Sustainability at Hochschule Offenburg
Sustainable living, working, building, acting, consuming, and doing business are currently topics of concern not only for policymakers and society at large: sustainability is also a central theme at Hochschule Offenburg. Numerous product- and application-oriented research projects address this topic, numerous professors serve as experts to businesses and society, the topic is covered in degree programs, and it is implemented in a practical, inquiry-based learning context through student projects such as Schluckspecht and the Black Forest Formula Team. Institutionally as well, the University has long been guided by the principle of sustainability in its internal operations, procedural workflows, and resource management.
Energy and Climate Protection Plan and Climate Protection Manager Unveiled
The participatory energy and climate protection plan developed by Hochschule Offenburg, which totals approximately 200 pages, was jointly presented by Tobias Braun, the state’s climate protection manager for non-university institutions of higher education in the Freiburg Building Authority District (Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Kehl University of Applied Sciences, Freiburg University of Education, Freiburg University of Applied Sciences, and DHBW Lörrach), and Chancellor Dr. Bülent Tarkan, as head of the Green Office, have now jointly presented. It contains an analysis of the current situation, including a mobility survey and an energy and greenhouse gas balance sheet; identifies potential for increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy; examines greenhouse gas reduction pathways and scenarios, and presents a catalog of 34 measures along with monitoring mechanisms for their implementation, with the goal of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Since April 1, the new Climate Protection Manager, Natascha Brückmann, has also been providing support for the implementation of these measures.
Green Office
The Green Office at Hochschule Offenburg is a sustainability office led by Sustainability Officer Professor Dr. Daniel Kray and Chancellor Dr. Bülent Tarkan. It informs, connects, and supports students and university staff in further developing their knowledge and skills regarding sustainability. In addition, it coordinates projects and initiatives in the areas of energy and buildings, organization and management, research, teaching, and networks, working closely with other stakeholders.
The Green Office serves as the primary point of contact and central hub both internally and externally. It facilitates and supports sustainability activities and engagement by students and other stakeholders at the University. Furthermore, the Green Office is responsible for sustainability reporting, climate protection management, and the climate protection monitoring system currently being established at Hochschule Offenburg.
Through its central and direct connection to the Rector’s Office and its firm integration into the university’s structure, the Green Office is able to drive sustainable developments at the respective institutions and also to embed its own ideas on sustainability in teaching, research, and operations.
More information about the Green Office
Energy and Climate Protection Plan
The integrated energy and climate protection plan forms the basis for Hochschule Offenburg’s climate protection management. It was developed through a participatory process as part of a funding project under the German federal government’s National Climate Protection Initiative. It serves both as a reference document and as a planning tool for measures aimed at reducing the university’s greenhouse gas emissions.
With this Energy and Climate Protection Concept, the university supports the state government’s overarching climate protection goals of making the state administration and universities net-zero in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The integrated Energy and Climate Protection Concept essentially consists of the following components:
Current Status Analysis
Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Potential Analysis
Emissions Reduction Pathway
Catalog of Measures
Stakeholder Participation
Monitoring and Control
The Hochschule Offenburg Energy and Climate Protection Concept is available for download below:
Climate Protection Management
An integrated climate protection concept is intended to form the core of climate protection management. Hochschule Offenburg is developing this integrated climate protection concept as part of the National Climate Protection Initiative. The integrated climate protection concept is 75 percent funded by the federal government through the project management agency Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) and is developed and implemented by the designated climate protection manager. It is intended to serve as a planning tool to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to become a climate-neutral University by 2030 in accordance with Baden-Württemberg’s Climate Protection and Climate Change Adaptation Act. The integrated climate protection concept essentially consists of the following components:
Current Status Analysis and Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Potential analysis and scenario development
Strategy development and catalog of measures
Stakeholder engagement
Monitoring, sustainability, and communication
Project Name: “KSI – Integrated Climate Protection Concept”
Funding ID and Platform: 67K21586, BWMK – National Climate Protection Initiative
Duration: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025
National Climate Protection Initiative
Through the National Climate Protection Initiative, the federal government has been launching and supporting numerous projects since 2008 that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Its programs and projects cover a broad spectrum of climate protection activities: from the development of long-term strategies to concrete support and investment-based funding measures. This diversity ensures a steady stream of good ideas. The National Climate Protection Initiative helps to embed climate protection at the local level. Consumers, businesses, municipalities, and educational institutions all benefit from it.
Contacts
Vice Sustainability Officer
