Honoring academic excellence in sustainability

Anna Vernooij, student MSc Business Administration, Digital Marketing track, won the prize for her excellent thesis, entitled:

"Unpacking Environmental Concern in Digital Green Nudging: Insights from a Large-Scale Field Study on a Sustainability Oriented App"

The award was presented Friday, 6 February 2026 during a ceremony at the DeLaMar Theater in Amsterdam. Vernooij received a check for €1,500.-; her supervisor, Dr Dale Rickert, received €500,-. The award is presented annually by KPMG and the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Amsterdam (UvA EB) for the best master's thesis in the field of sustainability.

The three finalists, students at UvA EB, were judged by a jury consisting of ASF award coordinator Almasa Sarabi (Assistant Professor Human Resource Management), Wendelien van Eerde (university lecturer in leadership and management), Neris Güven (PhD candidate), Arno Kourula (professor of business & sustainability), and Jerwin Tholen (partner in sustainability at KPMG). Tholen presented the award on behalf of the jury.

The power of language

Vernooij investigated how language in app messages and push notifications influences consumer behavior. In collaboration with an international sustainability app, she tested various formulations, including emphasising the positive effects of sustainable behaviour and making the choices of other users visible. Small adjustments to the formulation resulted in users clicking through more often and actually taking sustainable actions.

In a supplementary study, she examined different types of app users and their motivations. Users who valued sustainability, in particular, responded more strongly to messages that showed how their actions impacted the environment. "I wanted to understand how to honestly and subtly encourage people to make more sustainable choices online. My background in psychology and my interest in sustainability converged perfectly in this research. I'm therefore proud of this recognition," says Vernooij.

Distinctive research

"What's special about this research is that it's based on the real behavior of nearly half a million app users," says Tholen. "Anna shows how even small differences in word choice can influence people's actions. This makes the insights not only scientifically sound but, above all, practically applicable for organisations that want to use digital communication to encourage sustainable choices."

A strong final round

In addition to Vernooij, Min Chun Chiang and Helena Murniece also received honorable mentions. Chiang's research demonstrated that European subsidiaries of American companies, by complying with the EU Sustainability Reporting Directive (NFRD), encourage their parent companies to improve their ESG performance. Murniece developed calculation models to formulate animal feed more efficiently and sustainably.

AI and scientific research

The ceremony also highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in academic research. AI enables faster analysis of large datasets and scenario calculations, but simultaneously requires clear agreements on due diligence, transparency, and data privacy. 

A prize with a long tradition

The prize has been awarded since 2017. It is named after Dr George Molenkamp, ​​founder of KPMG's sustainability practice and former professor of Environmental Management at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). In the 1980s, Molenkamp played a key role in exposing the Lekkerkerk toxicology scandal and laid the foundation for modern environmental and sustainability reporting. Until his death in 2024, he personally presented the prize annually.

Since 2025, the award has been associated with A Sustainable Future (ASF), the UvA Economics & Business research platform focused on sustainability themes aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

ASF Congratulates both the winner and her supervisor with this award in sustainability!

The shortlisted finalists:

Our ASF Thesis Prize 2025 evaluation committee had shortlisted the following excellent MSc theses:

1. Min-Chun Chiang – "Does EU subsidiaries’compliance with the NFRD generate spillover effects on the ESG performance of their non-EU parent companies?"
   MSc Accountancy & Control - Control track
   ​​​​Supervisor: Ann-Kristin Grosskopf
    
2. Helena Murnice – "Robust optimization model for cost-efficient livestock feed"
   MSc Data Science and Business Analytics
   Supervisors: Dick den Hertog & Claudia Orellana Rodriguez
    
3. Anna Vernooij – "Unpacking Environmental Concern in Digital Green Nudging: Insights from a Large-Scale Field Study on a Sustainability Oriented App"
   MSc Business Administration – Digital Marketing track
   Supervisor: Dale Rickert

Contact

Do not hesitate to contact ASF if you have any questions related to the award, please contact us.