“Team N” – the Vice Rectorate for Sustainability and the Sustainability Unit
The Vice Rectorate for Sustainability began its work in the first half of 2021. This means that the necessary personnel and organizational foundations are now in place to coordinate the University’s transition to sustainability and support it from a variety of angles. “Team N,” made up of Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Annette Scheersoi, Head of the Sustainability Unit Jennifer Sobotta and Advisor to the Vice Rector Sina Mosen, aims to make sustainability an integral part of all research, teaching and operational activities and foster a sustainability culture at the University. “We’re working together for sustainability, so getting all members of the University involved is key,” Prof. Dr. Scheersoi says.
She continues: “I think it’s fantastic how many people care about sustainability at our University. The commitment being shown in all manner of different areas—in institutes, in administration and particularly among students too—is truly magnificent! Together with members of all status groups, we’ve devised a mission statement that can now be published at the end of the year and that’ll serve as a guideline for developing our strategy.”
Many students and staff can see sustainability in action on a daily basis, as the “Sustainable September” and “Nachhaltiger November” (“Sustainable November”) campaign months have already made clear. During the Rhine Clean Up, researchers, teachers, students and staff at the University helped to clean the banks of the Rhine in Beuel, while upcycling workshops in the Bundeskunsthalle fashioned new, highly creative designs out of worn-out clothes, among other things. Meanwhile, University Sports and Healthy Campus offered healthy options and organized activities for people to join in with at the CAMPO-Mensa. Rounding off the sustainability program will be “Fairer Februar” (“Fair-Trade February”) and “Mighty May.” It is hoped that these campaign months will play a key role as a firm fixture in the University’s events calendar in the future.
Contact: uni-bonn.de/nachhaltigkeit
Green Office opens its doors
The University of Bonn opened its “Green Office” in early October 2021. The new sustainability office serves as the first port of call for anything to do with sustainable development. This is designed to foster dialogue between students, teachers and other University staff and embed the issue of sustainability into the very fabric of the University. “We’re sharing information with all University members, bringing them together and helping them to get involved in making it a more sustainable place,” says geography student David Schwarz, one of three student assistants in the Green Office. Together with trainee teacher Liza Nemes and law student Sarah Marenbach, he works closely with the Vice Rectorate for Sustainability and the Sustainability Unit at the University.
Among other things, the Green Office, which is based at Genscherallee 2 (53113 Bonn), plans to set up sustainability working groups across the University where people from all walks of university life can come together to address the sustainable development of their respective area. This will be able to build on initial examples of the concept being implemented successfully, such as the sustainability working group at the Department of Geography, the Fairtrade University steering group and the Biocamp project, where students and lecturers have joined forces to promote a more sustainable approach to managing the University’s green spaces. Via a “sustainability reader” that will be updated regularly, the Green Office will also be sharing a wealth of information on sustainable development at the University of Bonn, particularly on targets, measures, areas for improvement and projects. A University-wide sustainability conference is in the pipeline too.
Contact
One year as a Fairtrade University: the students’ fair-trade initiative
The University of Bonn has been entitled to call itself a Fairtrade University since November 23, 2020. This means that it makes a concerted effort to incorporate fair-trade principles in its administration, procurement and events and use more fair-trade products. It took two years of work before the University of Bonn was awarded the accolade by Fairtrade Germany. A group of highly dedicated students had been responsible for instigating and progressing the University’s application, organizing and supporting the two-year-long preparation and application process. One of them is Leonie Bach, who knows full well that the University of Bonn still has a lot of work ahead of it. “We’re not yet at the stage where all large-scale University events consider fair-trade aspects right from the word ‘go.’” However, some fair-trade products such as tea, coffee and chocolate have been a firm fixture at the Studierendenwerk for years. Last year, students worked closely with the Studierendenwerk to buy in fair-trade bananas, which are now going to be available in the canteens from November onward.
The student initiative is also engaged in discussions with other key players and has encouraged University Sports to trial fair-trade soccer balls, which they are doing at the moment. “We hope that this is just the beginning and that University Sports will factor fair-trade criteria into all its new purchases in the future, allowing us to play with fair-trade soccer balls and volleyballs,” says Judith Meder, who has been part of the team since March 2021. Students have already had a chance to test out the fair-trade balls—in the goal wall challenge during “Sustainable September,” where they were also able to find out about the working conditions endured by the soccer ball makers.
But what exactly does “fair trade” mean? Fair trade is based on methods of production and commerce that put people and the environment before financial gain. It prioritizes the fundamentals: paying workers fairly, strengthening the rights of women and children, and protecting the environment. Luise Tegeler, an active member of the student initiative since January 2021, underlines: “By launching more campaigns in the next few semesters, we want to foster and raise awareness of fair trade both within the University of Bonn and further afield.” Anyone keen to put their own fair-trade ideas into practice is welcome to join the student initiative and thus play an active role in helping to make the University a fairer and more sustainable place.
