Mazijn, Bernard

Currently, Bernard Mazijn works as the Managing Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, a non-profit organisation in Bruges, focussing on research and education and closely linked to UNU-CRIS. Furthermore, as visiting professor, for over 15 years he teaches - among other things - the course 'sustainable development' at Ghent University, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Department for Conflict and Development Studies.  His research interests include: (transitions towards) sustainable development, (corporate) social responsibility, life cycle sustainability assessment, monitoring and evaluation, the sustainability of regional integration.

He is by training an Agricultural Engineer (specialisation: hydrobiology). Subsequently, he obtained a diploma as Engineer in Environmental Sanitation. Some years later, he successfully completed the Advanced Specialisation on Development Cooperation (specialisation: Economics). All certificates were obtained at his alma mater, Ghent University (Belgium). His career developed along two lines. The past 25 years, he was on the one hand employed in the academic world (research, education, social services), and on the other hand, he was involved in policy preparation and evaluation at various levels (from local to international). Often he was chairperson of meetings, member of scientific committees, project manager, process counsellor or negotiator on behalf of the European Union, Belgium, a Member of the Government, a Department, the University, etc. During the past years, he became more involved (as chairperson, expert, etc.) in (public) investment funds focussed on sustainable development.

At the international level (from 1995 till 2007) he followed closely the climate change negotiations (in particular the issues related to developing countries, with a focus on the transfer of environmental sound technologies) and the developments in the United Nations-Commission on Sustainable Development process. He has been a member, vice-chair and chair of the UNFCCC Expert Group on Technology Transfer (2002-2007). As a chair of a Task Force under the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative (from 2004 till 2012), he invested in developing the methodology for assessing products and services within a context of sustainable development. For two years (2009-2010) he has been chairman of the Annual Meeting of Sustainable Development Experts (AMSDE) at the OECD.

More information, including a full curriculum vitae, is available at www.bernardmazijn.be.