Research, teaching, resource consumption: university again exceeds sustainability targets

The sustainability report, which is published every three years, documents how sustainable the university is in its operations (for example, in terms of resource consumption) and how research and teaching are developing in terms of sustainability. At the same time, it sets new targets for the coming years. According to the report, which has now been published, the university met or, in some cases, significantly exceeded its own targets in the years 2017 to 2019.

Students: The number of students in sustainability-related degree programs has increased significantly in recent years and stabilized at 12,400 (about half of all students) during the reporting period.

Research funds acquired (so-called "third-party funding"): The targeted third-party funding volume of the departments conducting research in the environmental field grew from just under 15 million euros (2016) to 21 million euros (2019).

Resource-efficient operation: Energy consumption fell by 10 percent for electricity and 7 percent for heat from 2017 to 2019 in relation to the area under management (the target was 1 percent annually in each case). CO2 emissions per person decreased from 324 kg in 2016 to 264 kg in 2019. The goal of increasing the share of renewable self-generated electricity was achieved with the construction of five solar plants, supported by the Kassel-based cdw Foundation. In the meantime, even more plants have gone into operation, which have not yet been included in this report.

Social sustainability: In addition to successes in ecological sustainability, the report also refers to progress in social sustainability, for example with regard to accessibility, family friendliness or the advancement of women.

In the coming years, the University of Kassel will expand its measures quite considerably. For example, on the initiative of the Presidential Board, the Senate recently decided to establish a scientific center that will investigate problems and present solutions for the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs") with up to 17 new professorships. "The establishment of this profile focus will make an internationally visible contribution to the necessary social transformation projects," emphasized the president of the university, Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey. "We expect this center to provide top-class research contributions as well as effective transfer of knowledge to society. Last but not least, we will be able to offer future students even more perspectives for their scientific and professional careers."

Chancellor Dr. Oliver Fromm added, with regard to environmentally friendly operation of the university: "Despite all the pressing immediate problems currently arising from the Corona pandemic, we must not lose sight of this goal. Through a combination of structural, technical and organizational measures, the university will do its part to reduce resource consumption and lower CO2 emissions. For the next reporting period, for example, the university aims to further and sustainably reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 2 percent per year."

The report will be published in print this days and is already available at: https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/universitaet/profil/leitbild-und-berichte

Press contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
www.uni-kassel.de