Hotspot for changemakers

Our campus in Amsterdam is a sought-after office location and a hotspot for changemakers. We share our building and gardens with a thriving community of people committed to an inclusive and sustainable world: from experts and entrepreneurs to activists and local residents.

Our KIT Campus residents

Sustainability at KIT

More than 1,000 people work on our campus. Every day, as many visitors join them. How do we ensure that our own campus becomes an inclusive and sustainable place to work and meet? Read more about our own journey in our series of sustainability stories.

Our Sustainability stories

KIT nominated for the “Heritage sustainability award”
- News
Our building, the largest national monument in Amsterdam, has been nominated for the Heritage Sustainability Award 2023! We have been working on making the monumental building more sustainable since 2015. In March of this year we got rid of the gas boilers. From now on, our building will be heated using underground heat and cold […]

Published on: September 5, 2023

Read more : KIT nominated for the “Heritage sustainability award”
Choosing a sustainable coffee for the KIT offices
- Institute
- News
At KIT we recently had to change our coffee machines. For many people, a morning coffee is the only way to start the day. In 2019 at the KIT offices, around 3,000 kilos of coffee beans were ground every year to meet the coffee needs of all 1,500 people working here: KIT employees, our SDG […]

Published on: February 27, 2023

Read more : Choosing a sustainable coffee for the KIT offices
KIT’s transition towards fossil-free energy
- News
The gas has been turned off at KIT, which means the boilers are on their way out. The historic building, which is the largest national monument in Amsterdam, is set to become fossil-free thanks to the installation of an underground thermal storage system (WKO) and heat pumps. On February 14, Linthorst Techniek began constructing the […]

Published on: April 25, 2023

Read more : KIT’s transition towards fossil-free energy
KIT is now fossil-free
- News
The Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) has permanently turned off the gas and removed the boilers from the building, making KIT, Amsterdam’s largest national monument, fossil-free. The old gas-fired boilers have been replaced with heat pumps that will use an underground heat and cold storage (WKO) system to heat and cool KIT’s historic building gas-free. The […]

Published on: May 11, 2023

Read more : KIT is now fossil-free
KIT builds one of the largest blue-green roofs of Amsterdam
- News
KIT Royal Tropical Institute has built one of the largest blue-green roofs in Amsterdam on her terrain, with help from a subsidy of the municipality of Amsterdam. Because this roof is at ground-level of our terrain it is the most easily accessible blue-green roofs in the city, which makes it easier to show how a […]

Published on: August 10, 2023

Read more : KIT builds one of the largest blue-green roofs of Amsterdam
KIT takes a big step towards a fossil-free future
- News
This week drilling has started for the construction of an underground thermal energy storage (TES) at our premises. With the help of this TES and heat pumps, KIT will be able to heat and cool both the hotel and our historic building, and thus make the largest monument in the city fossil-free! On the photo: KIT […]

Published on: February 17, 2023

Read more : KIT takes a big step towards a fossil-free future
KIT Turns Off the Gas
- News
The KIT building, a national monument dating from 1926, is moving away from gas, making it the largest national monument to do so in Amsterdam. In future, underground thermal storage will be used to heat our historic building and our hotel on the KIT campus. Renovation of the Tropen Hotel The reason for our switch […]

Published on: November 1, 2021

Read more : KIT Turns Off the Gas
KIT to generate and exchange sustainable energy
- Blog
Amsterdam wants to be gas-free by 2040. KIT Royal Tropical Institute is one of the pioneers in achieving this ambition. Together with four major parties in Amsterdam East, KIT signed a declaration of intent to jointly generate and exchange sustainable energy. At a later stage, other neighbours can easily join the collective. Sustainability is deeply […]

Published on: November 13, 2019

Read more : KIT to generate and exchange sustainable energy
The Tropentuin
- Campus
- News
Located in our courtyard, the Tropentuin, has been home to a neighbourhood vegetable garden since 2018. There are 20 vegetable garden boxes, a herb garden, a greenhouse, and even a worm hotel. The garden is nurtured by a diverse group of local residents, KIT employees and members of SDG House who built the boxes from […]

Published on: August 4, 2022

Read more : The Tropentuin
KIT offers classrooms to Stichting Studiezalen
- Campus
- News
Beginning this school year, KIT is working together with Stichting Studiezalen to make KIT’s classrooms a new location for Studiezalen in Amsterdam Oost. Studiezalen is an organization that is committed to offering young people in underprivileged neighbourhoods in Amsterdam homework guidance and a space to learn and develop. At KIT, we strongly believe in the […]

Published on: August 4, 2022

Read more : KIT offers classrooms to Stichting Studiezalen
KIT and Plantage Amsterdam institutions are working towards Zero waste
- Campus
- News
On Thursday 9 March 2017, Alderman Abdeluheb Choho of the Municipality of Amsterdam and Cathelijne Broers on behalf of Plantage Amsterdam gave the go-ahead for the Zero Waste Expedition Plantage at Het Scheepvaartmuseum. A new initiative of sustainable waste collection and processing, where energy-efficient boats will be used, which will save at least 45 garbage […]

Published on: August 4, 2022

Read more : KIT and Plantage Amsterdam institutions are working towards Zero waste