The cover picture of the Sustainability Report with a fox on a flowering meadow on the university campus is representative of a milestone that has been reached. With the proclamation of the Year of Biodiversity 2024 and the adoption of a biodiversity strategy in May 2024, Freie Universität has established biodiversity as a new focus of its sustainability management.

The Sustainability Report presents a wealth of successful projects and new approaches for implementing the sustainability and climate goals of Freie Universität Berlin. These cover a broad spectrum - from research on green chemistry, biodiversity and water supply, the diverse anchoring of sustainability in teaching to new mobility offers and the further improvement of energy efficiency in the university's own area of responsibility. “In 2023, the university reached a historic low of around 108 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and heat and consumed over 33% less energy than in 2000/01. If the new university buildings added during this period are excluded from the balance, the reduction is even around 40%,” emphasizes Andreas Wanke, Director of the Sustainability & Energy Management Unit.

Overall, the Sustainability Report 2024 makes it clear that we are not only facing up to the climate and biodiversity crisis in research and teaching, but are also taking our responsibility as an institution very seriously. We are relying on the cooperation of the entire university community to implement our ambitious goals in the areas of sustainability, climate protection and biodiversity,” says University President Günter M. Ziegler. “This will be demonstrated, among other things, by the new 2025-2030 climate protection program to be presented by the university in the coming year. A new climate protection fund and the continuation of a successfully established ideas and innovation management system should expand our scope in future to invest in effective climate protection and biodiversity measures in a concrete, local and transparent manner,” adds the University's Director of Administration and Finance (temporarily entrusted with the performance of official duties) Andrea Güttner.

In the report, the examples of different actors and projects from research, teaching and on campus impressively show how sustainability and climate protection can succeed and how important cooperation and networks at Freie Universität Berlin are in this field. Whether living labs, futurist projects, international collaborations or dedicated teams: the range of examples and data in the Sustainability Report reflects what has made Freie Universität Berlin stand out for many years: Promoting and actively communicating sustainability & climate protection throughout the university.

EMAS Certificate of the European Union and FU Environmental Statement 2024

In September 2024, Freie Universität Berlin's environmental management system was also audited by an external EMAS environmental auditor. The European environmental management system EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is the environmental management certification of the European Union and is one of the most demanding management standards in this area worldwide. With its successful certification, Freie Universität is now one of a small group of around 20 EMAS-validated universities in Germany. The associated environmental statement transparently presents the development of Freie Universität's activities and results. The Sustainability Program 2024-2026 currently includes 30 measures to implement the sustainability goals. In addition, decentralized sustainability teams manage sustainability programs at department level. The program also provides an overview of direct and indirect environmental aspects as well as university-wide environmental indicators. In this way, Freie Universität Berlin provides a transparent insight into its sustainability and environmental management.

For more information

• The FU Sustainability Report 2024 can be ordered free of charge from the Sustainability & Energy Management Unit of Freie Universität Berlin, Phone: 030 838-65970, Email: sustainability@fu-berlin.de
• The FU Sustainability Report 2024 and the FU Environmental Statement 2024 are available online at: https://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/nachhaltigkeit/stabsstelle/kommunikation/berichte/index.html

Contact

• Andreas Wanke, Director of the Sustainability & Energy Management Unit at Freie Universität Berlin, email: andreas.wanke@fu-berlin.de