NIOZ collaboration with the fossil fuels industry and other industries

On the decision-making process

Over the past six months, NIOZ director Han Dolman has had discussions with a wide range of ‘stakeholders’ representing different views and arguments. These views were condensed in a memo discussed in the Management Team on March 20. Summarizing the outcome of the MT: the general consensus was that NIOZ should stay open to collaborating with industry partners, including the fossil fuel industry, but under stricter terms that must be negotiated, and in some cases, re-negotiated. Given the urgency to solve the climate crisis through the energy transition, as expressed by the IPCC reports, we decided to collaborate in wind energy projects. This decision is of a temporary nature until our parent organisation NWO decides on a potential new policy or set of guidelines. 
 

Not business as usual
 

NIOZ has a role as a producer and provider of knowledge for society to ensure that the best possible science is executed and made available, including research addressing the current societal problems and transitions. This holds for the energy transition (but also for deep sea mining, for instance). While we are in no position to evaluate individual companies, we prefer to work with companies that have a credible net zero strategy for a carbon emission free society by 2050 and conform to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” NIOZ is, for instance, committed to operate carbon neutrally by 2030. We insist on scientific integrity, independence, openness, transparency and open publication policies. 

We decided to keep collaborating with industry, albeit under new strict terms, to fulfil our key role as producer of knowledge that is of wider value to society. This happens always under the conditions of full compliance with our mission and core values.  We therefore will evaluate each specific project in terms of its contribution to a more sustainable planet. Such evaluation may result in our right to terminate a collaboration if it becomes clear that our mission/core values are at risk. 

For new projects it means that we impose stricter terms on the collaboration including an exit clause, in case projects do not hold previous agreements on openness, publication policy, integrity, transparency and if there is cause to believe that NIOZ’s participation is used for the purpose of greenwashing. In some cases, we will re-negotiate the contract along these new terms. We will consult with NWO-I and legal advisors how to best shape these new contracts. 
 

Towards independent funding  

NIOZ remains unhappy with the current situation in which NIOZ as an institute has to make these choices. Together with companion institutes in the Netherlands we will try to achieve that ecological research around wind parks should be separated from the tender. This can be achieved by putting, say 5% of the total investment, in a separate fund, that is overseen by an independent governmental program to guarantee full independence for the scientists.