dr.ing. R. Arendt (Rosalie)

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Twente, where I lead research on the effectiveness and politics of environmental accounting especially environmental neutrality claims. My work critically examines how we measure, value, and offset environmental impacts -like carbon, biodiversity and water- and how these methods shape the ambition and integrity of sustainability policies.

My research program is built on two interconnected pillars:

1. The Political Foundations of Environmental Measurement: I investigate how power and economic interests shape the core tools of environmental accounting, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Carbon Footprint calculators and environmental valuation. This work questions the neutrality of the rules that underpin market-based environmental policies and corporate sustainability claims.
2. The Contested Nature of Carbon and Net-Neutrality Claims: I apply this critical lens to analyze corporate and sectoral climate strategies. My research deconstructs how concepts like residual emissions and offsetting are used in practice. My current empirical work applies this framework to the cement sector, investigating how different actors define residual emissions in their net-zero strategies. Another key project in this area, led by my PhD researcher, Felice Diekel, critically examines the intersections of carbon, biodiversity, and water offsetting schemes.

Background:
I hold a PhD from the Technical University of Berlin, where my dissertation focused on monetary weighting in LCA and quantifying the environmental costs of specialty metal extraction for low-carbon technologies. I have a background in Environmental Science and Technology.

Academic Service & Activism:
I am committed to the academic and educational community, which is why I serve as a local negotiator in OPUT for the AOb. I am also active in WOinActie/Twente4Protest to advocate for a strong and accessible public higher education system that equips future generations with the necessary knowledge and research to respond to society's grand challenges. Moreover, I am a member of the Dutch Climate Obstruction Network and the International Society for Ecological Economics.

I am always interested in discussing new ideas for thesis projects, research collaborations, or publications. Please feel free to reach out if your interests align with mine.

Expertise

• Social Sciences

  • Life Cycle Assessment
  • Life Cycle
  • Environmental Indicator
  • Social Life Cycle Assessment

• Economics, Econometrics and Finance

  • Environmental Cost

• Engineering

  • External Cost
  • Information Technology
  • Reduce Emission

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Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

Address

University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room W206
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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