Using a range of different measures and incentives, Freie Universität has managed to considerably reduce the amount of electricity and heating consumed on campus since winter 2000/2001 – by 30%, to be precise (without taking the increased floor space into account, this figure would be even higher at. 34%).

This means that the amount of electricity and district heating required by the university has plummeted. Heating oil is also more or less a thing of the past at Freie Universität. Over the years, our natural gas consumption has increased by around 14%; this is because several buildings previously heated by heating oil made the switch to natural gas. From an environmental perspective, this was a move that ultimately led to additional savings in carbon dioxide (CO₂).

When looking back over how our energy consumption has changed over the years, it is important to note that our consumption was only reduced by 4.7% in 2020 and 2021 as compared with 2019, despite fewer people on campus as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.