Agenda 2030
The 2030 Agenda was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. It comprises 17 global goals for sustainable development. These goals are primarily aimed at governments worldwide, but also at civil society, the private sector and the scientific community. The objective is to implement 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and 169 sub-goals by 2030. They include a political objective for the sustainable development of the global community and relate, for example, to ending poverty and hunger, combating inequalities, strengthening people's self-determination, giving all people access to education and making lifestyles sustainable worldwide. Further information can be found on the United Nations(Opens in a new tab) website.
Education for sustainable development (ESD)
As part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development from 2005 to 2014, the member states of the United Nations have committed to anchoring the principles of sustainability in their education systems. ESD forms the core value of Goal 4 ("Quality Education") and is therefore also an important driver for the entire 2030 Agenda. The German ESD process is overseen by the German UNESCO Commission and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Further information can be found on the BMBF(Opens in a new tab) website.
Brundtland Report
In 1987, the Brundtland Report was published, which provides the definition of "sustainable development" that is still valid today. Gro Harlem Brundtland was Prime Minister of Norway and at the time chaired the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, which was founded in 1983. The title of the report was "Our Common Future". The definition of "sustainable development" in the German translation by Volker Hauff was:
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
The report provided the impetus for today's well-known annual world climate summits, the "Conference of the Parties" (COP). More on this under the term "World Climate Summit".
Club of Rome
The history of sustainability as a global debate began in 1965. The Italian industrialist Aurelio Peccei gave a speech at a congress and was met with great interest by the Scottish head of the science department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Alexander King, as both shared a deep concern for the long-term future of humanity and the planet. Peccei and King convened a meeting of European researchers in Rome. A small group of researchers founded the Club of Rome in 1968 and immediately set to work. The Club used computer models to investigate the effects of unbridled exponential growth. The study focused on five fundamental factors of growth:
- population
- agricultural production
- Depletion of non-renewable resources
- industrial production
- environmental pollution
In 1972, the Club of Rome published its first major report "Limits to Growth", which triggered a controversial global debate that continues to this day. This report predicted that, if growth continues unabated, we will reach the limits of the earth's carrying capacity in 100 years, i.e. finite resources will be used up and the limits of pollution will be exceeded. Further information can be found on the website of the German Club of Rome Society(Opens in a new tab) .
German Sustainability Code (DNK)
The Code is a standard that companies of all kinds and public institutions use to report on their sustainable development challenges and achievements. With the help of twenty DNK criteria, organizations can record, plan and implement their sustainable development. It was adopted by the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) in 2011 as a voluntary standard. Further information can be found on the Sustainability Code(Opens in a new tab) website.
The University Sustainability Code was developed specifically for universities; all information on this can be found under the term "University Sustainability Code (HS-DNK)".
The German Sustainability Strategy (DNS)
In March 2018, the coalition agreement of the then German government adopted the DNS to implement the 2030 Agenda with its 17 global sustainability goals. Education for sustainable development is a key factor in its implementation. In 2017, a National Action Plan "Education for Sustainable Development" was adopted with 130 goals and 349 specific recommendations for action. This action plan is part of the German Sustainable Development Strategy and is being led by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Further information can be found on the Federal Government(Opens in a new tab) 's website.
The sustainability dimensions
Sustainability is often limited to the ecological dimension. This focus makes perfect sense, as without an intact environment/nature we would lose our livelihood. However, it became established quite early on to speak of three dimensions of sustainability: ecological, social and economic.
The basic idea behind these dimensions is obvious: a purely ecological view would ignore many social standards/basic needs. Without modern agriculture, for example, the supply of food would certainly be difficult and thus a basic right to food would hardly be enforceable. The economic sustainability of our actions must also be taken into account, i.e. if ecologically important decisions were always put before economic concerns, this would also lead to social consequences such as unemployment. There are different approaches to presenting the three dimensions of sustainability, but the integrative presentation has prevailed as it illustrates the interdependencies.
University DNK (HS-DNK)
On the initiative of several universities, the German Council for Sustainable Development decided in spring 2015 to adapt the German Sustainability Code to the specific aspects of universities. By the beginning of 2016, a test version had been developed in collaboration with around 50 university representatives and the final HS-DNK was adopted in 2018. This university-specific sustainability code consists of 20 criteria that reflect the development of all sustainability measures at universities in the fields of governance, teaching, research, operations and transfer and thus represents a standard for sustainability reporting. Further information can be found on the DNK(Opens in a new tab) website.
Sustainability
300 years ago, the chief mining administrator Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645 - 1714) formulated the principle of sustainability for forestry at the Electoral Saxon Chief Mining Office in Freiberg. In 1713, he wrote in his work "Sylvicultura oeconomica" or "haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung zur Wilden Baum-Zucht." on sustainable forest management that only as much wood should be felled as can grow back through planned reforestation. Von Carlowitz spoke of "sustainable use" and thus introduced the term sustainability in relation to forestry for the first time.
Sustainability report
Organizations such as companies, public administrations and associations can usually voluntarily (in some cases there are already reporting obligations) prepare a report that presents the ecological and social impact of their economic and social activities, as well as their sustainable development and objectives. The report shows both ecological key figures on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fossil and regenerative energy consumption, land consumption, as well as developments of the organization in the social area. This includes, for example, the work-life balance of employees, compliance with human rights within the supply chains for products used and the organization's involvement in civil society. The objectives of the reporting are the transparent presentation of the sustainable development of the organization, as well as the presentation of the defined goals for sustainable development and their achievement. The report is only used to present the definition of a sustainability strategy.
There are various global and national standards (e.g. GRI Standards Global Reporting Initiative and DNK German Sustainability Code) for comprehensible and uniform reporting, which can be used to show all key sustainability aspects.
Sustainability management
Sustainability management is the management of the economic, environmental and social impact of a company's business activities. The basis for this is the development of a sustainability strategy, the implementation of rules and processes as well as the definition of responsibilities and finally the formulation of key figures and the collection of comparable data. A holistic approach is pursued that encompasses the following areas.
- Environmental and energy management
- waste management
- risk management
- Social and ecological working conditions
- Safeguarding human rights in supply chains
- Combating corruption
These areas are usually handled by different departments within the organization, which is why sustainability management has the task of providing a holistic view as a central point of contact.
Sustainability strategies
Three strategies have been identified to achieve a sustainable society. These are overarching strategies for reducing resource consumption and emissions that can be applied in all areas of life and work. These strategies should not be confused with national or corporate sustainability strategies, which could also be described as plans or concepts.
- The efficiency strategy
This strategy for reducing resource consumption and emissions focuses on improving technical conditions. To illustrate this, two very succinct examples can be cited here, namely the replacement of light bulbs with LED lamps, which is associated with immense savings potential, and the development of catalytic converters to reduce emissions. In a nutshell:
Sustainability strategy efficiency means achieving the best possible results with the least possible use of resources and energy and low emissions.
- The consistency strategy
This strategy for greater sustainability involves two approaches. The first is substitution, i.e. the replacement of fossil resources with renewable resources, such as wind turbines instead of coal-fired power plants. The second way is to reduce the consumption of resources through different production with recyclable materials, e.g. reusable instead of disposable packaging, compostable bags instead of plastic bags.
Consistency as a sustainability strategy means producing differently using renewable energies or recyclable materials.
- The sufficiency strategy
While the efficiency and consistency strategy deals with technical solutions to achieve sustainable development, the sufficiency strategy deals with people's behavior. It deals with the question of which resources actually need to be used to satisfy needs. It is about the proportionality of resource consumption to the actual benefit. As this often involves less consumption and production, this strategy is often mistakenly equated with doing without. Sufficient behavior is not, however, renunciation per se. A common (somewhat polemical) example is buying bread rolls from the bakery 500m away in an SUV. Driving a two-ton vehicle for 4 rolls is an enormous consumption of resources. Would it therefore be a sacrifice to walk or cycle to the bakery? Probably not. Sufficient behavior means, for example, driving less by car (and less quickly) or heating differently and less at home. Overall, we now know that today's lifestyle in industrialized societies is not feasible for the whole of humanity without exceeding the earth's carrying capacity.
Sufficiency as a sustainability strategy means reducing resource consumption to the right degree while respecting the planetary boundaries through environmentally friendly behavior.
The strategies are not contradictory to each other, but must be considered together. Only if the three strategies are interlinked is it possible to achieve sustainable development that both protects the environment and maintains social prosperity in the sense of satisfying needs.
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint deals with the biocapacity of our planet and also with the negative ecological effects of consumer behavior.
This involves calculating how many resources an individual person's lifestyle consumes. Everything that arises in the various areas of food, mobility, housing and general consumer behavior is included. The resulting individual resource consumption is then used to calculate how much land area is required to provide energy and raw materials. This is expressed in gha (global hectares) and the land consumption is then extrapolated to the total global population in order to compare it with the real available area of our planet. The result is the number of Earths that would be required if every person were to lead this particular lifestyle. The result of the ecological footprint also includes the total social consumption of a country. This includes public infrastructure such as roads and public services such as hospitals and the police.
In addition to the ecological footprint, the CO2 footprint is also calculated, depending on the calculator. This provides information on how many tons of CO2 emissions are generated within the respective lifestyle.
The aim of the ecological footprint is to raise individual awareness of the negative effects of one's own lifestyle. The calculation of the ecological footprint should always also provide suggestions for resource-conserving behavior in order to open up options for action for the individual.
Ecological footprint calculator:
- A rather simple test for beginners* from Bread for the World can be found at this link(Opens in a new tab) .
- You can find a detailed calculator from Global Footprint Network at this link(Opens in a new tab) .
Ecological handprint
In contrast to the ecological footprint, the ecological handprint does not focus on the reduction of negative impacts, but measures the positive sustainability effects of an individual's personal commitment.
The handprint therefore refers to the level of the individual who is committed to changes in the structures of an association, city or company, for example, in order to promote sustainable development.
For example, this could involve a commitment to more attractive bicycle parking spaces at the workplace in order to make a positive contribution to sustainable mobility. In the area of sustainable nutrition, the personal commitment to a vegan offer in the canteen can be cited as an example. The ecological handprint thus explicitly refers to the commitment to sustainable development. Influence can also be exerted in this way at the level of society as a whole, for example through active political involvement in clubs, associations, trade unions and political parties.
At an individual level, the ecological handprint therefore refers to an individual's positive commitment to ecologically, socially or economically sustainable changes and developments. The use of the term "handprint" for products and services must be viewed critically, as a product in itself can only have a good or bad climate and environmental balance and does not represent a commitment in itself. The commitment to the manufacture of a sustainable product at the individual level represents the ecological handprint.
Information on impulses for action and aids to action can be found on the following websites:
www.handabdruck.eu(Opens in a new tab)
German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE)
In response to the global action program for sustainable development for the 21st century adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the RNE was founded at national level in Germany in 2001. Its task is to advise the Federal Government objectively and independently on its sustainability strategy, to issue statements on current issues and to commission scientific studies. The Council is made up of experts from politics, Business Studies and science. Annual conferences are held on an ongoing basis. Further information can be found on the RNE(Opens in a new tab) website.
World Climate Summit
The World Climate Summit is a United Nations conference that brings together leaders from countries around the world to agree on how to step up global action to solve the climate crisis. The first meeting of countries took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 under the title "Earth or Environment Summit". Among other things, Agenda21 was adopted by 178 countries. It sets out guidelines for sustainable development in the 21st century.
As part of the first world climate summit, COP1, which is referred to as the follow-up conference to Rio 1992, the commitments of the convention were further developed and tightened in Berlin in 1995. At the third world climate summit, COP3, in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, the "Kyoto Protocol" was ratified by 191 countries. This was the first time that legally binding targets for emission ceilings were set internationally for industrialized countries. The countries undertook to reduce their GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in stages. This commitment was only crowned with moderate success; to date, countries have left the protocol (e.g. Canada in 2013) or have not participated in partial reduction stages (e.g. New Zealand, Japan, Russia). The reduction targets were achieved by the participating countries. In the overall global view, emissions rose by 29% by 2010 and by over 50% by 2020. One of the main reasons for this was the industrial development of the emerging countries (China, Brazil, etc.).
List of past world climate summits:
- 1992 Rio de Janeiro (Earth Summit)
- 1995: Berlin (COP 1)
- 1996: Geneva (COP 2)
- 1997: Kyoto (COP 3)
- 1998: Buenos Aires (COP 4)
- 1999: Bonn (COP 5)
- 2000/2001: The Hague (COP 6) and Bonn (COP 6-2)
- 2001: Marrakech (COP 7)
- 2002: New Delhi (COP 8)
- 2003: Milan (COP 9)
- 2004: Buenos Aires (COP 10)
- 2005: Montreal (COP 11/CMP 1)
- 2006: Nairobi (COP 12/CMP 2)
- 2007: Bali (COP 13/CMP 3)
- 2008: Poznan (COP 14/CMP 4)
- 2009: Copenhagen (COP 15/CMP 5)
- 2010: Cancún (COP 16/CMP 6)
- 2011: Durban (COP 17/CMP 7)
- 2012: Doha (COP 18/CMP 8)
- 2013: Warsaw (COP 19/CMP 9)
- 2014: Lima (COP 20/CMP 10)
- 2015: Paris (COP 21/CMP 11)
- 2016: Marrakech (COP 22/CMP 12/CMA 1-1)
- 2017: Bonn (COP 23/CMP 13/CMA 1-2)
- 2018: Katowice (COP 24/CMP 14/CMA 1-3)
- 2019: Madrid (COP 25/CMP 15/CMA 2)
- 2021: Glasgow (COP 26/CMP 16/CMA 3)
- 2022: Sharm ash-Shaykh (COP 27/CMP 17/CMA 4)
Networks
DG HighN
The German Association for Sustainability at Universities is a network for universities and universities of applied sciences to jointly shape their sustainable development. The network offers a wide range of activities:
- Further education & training
- Promotion of networking
- Innovative teaching and learning concepts
- Educational policy activities
- Public relations work
- Audit systems for sustainability
- etc.
DG HochN pursues the purpose of supporting the implementation of the UNESCO program "Education for Sustainable Development for 2030" in the German higher education system.
The overarching goal of the UNESCO program is for all higher education institutions in Germany to have made sustainability and education for sustainable development in the sense of the Sustainable Development Goals a visible and effective expression of their work in research, teaching, operations, governance and transfer by 2030. All students in the German higher education system should be able to acquire a recognizable proportion of Education for Sustainable Development in their respective study programs by 2030 at the latest.
Through the full membership of Fachhochschule Dortmund in the DG HochN, all HS members have the opportunity to become individual members free of charge and thus have access to the training and further education offers and networking activities.
If you are interested, please contact the CSR Office or visit the DG HochN(Opens in a new tab) website.
HAR university alliance ruhrvalley
The Alliance of Universities of Applied Sciences in the Ruhr region consists of Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences.
With the ruhrvalley university alliance funded by the Mercator Foundation, the three universities of applied sciences are intensifying their cooperation in studies, research and transfer and are pursuing the goal of strengthening the Ruhr science region through joint scientific, economic and educational policy impulses and initiatives.
HN NRW University Network
Angewandte Forschung - Hochschulnetzwerk NRW (HN NRW) is the network of 21 state and state-funded universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia. HN NRW was founded as a project in 2004 under the name "Living Research at Universities of Applied Sciences in NRW" with the aim of raising the profile of university of applied sciences research in the political arena.
In 2017, the name was changed to "Applied Research - NRW University Network". Since its foundation, the HN NRW has received funding from the Ministry of Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. The HN NRW has the task of making the research strengths of its member universities visible and thereby providing impetus, initiating political processes, creating synergies and strengthening the exchange between science, politics, economy and society.
- Providing impetus
- Conducting dialogs
- Initiate processes
- Promoting cooperation
- Communicating research topics
You can find more information on the website of the NRW University Network(Opens in a new tab) .
netzwerk n e. V.
netzwerk n is a network of predominantly students, initiatives, doctoral candidates and young professionals at universities and is committed to overall institutional change at universities in terms of sustainable development in the areas of operations, teaching, research, governance and transfer. It is part of the association's self-image that the active members also align their own actions with the principles of sustainable development.
First and foremost, netzwerk n offers a platform (like Facebook) for university groups in the field of sustainability. With this platform, the groups have the opportunity to network, use a cloud for simple data storage, use pads for joint document processing, set appointments, communicate with each other and a few more features. The groups also have the opportunity to get in touch with over 180 other university groups in Germany.
Other activities have also been developed. The association offers freely accessible working and educational materials, and itinerant coaching for new university groups. It is worth taking a look at the netzwerk n(Opens in a new tab) website.
At Fachhochschule Dortmund, the "Kollektiv | sozial-ökologische Transformation" from the Master's program Social Sustainability & Demographic Change exists on the platform N.