Sustainability Report

Sustainability is a broad concept that can be applied to all areas of daily life. So what exactly does sustainability mean for Geisenheim University? What ideas, goals, and measures does it pursue with regard to sustainable development?

To present these topics in a clear and comprehensible manner, the Department of Strategic University Development & Sustainability has compiled the sustainability report presented on this page. The most important aspect of it is its systemic approach, as the report not only describes the university’s vision of sustainability but also sums it up with specific, measurable indicators.

The framework of this report, as well as the work of the department and the university in general, is guided by the principle of ESD – Education for Sustainable Development. This United Nations educational initiative aims to ensure that every individual understands how their own actions impact the world.

That sounds like a big task. How exactly should this be implemented at the University? By way of the Whole Institution Approach, which was established as a holistic ESD approach for universities and other institutions. It identifies and describes specific areas and fields of action relevant to educational institutions. This helps set goals and determine whether planned measures achieve the goals they are supposed to.

The University focuses on the following areas: governance, operations, teaching, research, and transfer. This ensures that sustainability is integrated into all of the University’s processes and activities:

Governance – encompasses the way decisions are made, policies are formulated, and implemented within an administration

Operations – refers to the day-to-day functioning of the University in terms of energy consumption, mobility, resources, and procurement

Teaching – addresses not only the content of lectures but also the provision of learning spaces and the design of the campus

Research – refers to the content of the topics and questions being researched, as well as the equipment and use of laboratories

Transfer – involves the dissemination of sustainable principles and the University’s collaboration with partners such as municipalities, regional manufacturing companies, other universities, etc., that share the same goals

How is the ESD theory specifically implemented at the University? Our first sustainability report covers the period from 2023 to 2025 and can be summarized at a glance using this visual recording. On the one hand, the graphic shows that all five areas of the Whole Institution Approach have been developed through specific measures. On the other hand, thanks to the visual recording, we can see just how much the University has accomplished in recent years in terms of sustainable development.

It is important for us to emphasize the overarching goal of all these efforts: to establish sustainability as the University’s guiding principle and to integrate it into every aspect of daily University life. This means that sustainable development and methods are not confined to the Department of Strategic University Development & Sustainability, but are an integral part of everything the University offers and does.

The exact facts and figures regarding all of this can be found in the report; however, we would like to briefly present a few highlights:

1. Strategy & governance:
   • 2023: sustainability framework established to help the University make sustainable decisions
   • Department of Strategic University Development & Sustainability established
   • EU GIFT Alliance: international cooperation related to sustainability
2. Campus (operations):
   • PV expansion: 500–700 kWp on rooftops (completion by the end of 2026)
   • Germany’s first agri-photovoltaics system on top of grapevines: 99 kWp
   • Electric vehicle mileage: 2,500 (2019) → 85,000 (2025)
   • approx. ⅓ of business trips were electric, 45.7 t CO₂ avoided since 2019
   • biomass cycle: kitchen scraps → worm compost → compost
   • 5,700 sheets of paper recycled → 570 notepads
3. Study & teaching:
   • all bachelor’s degree programs incorporate content on sustainability
   • percentage of sustainability modules: 15% (2019) → 25% (2025)
   • CoLAB implemented as a prototype for competency-based learning spaces
   • composting workshop
   • Summer School on green roofs and green facades
4. Research:
   • SDG-related projects: 76% (2019) → 87% (2025)
   • IAT: real-world laboratories for sustainable agricultural landscapes starting in 2026 (with ZALF, JLU, University of Kassel)
   • Green Labs: inventory completed — waste/recycling in 80% of labs, energy management in approx. 50%
5. Transfer:
   • LOEWE Transfer professorship established (2024–2029)
     • LOEWE (Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz) – State Initiative for the Development of Scientific and Economic Excellence, a program by the Hessian government to promote cutting-edge research
   • Rhine-Nahe Alliance for Sustainability established with TH Bingen & EBS
   • GeisTreich: transfer format for sustainable viticulture (2023–2027)
   • BUGA 2029: HGU as a partner with a real-world lab approach, BUGA pavilion in development
   • Fairtrade: participation in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis steering committee, Fairtrade University since 2023, recertification in 2025

… and, of course, the sustainability report itself, which, with its system of indicators (a comparison of actual results against targets), constitutes another component of the University’s sustainability strategy.