Thomas Bauwens

Dr. Thomas Bauwens is an Assistant Professor at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University, specializing in collective action for sustainability. His research focuses on organizational and institutional frameworks enabling effective solutions to global challenges like climate change and the circular economy. He holds a PhD in Economics and Management from the University of Liège and a MSc in Economics from the University of Louvain. Previously, he worked at Utrecht University, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), and Oxford University.

His current ERC-funded SCENSUS project explores how community enterprises drive sustainability transformations. Key research areas include renewable energy communities, circular economy startups, and governance mechanisms for sustainability. He combines institutional economics, sociology, and economic geography to develop interdisciplinary theories.

Selected awards include a €1.5M ERC Starting Grant. His work contributes to UN SDGs, emphasizing sustainable innovation and equitable resource management. He collaborates internationally, with recent projects spanning Europe and beyond.

Research outputs (35 total) highlight policy recommendations for energy communities, systematic reviews of energy commons, and analyses of social capital’s role in renewable energy cooperatives. His findings emphasize community governance’s critical role alongside market and state institutions.