thought. Within the second season, we intend to let people think twice about their commonplace beliefs.

In this introductory episode, we touch upon the term ‘sustainability’ and unravel some of its properties. ‘Sustainability’ actually does not have a fine-tuned definition, but is used as an umbrella term under which a lot of topics can be subsumed. Without going into too much of the nitty gritty details, we identify three pillars on which it rests. A relaxed introduction to the series at hand!

By yours truly,

Morris Callens and Pinelopi Katsigianni on the mic, with support from Margherita Bianchi and Haruka Tokita.

References: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qLxXCpjmUF78A2hJ0Hsd5h8w6JeD_bp_0VDAtFwtkHQ/edit?usp=sharing

We interviewed prof. Leena Järvi from the University of Helsinki on her visit to Leuven for the sustainability week 2024. If you ever wonder how urban life must evolve in times of climate change, you are in the right place!  

How can we use technologies to improve the life in cities? What role will nature-based solutions play in the urban green transition? Discover it on this podcast and make sure to share it with all city enthusiasts.  

 
You are listening to Thibault and Jara interviewing, with technical support from Nicole. 

Erasmus+ are a life-changing experience that more than 648,000 students benefit from during 2022 year. Leuven is an important Erasmus destination and with new KU Leuven students... new emissions? Luckily, it doesn't have to be that way. In this conversation with International Policy expert Matt Tips, we explore how you can get more of your study-abroad experience with as little emissions possible.

Find more about Green Erasmus here!

You are listening to interviewers Thibault and Jara, with technical support from Nicole and Valentina. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

What role do students play in the green transition? How will Belgium meet its 2023 energy targets? How has energy been impacted by the Russian war on Ukraine? Explore these topics and more in this conversation we were honored to share with the Belgian Minister of Energy, Tinne Van der Straeten.

A huge shoutout to the volunteers and GO team that made this possible! You hear Thibault de Coune and Jara Bosch with technical support from Yana Dinkelmeyer, Valentina Beneit, Ismaël Bawah, and Nichole Castillo.

If you like this podcast, give us a review!