topic area
How can climate protection and sustainability interact at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences in order to initiate and promote a transformation of the university towards greater sustainability? In its projects, the Climate Protection team is developing building blocks to help shape and support this process. In a holistic approach, the topics of strategy, buildings, mobility, internal organization and cooperation as well as participation are addressed.
projects
In 2021, a climate protection management team was set up at Mittweida University with project funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and on behalf of the National Climate Protection Initiative, which dealt with the creation of an integrated climate protection concept. This was adopted a year later and has been in the implementation phase since the beginning of 2023.
Mittweida University's integrated climate protection concept identifies specific greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potentials and serves as a strategic decision-making basis for achieving sustainable campus development right on through to climate neutrality. Mittweida University of Applied Sciences has set for itself the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2040 in accordance with the requirements and balance sheet limits of the federal government. In doing so, the university wants to live up to its social role and communications function as a knowledge multiplier in rural areas and make its contribution to a sustainable future.
The six overarching fields of action were identified and considered for the creation of the concept:
(1) Strategy and development
(2) Buildings, facilities and operation
(3) Supply and disposal
(4) Mobility
(5) Internal organization
(6) Cooperation, participation and public relations
A quantitative and qualitative inventory was followed by the preparation of the energy and GHG starting balance sheet for the period under review from 2017 to 2019, which makes the status quo of the university visible. This was followed by an analysis of the potential for the six fields of action and the conception of various development scenarios. Finally, with the participation of university members and other internal and external cooperation partners, a specified catalog of actions consisting of 40 overarching measures was developed and discussed, which were prioritized and recommended for implementation in the coming years. In addition, a concept for controlling the implementation, a communication strategy and a continuation strategy were drawn up for quality assurance purposes.
Project phase II, which is also funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and on behalf of the National Climate Initiative, has been running since the beginning of 2023 and deals with the implementation of the 40 overarching measures from the climate protection concept's catalog. To this end, the measures were prioritized and implemented with the participation of university members.
