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Photo: UHH/Denstorf

Our Understanding

The role of universities in sustainability

Humans are facing great ecological and social challenges. Universities have a central role to play in addressing these challenges. Every university has its own core competencies and range of subjects and thus its own opportunities for making its own positive contribution. Universities can be said to leave a footprint, handprint, and brainprint.

A university’s footprint can be seen as the negative impacts that require minimizing—for example, greenhouse gas emissions. A university’s handprint can refer to activities in, for example, teaching and knowledge exchange that have a positive impact and should be optimally developed. A university’s brainprint is the result of research projects that have a positive effect on sustainable development.

These prints should be fostered and made visible. Universität Hamburg has firmly established this role with its guiding principle “Innovating and cooperating for a sustainable future.”

Universität Hamburg’s understanding of sustainability

The University’s strategy development is based on a broad understanding of sustainability and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, we take a whole institution approach, whereby we incorporate all University activities (research, teaching, knowledge exchange, governance, and administration) and all University members (students, administrative and teaching staff, and researchers) into the development and implementation of the strategy. Sustainability is viewed in all of its manifestations (ecological, social, and governance).

Sustainable campus: Making sustainability tangible

Sustainability should be made possible and tangible at every important juncture:

  • University: enrollment, welcome
  • Campus: student dining hall, water fountains, bathrooms, bike stations, showers, waste disposal, recycling, sports, events, parties
  • Green areas: biodiversity, unsealing, urban gardening
  • Research and teaching: sustainable research and teaching, study and research spaces, library
  • Daily life: housing, shopping, eating, commuting, traveling

Universität Hamburg—University of Excellence

The image shows a red “e” and displays the text “Exzellenzuniversität Hamburg.”As a University of Excellence, Universität Hamburg is one of Germany’s outstanding universities.