Students present green plans to 40 countries

Paying farmers a fair price, reusing demolition waste and saving furniture from the incinerator. International Business (IB) students presented these sustainable plans at the international symposium ‘Circular Economy and Sustainability’, held from 24 to 26 June. 

Outside, the sun is driving temperatures up to 40 degrees. Inside, researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and students from over 40 countries are walking through the corridors of Zuyd on Brusselseweg in Maastricht. The fact that one heat record after another is being broken provides extra motivation to work towards a greener, circular world. 

3 students

The three IB students, Janne Maas, Lente van de Luitgaarden and Vito Reale, are therefore presenting their sustainable plans at the symposium. Janne has just graduated in International Business. Together with her coach Frank, she is now setting up a company to give farmers the money they are entitled to. 

Big Harry

“We’re creating a digital system called Big Harry.” Big Harry consists of software powered by AI. Harry does what middlemen normally do: resell the harvest at a good price so that it ends up in the supermarket.” 

Money for farmers 

Janne: “Because of those middlemen, farmers receive very little money for their produce. But thanks to Big Harry, middlemen are no longer needed. The money that those middlemen would normally earn goes straight to the farmer.”

Fair price

Janne explains that Harry won’t make groceries any cheaper. But farmers will soon receive a higher percentage of every euro. By the end of the summer, Janne and Frank want to launch Big Harry onto the market so that farmers can put him to work. Harry will then seek out supermarkets and organise the marketing and transport.

Reusing demolition materials

Lente van de Luitgaarden was working on a completely different project. She was helping the start-up Maeconomy at the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen. Maeconomy gives demolition materials a second chance. In this way, construction rubble becomes a raw material rather than waste. 

Certificate

Lente: “Together with other students, we looked at what needs to be done to get materials from demolition sites to new-build projects. And ideally with a certificate, so that construction companies can really trust them.”

A Marketplace of Sorts

Maeconomy aims to create a sort of marketplace for second-hand building materials. They are currently working with 10 local authorities in the Netherlands, and this figure is set to rise to 70 within two years. Lente: “Because 40 per cent of all our waste comes from the construction sector. And at the same time, our raw materials are running out.” Lente helped Maeconomy alongside fellow students Fodé Bangura and Jasmine Chedid.

Furnitly saves furniture 

Vito Reale is giving a presentation on Furnitly: his own start-up dedicated to saving unsold furniture. “I set up this company whilst studying International Business at Zuyd. Now that I’m in my final year, Furnitly has been named best business take-off at the Maastricht Awards. And I’ve also made it to the final of the Brightlands Startup League.”

Cheaper furniture

Furniture suppliers are sometimes left with new, unsold stock, Vito explaines. “Surplus furniture. And I put them in direct contact with private individuals, interior designers or hospitality businesses who are looking for furniture.” Everything is brand new and customers can buy it at a lower price than in the shop. This saves the supplier storage costs and waste.

Preventing waste!

Furnitly operates at the “highest level of the waste hierarchy”, as it prevents waste. Vito: “No piece of furniture from Furnitly is destroyed, incinerated or remanufactured.”

Research by the research group

The projects led by Lente, Vito and Janne tie in seamlessly with the research being carried out by the International Sustainable Business research group at Zuyd, led by lecturer Nikos Kalogeras. His team is helping many more Limburg-based SMEs to become more sustainable. And by discussing all these ideas, students, researchers and other international experts inspire one another to work ever more towards a circular economy.