Research group Circular Business

As a member of this group, Helen’s focus of activities lies on research and dissemination of knowledge between organizations promoting and guiding the transition efforts towards more circular ways of production like the Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV). Also, provision of guest educational lectures for future professionals in the field such as the Industrial packaging design program of the Applied University of Amsterdam and other partner organizations of THUAS. The current research activities focus on investigating the consumers’ concerns, preferences and perceptions and their role in determining the choice and acceptance of sustainable packaging. With the aim towards improving the communication of sustainable characteristics of packaging, so consumers have a more positive attitude towards the improvement efforts of producers and packaging designers. Communication and marketing of sustainable characteristics are important for the consumer acceptance and adoption of sustainable packaging to make a real transition towards circular economy. Again, the latter can only happen with a reconciliation and leveling up of the information and knowledge between consumer perception and producers about the characteristics of desirable sustainable packaging.

As a junior researcher, Bas is a driving force within the Mission Zero Centre of Expertise, particularly with regard to connecting students to the research group’s objectives. He teaches in the Process & Food Technology and Industrial Design Engineering degree programmes. Bas conducts research on transformational learning for a circular transition. He is curious about answering questions such as: What would learning look like if we view the transition to circular as a joint learning challenge? What does this mean for the 3Cs (compassion, creativity, connection) and circular leadership and how can we design learning ecologies that contribute to this?

Rolien is a lecturer/researcher within the Finance & Control degree programme and works on integration in and translation of concepts and theories for business model innovation such as the ‘doughnut economy’ to educational materials for higher (economic) education.

Wander conducts research as part of his doctorate into the connections between education, packaging, packaging design, sustainability and circularity. Degree programme: Industrial Design Engineering (IPO).

Matthijs works as a lecturer in Industrial Design Engineering and is a coordinator of the Sustainable Packaging research project.

Dr. Kopnina, Helen (Ph.D. Cambridge University, 2002) is employed at The Hague University of Applied Sciences (HHS) in The Netherlands. She is a coordinator and lecturer of Sustainable Business program, a researcher and inspirational speaker. Kopnina is the author of over a hundred peer-reviewed articles and (co)author and (co)editor of sixteen books on the inter-related subjects of environmental social sciences, environmental sustainability, sustainable development, circular economy, biodiversity conservation, and environmental education.

Albert is a passionate lecturer and researcher. He contributes to enabling students to make more sustainable decisions in economic education and with businesses in general. He contributes to entrepreneurial education by stimulating enterprising students to not only figure out their commercial and financial future but also to get them to reflect on the question ‘What does the success of my business actually mean for our planet?’. ‘What does my business contribute to the 17 goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations?’ Therefore, success is not just about making money. Albert is also affiliated with the LDE Centre for Frugal Innovation in The Hague. Frugal means ‘doing more with less’. As a researcher, he studies the transition from existing business models towards a more sustainable model

Rachel is a lecturer and researcher in the area of Integrated Facility Management and Procurement Management and has been a lecturer at THUAS in 2014. Rachel studies the relationship between sustainability and general business processes such as cleaning and waste streams. From 2020, she will be studying how to achieve waste reduction together with facilities companies at the Custodial Institutions Agency and FM Haaglanden, and students from The Hague University of Applied Sciences. After all, what you do not purchase cannot turn into waste.

Frans is a lecturer in the Marketing degree programme and is motivated by the following question: How do companies move from linear to circular? Frans coordinates the Circular Business minor where students conduct research with companies into specific action perspectives for circular business operations.

Laura is Senior Lecturer at Industrial Design Engineering within the TIS faculty and PhD researcher at Delft University of Technology. Role in Urban Metabolism is Biomimicry Education expert and researcher. She researches the influence of analogies between nature and design on design students concerning ethics, emulation and reconnection to Nature while striving to address Sustainable Development Goals.