Sultan Çetin, the New Faculty Sustainability Coordinator

News - 05 November 2024 - Communication BK

TU Delft aims to become carbon-neutral, climate-adaptive, and fully circular by 2030, with a strong focus on biodiversity and quality of life. Each faculty plays a role in this mission, with a dedicated Local Sustainability Coordinator. As of mid-October, Sultan Çetin has stepped into this role for our faculty, bringing her expertise in circular and sustainable construction to the forefront of TU Delft's sustainability goals.

Sultan Çetin: “What strikes me is that we still tend to focus primarily on carbon reduction, with a slight nod to biodiversity. I want to shift toward a more holistic approach that moves beyond this ‘carbon tunnel vision’ and include social and economic aspects of sustainability”

Image Carbon Tunnel Vision by Jan Konietzko
Carbon Tunnel Vision | Graphic by Jan Konietzko

Sultan, a postdoctoral researcher in the MBE department, completed her PhD on digitalisation for a circular building industry in December 2023. In a recent BK Story, Sultan reflected on the need for change in the building industry to reconsider the demands we place on our planet. “Perhaps we need to desire a little less; we’re asking too much of our planet to sustain our current lifestyles.”

Building on the Developed Action Plan and Engaging Our Community

Sultan’s predecessor, Wing Yung, developed an action plan for our faculty’s sustainability efforts. While the plan exists, it hasn’t been widely shared or discussed. Sultan’s first goal is to engage with students and staff to gather their insights and feedback, recognising the wealth of expertise within our faculty from brilliant sustainability minds. ‘If we don’t tap into their knowledge and perspectives, we miss an invaluable opportunity for a truly impactful action plan,” Sultan emphasizes. “Do people recognize the approach and measures we’re implementing? Are they enough, or should we reassess and refine them?’

Sultan also seeks to stimulate collaboration between departments by identifying overlapping sustainability initiatives. By organizing workshops with section research and education coordinators, she hopes to encourage faculty members to explore ways to integrate sustainability into research and teaching. ‘Where do our sustainability goals intersect?’ she wonders, aiming to unify efforts across disciplines.

Photo of Sultan Çetin en Wing Yung
Sultan Çetin and Wing Yung

Behavior change

Another focus area for Sultan is behavior change, particularly in digital world, where she wants to address the hidden environmental costs of digital activities within BK—such as data storage, social media scrolling, and large email attachments—which consume water, energy, land, and materials. To promote mindful digital habits, she will develop guidelines with the ICT department. Sultan also continues Wing Yung's material reduction goals with the BK Green Team. ‘Together with students, we’ll explore sustainable materials for model-making and encourage resource sharing within the student community,’ she says.

Of course, Sultan is also seeking collaboration with the TU Delft Campus Sustainability team she is part of. For instance, TU Delft is going to set up guidelines so that every employee can make a sustainable choice. Sultan is looking forward to engaging, collaborating and working with as many people as possible. For the coming year, she is therefore pulling up with the BK Green team and planning joint activities. Because, as said, sustainable impact does not come from one person.

More informatin

On these web pages you will find more information about TU Delft's Sustainability Project.

Would you like to make an impact within our faculty and contribute to making the campus more sustainable? Contact Sultan Çetin.

For general questions about the sustainability programme, contact sustainability@tudelft.nl