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A Re:Start for more sustainability and climate protection on campus - environmental activities of the University of Kassel become more visible
How can the university better involve students and employees in the sustainability process? Which committee and participation structures enable more transparency? How can the university become CO2 neutral? The University of Kassel's corporate sustainability management has been addressing these and other questions since 2015 and is now continuing the corporate transformation process with a Re:Start. The focus is on establishing a Green Office on the Holländischer Platz campus as a central contact, service and coordination point.
The Green Office will coordinate the university's operational sustainability process and make contact persons and participation opportunities more visible. It bundles, manages and makes sustainability activities transparent. With its participatory approach, it involves all university stakeholders and departments in the development process and thus relies on the commitment of everyone. On the one hand, this is intended to achieve a reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, interested students and employees can get involved in numerous participation formats for more sustainable campus development. For example, idea workshops, an idea platform and an idea consultation hour are planned.
Sustainability is formulated as a cooperative cross-cutting issue and is to be anchored in all operational processes, both internally and externally. Newly defined guidelines for sustainable action in daily operations are intended to help initiate important structural developments and changes at the university and improve environmental performance. An energy master plan defines concrete measures and shows which resources can be used to achieve the University of Kassel's self-imposed goal of becoming largely CO2-neutral.
Another topic is sustainable mobility with measures such as the establishment of an e-charging infrastructure or the connection of the bike paths to the urban bike path network. Students, employees will thus be given incentives to switch to bicycles or alternative means of transport. In addition, another concept is intended to increase biodiversity, provide more species protection and a better quality of stay on campus. Last but not least, technical plant operation is to be optimized, the buildings' energy and resource consumption reduced, and energy efficiency in building operation increased.
This Re:Start is made possible by the HMWK. Within the innovation and structural development budget (2021 to 2025), it is funding six projects at the University of Kassel on the topic of sustainability with a total funding volume of 1.75 million euros.
- Establishment of a Green Office (sustainability office)
- Measures to influence user behavior
- Sustainable transport at the University of Kassel - concept and measures for sustainable mobility and logistics
- Climate adaptation measures for sustainable open space management
- Energy master plan for CO2 neutrality
- Energetic optimization of plant operation
For the projects, six personnel positions will be created in the Department of Construction, Technology and Real Estate, Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection of the University of Kassel. Two additional staff positions will be created in the departments of "Traffic Planning and Traffic Systems" (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Sommer) and "Landscape Construction, Landscape Management and Vegetation Development" (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Körner).
The projects will start from the first quarter of 2022 and will contribute to strengthening the operational sustainability of the University of Kassel and to making the overall organization more sustainable. Entirely in line with the major social challenge posed to universities.
Contact:
Nadine Chrubasik
Sustainability Manager
Integrated Operational Sustainability Management
Tel.: +49 561 804-2519
Email: chrubasik[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
Georg Mösbauer
Head of Occupational Safety and Environmental Protection Group
Representative for Occupational Safety, Health, Environmental Protection and Sustainability in Operations (AGUN)
Tel.: +49 561 804-3811
E-mail: moesbauer[at]uni-kassel[dot]de