Information and events

On 7 November 2024, the Green Office invited to the first Sustainability Autumn Festival in the Ökomenisches Zentrum (Ecumenical Center). Many student university groups who are active in promoting sustainability on campus attended. The broad range of participants included the Green Office, the Environmental Engineering Student Council, the Crossing Borders Stuttgart association, the Renewable Energies working group, the stuvus board and sustainability department, the makerspace, the Mitmachgarten working group, an alumnus and representative of Campus for Future and the headwind vehicle builders from Inventus. The team of leaders of the Ökumenisches Zentrum at the University of Stuttgart acted as hosts and are also involved in the sustainability network.

Our celebration was accompanied by fresh falafel with hummus and house tunes from DJ NewGen. The focus of the celebration was on the current state of sustainability on campus and the ideas and wishes of the university groups for a sustainable campus. A world café was held to discuss and debate these issues. The topic tables explored the question of what a green, sustainable campus looks like in the participants' ideas on the one hand and how the university groups can network better on the other. They also looked at where they have things in common and how they can support each other to drive forward sustainable projects.

Saturday started at sunrise with a morning run to the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag building, etc. We then headed into the first workshops of the day. With the wide-ranging conference program, it was not easy to choose the best program items for oneself. All areas such as political engagement, scientific lectures or psychology workshops by speakers from political parties, universities and non-profit organizations from Germany and abroad completed the selection. The good thing about our large group was that we were able to tell each other about the various events we attended. The sponsored, always vegan catering at the LCOY, which we were able to enjoy in bright sunshine and pleasant autumn temperatures, provided a good opportunity for this. In general, the audience was a wide mix of ages. We made new friends with students of all disciplines from other cities, who all have the goal of a sustainable society. An entertaining science slam and another live concert, this time by the two power women “Paulinko”, rounded off the second eventful day of the conference.

We started the third and final day of the LCOY with an energizing yoga session. Some attended the last workshops and lectures of the program, others ended the conference with discussions and interesting conversations with like-minded people. After the last lunch, it was time to pack our bags again.  After a few souvenir group pictures and a fun sightseeing tour on the way to the main train station, including a spontaneous Macarena dance in front of the Reichstag building, we boarded the ICE back to Stuttgart, which brought us safely and on time to our university city.

The great interest in the event with a total of 12 participants from the University of Stuttgart, who invested a long weekend of their free time for climate protection, was the starting signal for a future intensified cooperation of the sustainability initiatives of the University of Stuttgart. This trip is an example of how the specialist groups of the environmental study programs grow together through shared experiences and exchanges about their work in order to form a union for a sustainable campus. The positive reports from this year's participants will certainly increase student interest in participating in LCOY, so that a strong group from the University of Stuttgart will once again go on a trip to LCOY 2025. The students want to thank the Green Office and the Schaufler Foundation for funding the travel costs.

A report by Felix Fuchs, student assistant in the Green Office

Welcome, dear first semester students at the University of Stuttgart! As part of Avete Academici, this year's Markt der Möglichkeiten took place in the Liederhalle - and we were there! At our busy booth, we introduced the new students to the diverse initiatives of the Green Office and showed them how they can get involved in sustainability alongside their studies.

Together with our partners from Ridebee for “Stuttgart-fährt-mit” and the stuvus sustainability department, we were able to arouse interest in sustainable action. It was great to see the first-year students' commitment and that the topic of sustainability on campusis important to them, regardless of their discipline.

The Green Office wishes all first-year students a successful start to their studies and look forward to working on exciting projects together in the future!

On 8 June 2024, the Science Day took place on the Vaihingen campus. Our wheel of fortune was very popular. Before spinning it, however, visitors had to complete a crossword puzzle on sustainability or share an idea for a more sustainable university life. This resulted in interesting discussions and an exciting quiz afternoon.

The University of Stuttgart's Sustainability Days took place on the Vaihingen campus on June 3 and 4, 2024. This event offered a variety of activities designed to raise awareness of sustainability and climate protection.

• Information stands and initiatives:
• Green Office: provided information about the university's efforts towards climate neutrality and invited the exchange of ideas and feedback. Visitors could participate in a sustainability quiz and win prizes on the Wheel of Fortune.
• CampUS hoch i: Presented the climate impact of the building sector on campus and showcased innovative materials and technologies for sustainable construction.
• MobiLab: Gave an overview of the goals to make the university climate-neutral in mobility by 2030 and to make the Vaihingen campus car-free.
• Crossing Borders: Presented renewable energy projects, interactive activities, and a card game.
• CampUS-Cleanup: Volunteers collected carelessly discarded waste on campus to set an example for a clean, plastic-free future.
• Textile repair workshop: Participants repaired clothing and learned various sewing and embroidery techniques.
• Talk round "Effective climate protection directly in Stuttgart: Can't be done? It can!": Students discussed the challenges and solutions for adequate climate protection at the university.
• Sustainable pub quiz: A quiz on sustainability topics where participants could test their knowledge.
• Plant and clothing swap: Participants could swap plants and clothing and thus discover new sustainable treasures.
• Lecture "Sustainable laboratory management": Patrick Penndorf showed how processes in scientific institutes can be made more sustainable.
• Talk "How to make your research sustainable—practical tips for the laboratory": Patrick Penndorf provided practical tips on reducing the ecological footprint of laboratory processes.
• Movie night "Chasing Coral": Screening of the film "Chasing Coral" followed by a discussion on coral restoration.
• Cycle tour through the Siebenmühlental: Participants took a picturesque cycle tour from Stuttgart Vaihingen through the Siebenmühlental, stopping for refreshments at the Eselsmühle.

The Sustainability Days offered various opportunities to learn about sustainability, acquire practical skills, and actively participate in environmental protection. The numerous events and activities showed how the University of Stuttgart and its members can contribute to climate protection.

This year's Diversity Day took place at our university on May 28, 2024. This event provided a platform to engage in an open exchange and hear a variety of perspectives on the issues of diversity and social sustainability. All interested parties - both university members and external guests - were cordially invited. Catering was provided during the event.

A citizens' dialog of the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) in
Cooperation with the municipality of Sersheim: Symposium and accompanying maker fair
Patron: District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier, District of Ludwigsburg

The head of the Green Office Felix Hebeler was a guest at the International Center of the University of Stuttgart. In the podcast, he talks about the opportunities for sustainable engagement on campus.

We are in the middle of an exciting bachelor's project that shows how simple methods can reduce energy consumption. With the use of readily available standard components, we are exploring the potential for significant energy and cost savings by intelligently managing lighting, heating, and power for PCs and monitors. Our approach: Heating, lighting, notebooks, and monitors only run when an employee is on-site and the temperature and lighting conditions require it. We only need a Raspberry Pi, two smart sockets, a smart heating thermostat, and a sensor that measures movement, temperature, and light intensity. The initial results are promising and suggest that this could be a valuable option for saving energy in existing buildings.

The event “Grüne Jobs von morgen: Wie finde ich meinen Weg in die Industrie?“ offered a comprehensive insight into the current developments and prospects of the industry in the context of the green transformation. Organized by ZEIT Campus Zukunftsfragen, the event was a unique opportunity to get to know companies and institutions that are playing a key role in shaping the industry of tomorrow. The welcome address was given by Dr. Felix Hebeler, Head of the Green Office and Sustainability Manager at the University of Stuttgart, and followed by a short interview with Andreas Findeisen, Head of the Coordination Office of the Decarbonization of Industry Cluster (CDI). The core event included a panel discussion and Q&A session. Dr. Markus Bohlayer, Prof. Dr. Jella Pfeiffer, Christoph Römer, and Mary Zahner shared their insights into the green transformation of industry. Luisa Houben moderated the discussion. The participants could ask questions directly and actively participate in the debate. After the intensive discussion, the get-together offered the opportunity for personal conversations with the speakers and other CDI partners. Here, participants could gain in-depth insights, network, and discuss their questions directly with the experts. Complimentary snacks and drinks created an informal atmosphere for discussion. The “Grüne Jobs von morgen“ event was an inspiring platform to explore the industry's challenges and opportunities for green transformation. The diverse perspectives of the speakers provided participants with valuable insights into the changing world of work and the different paths they can take in this future-oriented industry.

As a part of the lecture series Imagination Lab Sustainable Metropolises and Fictions of Climate Change: Diverse Perspectives, exciting insights into various aspects of climate development and their literary reflection were offered. The expert speakers enabled the participants to take an in-depth look at the challenges of climate change and, at the same time, showed how literature can be used as a medium to address these issues.

In the kick-off event on November 7, 2023, Stella Schaller, a sustainability consultant, presented the volume “Zukunftsbilder 2045 - Eine Reise in die Welt von morgen“. She created concrete images of a sustainable future with Lino Zeddies, Ute Scheub, and Sebastian Vollmar. The event provided a tour of the Imagination Lab. It thus offered an insight into the creative approach to the challenges of climate change.

On November 21, 2023, the lecture by Prof. Dr. Timo Müller took place. Under the title “Urban Traffic and the Question of Sustainability in the Early Automobile Novel“, he examined the role of fictional literature in depicting and creating an awareness of sustainable mobility. The lecture highlighted the dual role of literature in the early 20th century and dealt with the environmental impact of “car-friendly“ urban redevelopment.

There were two interesting events on December 12, 2023. On the one hand, Prof. Dr. Frank Hakemulder presented the lecture “Imagining Your Self, Tomorrow: Can Literary Stories Shape Hope and Climate Action?“ That examined the role of narratives in overcoming contemporary socio-ecological challenges. The focus was on dystopian and utopian fiction and its connection to despair and hope.

Prof. Dr. Ursula K. Heise lectured on “Multispecies Justice and the City“ on the same day. Her lecture dealt with multispecies justice and questioned hierarchical and anthropocentric understandings of justice. Ursula Heise contributed her extensive expertise in contemporary literature, environmental culture, and science fiction.

Saskia Schabio and Felix Heidenreich conceived the series of events. They offered participants a multifaceted perspective on climate change, sustainability, and literary debate. The speakers from various disciplines helped to develop a broad understanding of the complex challenges of our time.

The severe consequences of increasing global warming, affecting the environment, society, and the economy, pose an extraordinary challenge to humanity. To address this challenge, we invited students and researchers with diverse academic backgrounds to participate in sustain(ATHON) 2023. The goal was to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams and develop innovative solutions to these challenges. The event was a two-day gathering on October 30 and 31, 2023, at ARENA2036 on the University of Stuttgart campus in Vaihingen. All students and academic staff of the University of Stuttgart were invited to participate, regardless of their field of study or level of experience.

The organizers of sustain(ATHON) included the der Informatik Verbund Stuttgart (IVS), das Institut für Entrepreneurship und Innovationswissenschaft (ENI), CampUS hoch i, the Green Office of the University of Stuttgart, and ARENA2036 e.V. Each of these organizers presented a challenge at the opening event on the first day, requiring creative solutions. The challenges covered various topics such as the Digital Repair Café, Efficient Ecological Accounting, Hotspots of Energy and Water Consumption, Prevention of Health Damage from Heat, and Intelligent Building Operation. Subsequently, the teams had 43 hours to conceive and design a prototype, which they presented on the second day in the afternoon. Experienced coaches and mentors supported the teams, and they also had the opportunity to participate in short information sessions and mini-workshops. In addition to attractive cash prizes for the top three teams, all participants gained valuable experiences, forward-thinking skills, and the chance to exchange perspectives and ideas. Thirty-eight students and staff members participated in sustain(ATHON) 2023.

The panel discussion on the Vaihingen campus, titled “Empowering Sustainability: Women in STEM - Sustainability as a Driving Force“, featured inspiring and dedicated speakers from the Femtec alumnae community.

The Femtec Career-Building Program is the key to preparing for tomorrow‘s workplace. In three schools, you collaborate with 55 like-minded STEM students on current project work trends and develop practical soft skills such as creativity, intrapreneurship, and intercultural collaboration. In the Innovation Workshop, you work with industry and research partners to develop forward-thinking solutions for upcoming challenges.

Through networking with Femtec's partner companies, you gain attractive entry opportunities, such as internships, thesis work, direct entry, or trainee positions. Interactive workshops help you identify your strengths, strengthen your self-worth, and sharpen your goals and visions to become a shaper of the future.

As part of the KlimaOasen workshop at the University of Stuttgart, supported by the Green Office, innovative approaches were developed for “KlimaOasen“ on campus. Researchers, employees, and students worked together on nature-based solutions for climate adaptation.

The final workshop in September led to successful results and the establishment of a round table for further exchange. Prof. Leonie Fischer emphasized the importance of the diversity of approaches. She explained that even small steps can significantly improve climate adaptation.

Participants, including representatives of the MitMachGarten working group and the Institute of Educational Sciences, discussed projects such as integrating nesting aid elements in façade construction and creating feel-good oases.

The findings could lead to a future network for nature-based solutions and biodiversity at universities. Prof. Fischer emphasized the importance of such a network. At the same time, Dr. Lorenz from the Green Office pointed out that students could be involved in sustainable projects through the SQ “ActGreen“.

The overarching goal of the “KlimaOasen“ project is to evaluate nature-based solutions for climate adaptation on campus and to integrate recommendations into the University of Stuttgart's “Climate Neutrality Roadmap“. The focus here is on administrative structures and possible implementation hurdles.

In September 2019, Stuttgart organized "Theo-car-free", closing Theodor-Heuss-Straße to cars and allowing alternative uses. Due to its success, a new edition called "Theo-Mobil" followed in 2020 to promote climate-friendly forms of mobility. With around 20,000 visitors, the festival offered a diverse program for sustainable mobility and climate-friendly behavior.

Stuttgart set itself the goal of promoting sustainable mobility by allowing citizens to obtain information and experience sustainable forms of transportation; over 40 exhibitors offered activities and test tracks to convey the joy of sustainable mobility. The street festival on Theodor-Heuss-Straße presented innovative and people-friendly mobility with a stage program, live music, food stalls, and picnic areas. The city also supported climate-friendly travel by offering free use of local public transport in Zone 1 on this day.

As part of the Sustainability Weeks @ Universities BaWü, a clean-up event was organized on the campus Vaihingen  together with people from stuvus, students and employees. In a very motivated group of seven people, we set out to free the university campus from trash.

The starting point was the university pond. We spent some time there, mainly collecting crown caps, cigarette butts and plastic waste. At the pond we mainly found countless, carelessly discarded cigarette butts. What impact these have on the environment is explained in more detail in our report.

Stuttgart pedaled again from May 8 to 28, 2023. The aim was to cycle as many everyday journeys as possible for 20 days to contribute to climate protection. The CITY CYCLING campaign also aims to draw attention to cyclists' needs through the competition.

Three hundred eighty-five employees and students at the University of Stuttgart participated in the campaign and cycled 88,724 kilometers together during the three-week campaign. In total, the University of Stuttgart saved around 14,374 kilograms of CO2, making it the second-most successful team in Stuttgart.

Who is the program aimed at?

The Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching announced the program in spring 2022. It is aimed at individuals from all stakeholder groups and disciplines who see teaching as a practice that affects the entire university organism and wants to shape it for a world in which we act sustainably.

The Foundation defines the goals of the program as follows:

• Promote individual potential. A great deal has already been taught and developed in the specialist disciplines on sustainability issues concerning university development. The program's aim is now to offer a course to people who focus on operational and strategic teaching development about sustainability.
• Encouraging decisions, the workshops aim to utilize individual potential and competencies to operationalize ideas, prepare decisions, and change practice at all relevant stakeholder levels.
• Creating trust: cooperation between groups of actors is always that of individuals. The program aims to establish contact and trust between individuals and recognize the diversity of perspectives as an added value of successful cooperation.

Who is involved from the University of Stuttgart?

Luisa Hoffmann represents the Green Office and the University of Stuttgart in the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education annual program. For further questions about the program, please contact:

luisa.hoffmann@rektorat.uni-stuttgart.de 

Our event focused on how employees and students can use the Stuttgart-fährt-mit app to form carpools with each other in an uncomplicated and flexible way. Those who take part in a carpool can use their time productively, save on travel costs, and do something good for the climate at the same time. The app suggests suitable routes in the surrounding area, allows journeys to be planned quickly and easily, and calculates a fair travel cost compensation for the driver. Manfred Wacker will also explain the connection to MobiLab and how the project came about at the information event.

The event will take place online; everything else under the following link:

The University of Stuttgart wants to become {climate neutral by 2030}. For this feat we have to reduce climate-damaging emissions in all areas collectively and drastically! 

At the klima(HACKATHON), we worked with you to develop {innovative and software-based approaches} for a climate-neutral university campus. Now we are evaluating how these can be effectively deployed at the university.

The somewhat different plastic free challenge:

Students from the School for Talents coordinated this campaign from May 09 to 13, in which individual waste savings could be tracked in a provided diary. The team was able to recruit more than 60 interested people and is evaluating the results of the plastic savings.

The Stuttgart climate protection campaign was launched under the motto "JetztKlimachen" ("Climate change now"), which makes climate protection the talk of the town and builds on a broad network of companies, institutions and associations from Stuttgart. The University of Stuttgart is also involved. Under the leadership of the administrative department for climate protection, the campaign relies heavily on community ideas and involves the urban society. It shows how much is already happening in the city, how diverse climate protection can be and how citizens can become active themselves. This creates impulses and role models that encourage people to get involved.

With an exciting campaign climate protection will literally become the talk of the town: large building banners in the cityscape will trigger a climate challenge that will unfold across the entire town. Participants show how they are committed to climate protection and nominate others to do the same. The University of Stuttgart has hung a banner on the Stadtmitte campus. The motto: "Climate protection starts within the mind. We are our way to a climate-neutral University of Stuttgart." The university has nominated the Hochschule der Medien as its next candidate.

Baden-Württemberg's state administration, which includes universities, must become climate-neutral by 2030. This is stated in the Baden-Württemberg Climate Protection Act, which will be amended in October 2021.

Despite great challenges and time pressure, the University of Stuttgart wants to take a pioneering role. On January 13, 2022, a public university fireside chat coordinated by the Green Office was held with the participation of Science Minister Theresia Bauer, University Rector Prof. Wolfram Ressel, scientists Prof. Cordula Kropp, Prof. Kai Hufendiek and Prof. Markus Friedrich, staff council representative Dr. Norbert Röhrl, doctoral student representative Juliane Heitkämper and sustainability officer of the student council Phillip Franz.

Following keynote presentations from the research community, a panel discussion was held on the approach to achieving climate neutrality. The fireside chat forms one of the first steps in a participatory process towards a climate neutral university by 2030.

Together with ARENA2036 and the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research (ENI), the Green Office of the University of Stuttgart has succesfully submitted a funding application to the Climate Innovation Fund of the state capital Stuttgart.

The Greenesto project is one of ten funded projects that the state capital Stuttgart is supporting with 10 million euros. The funding is specifically dedicated to innovative projects in the field of climate protection and climate impact adaptation and is part of a 200 million euro action program for climate protection of the city of Stuttgart. This makes the fund one of the world's largest municipal innovation funds for the climate.

From January to December 2022, the project "Greenesto - adVANce your mindset" aims to promote a dialogue on the topic of sustainability among different societal groups in order to initiate sustainable rethinking and climate awareness, as well as to empower proactive action. The idea of the workshop format is based on the method of mindset change and design thinking. A converted e-van serves as a mobile workshop platform. An interdisciplinary team of coaches, mentors and other creative minds will conduct the workshops in schools, among other places, starting in spring 2022.

In the long term, the project aims to develop a blueprint for a sustainability dialog; after all, besides technological solutions and political guidelines, the fight against climate change requires first and foremost a rethink among the general population.

On Saturday, 18.09.21, the Green Office together with stuvus carried out a trash collecting campaign due to the "World Cleanup Day", on the campus Vaihingen. Equipped with trash grabs, gloves and trash bags, we set out in beautiful late summer weather to rid the Vaihingen campus of carelessly discarded trash and plastic waste. Our trash "haul" consisted mainly of countless cigarette butts, crown caps, broken glass, many medical masks, plastic snippets, packaging paper and bottles made of glass and plastic. Such events are to be repeated regularly in the future. By the way, did you know how dangerous cigarettes are for people and the environment?

• According to BUND, cigarettes contain over 7,000 harmful substances, 50 of which are carcinogens. These substances are not only dangerous for the smoker, but also cause damage to the environment.
• The toxins they contain are passed on to the environment when it rains, for example. The filter will be stay in the environment for a long time and often end up as microplastic.
• A single filter poisons 1000 l of water so much that small water organisms die.
• Especially for children, cigarette butts are a great danger: 1 to 3 swallowed cigarette butts are enough to cause significant poisoning symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in young children.

For a clean university campus - Join in!

The Green Office is growing by 5 creative minds as of 01.09.21. We welcome our student assistants Jeannine Rechtsteiner, Franziska Doll, Jens Räumschüssel, Franziska Brendel and Emilija Blagojević to the team!

Following the motto 'We`re just going to do it', "The Climate Bet" was accepted by the City of Stuttgart and the Climate Protection Foundation Baden-Württemberg on July 27, 2021 at the Schlossplatz in Stuttgart by the initiator of the Climate Bet, Dr. Michael Bilharz. The goal is to save 1 million tons of CO2 nationwide until the World Climate Conference in Glasgow on November 1, 2021. The share of the city of Stuttgart's is around 10,000 tons of CO2.

As a partner organization, the University of Stuttgart, along with the Hochschule für Technik, Daimler AG and Stadtwerke Stuttgart, is participating with the city of Stuttgart in achieving the goal of the competition. Prof. Jan Knippers, Vice Rector for Research and Dr. Elif Köksoy, Sustainability Manager in the newly established Green Office, represented the University of Stuttgart in taking on the climate bet. 

With the official participation in the bet, the University of Stuttgart commits itself to mobilizing as many university members as possible to achieve maximum CO2 savings by November. Participation is possible in two ways: Various everyday activities can be entered via the CO2 avatar. The avatar then calculates previous and expected CO2 savings by November 1, 2021. Alternatively, donations can be made for selected climate protection projects, with a positive effect on the CO2 budget as determined by the CO2 avatar. The success of the city of Stuttgart is determined by the postal code of the participants specified in the avatar. In the event of a losing bet, a stake will be determined, the redemption of which will benefit the climate.

Under the bet sponsorship of the Baden-Württemberg Climate Protection Foundation, Baden-Württemberg is the first German state to participate in the climate bet. Among the participating cities in Baden-Württemberg, the state capital Stuttgart has been ranked first so far, but there is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of saving the approximately 10,000 tons of CO2. There is also still a lot of potential for growth regarding the number of participants - the more parties that take part, the easier it will be to save large quantities of CO2.

Participating in the climate bet is a good test run on the road to climate neutrality. How much can we save through simple measures? How much more do we need to do? We need initial assessments and measurability of our individual actions to tackle the big challenge of climate neutrality. Join us and kick the can too, so that we can make a statement in Glasgow: Climate protection works together and today!

Digital opening event of the Green Office as part of the Science Days.

Take part in the KickOff of the Green Office. In addition to the presentation of the Green Office, you can expect exciting guests, discussions and contributions on the topic of sustainability at this online event!

More information will follow soon. Until then - save the date!