Fair-trade products such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, lemonade, chocolate and bananas have been on offer at the University of Bonn for a quite a while already. The Studierendenwerk Bonn, for example, now serves only hot drinks from providers that fulfill comprehensive social, ecological and economic criteria during the production process, e.g. without any involvement of child labor and in support of protecting the diversity of species. Over 1,600 cups of fair-trade coffee, tea and hot chocolate are consumed on their premises on a daily basis.
University of Bonn steadily increases efforts to support fair trade
New fair-trade food products are being added to the portfolio on an ongoing basis and procurement processes across the University are becoming more conscious of fair-trade options. In 2024, the University of Bonn joined Electronics Watch, an organization that helps institutions to ensure compliance with the rights of workers in global supply chains of electronic products. Another example are T-shirts and hoodies that carry the Fair Wear label and are available to buy at the University shop. This focus on fair-trade products creates considerable impact—after all, the University’s 31,000 students and 7,800 members of staff are equivalent to the size of a small town. “The impact of consumer choices of such a big group is significant—leverage that we use very consciously to drive fair trade and thus sustainability,” Scheersoi emphasizes.
However, efforts to support fair trade at the University of Bonn go beyond procurement: a wide range of events enable students and staff to get information and ideas to act more fairly in daily life, get involved in hands-on activities such as a fair soccer tournament, trying out recipes using fair-trade products, joining a fair city tour or becoming a member of the Fair University Group. Vice Rector Scheersoi is particularly pleased that back in 2019 it was students driving the initiative to get the University of Bonn certified as Fairtrade University: “Even today many students and staff are actively shaping our journey to embrace fair trade at our institution, thus our effort is a joint one, coming from the very heart of our University.”
Certification as Fairtrade University
The Fairtrade University certificate is awarded by Fairtrade Deutschland e. V. to universities that prove their commitment to fair and sustainable trade and consumption practices. A requirement for the award is the commitment to making fair and sustainable trade an integral part of University operations, i.e. fair-trade products are made available in canteens, and events on fair trade are held at regular intervals. Many different stakeholders join forces in the Fairtrade steering group, working together to promote the buying of fair-trade products at the University—from student representatives, the Vice Rectorate and Unit for Sustainability to administrative staff and the Studierendenwerk.