Dear University Community,

At the end of 2025, we will reach a key milestone in our sustainability strategy: for the first time, our main campus at Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 48, 50, and 50a will be climate neutral. In doing so, we are taking responsibility for future generations and contributing to the achievement of state-wide climate targets.

Climate neutral means that we have reduced our direct (gases and fuels) and indirect emissions from electricity consumption as much as possible. The remaining, unavoidable emissions are offset. This step does not take into account upstream and downstream emissions, such as those caused by mobility, procurement, or waste. These remain an important task for the coming years.

We were able to achieve this important step thanks to numerous measures. These include, among others:

• the opening of the energy-efficient wood hybrid building in 2021,
• the switch to green electricity and green gas,
• the reduction of room temperature, the conversion to LED lighting, and the installation of three powerful air heat pumps (from 2026),
• our integrated climate protection concept, and
• certification according to the “ZNU Standard for Sustainable Management.”

Many of you are already actively involved in local climate protection—for example, in the tree planting campaign with the Bergwaldprojekt, in which 700 oaks were planted. This commitment shows that we live sustainability not only structurally, but also in our everyday lives. We would like to express our sincere thanks for this. A big thank you also goes to the Sustainability Network and Facility Management, which are leading the way in promoting climate neutrality at our university, as well as to Dr. August Oetker. From the very beginning, our university has had him at its side as a dedicated companion and supporter of innovative projects and initiatives. Thanks to his support, we were able to embark on this path and can now continue on course.

The climate neutrality of the main campus is an important milestone. Other locations and areas will follow in the coming years. Our goal remains the same: to further reduce emissions, compensate for unavoidable emissions in a high-quality manner, and continuously strengthen sustainability.

Thank you for your cooperation on this journey!

With warm regards

Martin Butzlaff          Jan Peter Nonnenkamp          Jan Ehlers          Dirk Jakobs          Petra Thürmann