Leo Jansen

Leo Jansen is programme director of the interdepartmental Sustainable Technological Development Research Programme at the Delft University of Technology in Delft, the Netherlands. Besides sustainability criteria, forecasts of expected global demographic and economic developments between now and the year 2040 occupy an important place in this programme's area of study.

After finishing college in 1958 and serving two years in the army, he began his career with industrial research into synthetic fibres at AKU (now a division of AKZO). He earned his degree from the Delft University of Technology in 1967 with a thesis entitled: A Comparative Study of Some Polyamides. From 1967 to 1973, he was head of the department for management information of Enka Glanzstoff, AKZO's Western European fibre division.

He was a member of parliament from 1973 to 1981, where he was a spokesman on matters of finance, administration, social affairs, economic affairs, energy, agriculture, traffic, water control and environment. Until 1984, he was also a member and vice-chairman of the steering committee for the national debate on energy until 1984.

He began his career in the civil service at the directorate general for Environmental Affairs at the ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, where he was senior project manager in waste management, public health inspector for the province of South Holland and managing director for waste management policies. Since January 1991, he has served as the managing director of Sustainable Technology at th directorate-general for Environmental Affairs. He is also chairman of the Dutch interministerial Sustainable Technology Development program.

He was appointed professor of Environmental Technology at the Delft University of Technology in September 1990.