Sustainability

Universities play a key role in the process of social transformation. They are places where future decision-makers are trained and (discursive) spaces that can serve as a laboratory for sustainability. Four Thuringian universities are therefore pooling their expertise in this project and continuously developing it further as part of the research project ‘KLIMA-Netzwerk für mehr Nachhaltigkeit in Thüringen’ (KLIMA Network for more Sustainability in Thuringia).

link to the website (in German only)

The university first received the Eco-Profit seal in 2001, and since then a great deal has been done to qualify for the award again. ‘We are aware of our special responsibility as an institution, but also of our role as a multiplier,’ says Stefan Doogs, who plays a key role in coordinating the Eco-Profit measures at the University of Erfurt. ’That's why it's part of our daily work to consider how we can use raw materials and energy in line with our needs, optimise consumption and, where possible, return them to the cycle.’ Economic efficiency and environmental protection should no longer be seen as contradictory, but should instead be meaningfully interlinked. This also means that when awarding contracts to external service providers, the university ensures that only environmentally friendly resources, processes and methods are used.

Measures for the sustainable use of resources on campus include:

• the systematic replacement of old heating pumps and the use of high-efficiency pumps on campus;
• the energy optimisation of the library in terms of lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology to save energy and reduce operating costs;
• optimising the cooling supply to the library server room, including through the use of water-cooled data cabinets (completed);
• using water-saving fittings on washbasins and showers (completed);
• using waterless urinals in the library (completed);
• renovation of the façade of building C23 (including to save heating energy)
• renovation of the sports hall, also with a view to optimising the building's energy efficiency (construction work scheduled for completion in the winter semester of 2025/26)
• review of the waste management concept;
• conversion of the lighting on campus to LED technology.

As part of the economic stimulus package, the exterior façade of the listed high-rise building on the campus of the University of Erfurt was renovated in 2010. To ensure a second structural escape route, a second escape staircase had to be built on the south side of the building. In consultation between the building authority, the monument authority, the fire brigade, the TLBV and the university, this extension was planned and executed with a photovoltaic system on the façade. The system has been in operation since 23 December 2010. Its 352 solar modules have a nominal output of around 28 kWp and are expected to produce around 17,300 kWh of solar power per year. This means an approximate saving of around 2,500 euros per year in electricity not purchased, plus the current government subsidy of around 2,300 euros per year.

Further photovoltaic systems are in the pipeline or being planned:
For example, a corresponding 117 KWp system is to be commissioned on the roof of the Centre for Communication and Information (KIZ). The PV modules have already been installed. The electrical energy generated there will be used entirely on campus in future. Further systems are to be installed on the west side of teaching building C03 (with 137 KWp) and on the roof of the sports hall, which is currently being renovated (with 148 KWp). Completion is currently planned for 2025.

In 2018, the University of Erfurt submitted a major construction project to the state of Thuringia for the renovation and modernisation of building C12 and was granted building owner status. Due to its considerable defects, the building has been out of use since spring 2024. Work on setting up the construction site began in May 2025. The construction plans include the installation of a geothermal energy system for this property for the first time.

Many children today no longer know that cherries do not grow in plastic punnets and rhubarb does not grow on trees. Or what a compost heap is. Many of them simply lack direct experience of nature. Their perception comes second-hand – from the internet, television or other media. Fortunately, there is school garden education. And the less contact children have with nature, the more important the school garden becomes. It offers children the opportunity to discover biological and ecological phenomena. Here, they can help shape and form nature, plant something themselves and, of course, harvest it. To ensure that they have competent guidance, the University of Erfurt offers a course in educational gardening for prospective teachers. This is unique in Germany. Students of the Master's programme in Primary School Teaching have the opportunity to acquire specialist and didactic skills in a very special elective subject. In spring 2002, a teaching garden was created on the university campus for the practical training of students. Further information can also be found on the educational garden website.

Launched in 2007, the Studium Fundamentale "Sustainability – Improving the world with practical projects” offers students enrolled in Bachelor's programmes at the University of Erfurt and the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt the opportunity to make an active contribution to the sustainable development of society.

further information on the Studium Fundamentale “Sustainability”

As part of the KLIMA-N project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the University of Erfurt has committed itself to strengthening education for sustainable development (ESD). There are already many courses in the compulsory, elective and optional areas, as well as in the Studium Fundamentale, that contribute to this. In order to give students the opportunity to document their in-depth knowledge in this area, the study profile “Sustainability” is to be introduced in the 2025/26 winter semester.

“Our students appreciate the courses on sustainability and ESD that already exist here and have expressed a desire to have their participation in such courses recognised so that they can better explore career fields in the area of sustainability and education for sustainable development,” explains Professor Julia Knop, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “With the introduction of the study profile, the University of Erfurt now intends to meet this demand from the 2025/26 winter semester onwards." This interdisciplinary and cross-faculty study profile is based exclusively on study options that already exist within the existing regulations. The Presidium Commissioner for Sustainability, Bettina Hollstein, had previously asked the course instructors to what extent corresponding modules or courses exist in their course offerings. Julia Knop: ”The response was good and showed that it is realistic and attractive to set up such a study profile."

The study profile will be certified when students have earned 24 LP/ECTS credits in relevant courses during their bachelor's degree. The relevance of a course is determined by the instructor. Proof is provided via the transcript of records, and the certificate is issued by the Presidium Commissioner for Sustainability.

Further information can be found on our website on teaching at the University of Erfurt (in German only).

Save the Bees!: Bees for the Campus

Did you know? The Germans are world champions at eating honey. It's no coincidence that sayings like "busy bees" or "land where milk and honey flow" refer to the positive perception of bees. However, the fact that bees even play a very decisive role for our ecosystem - 80 percent of all domestic cultivated and wild plants depend on pollination by bees - is unfortunately far too little known. Actions such as "Save the Bees" or city beekeeping are now increasingly drawing attention to the importance of bee colonies and the problem of bee mortality, which has been with us for several years.

Thanks to the cooperation of its department of expertise, the university communications and a committed employee and hobby beekeeper, the University of Erfurt has also joined the "city beekeepers" of Erfurt in summer 2015 and now houses two bee colonies in its school garden. An excellent and sustainable cooperation as we find. Because not only our school garden, but also the entire university campus and the adjacent meadows offer a rich variety of plants, which you will certainly be able to taste in our honey "Campus Gold". And last but not least, our prospective school garden teachers learn how to deal with the bees. And their future pupils will benefit from this in several learning areas.

Recently, the university was even honoured for its commitment to the bees: In 2018 the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture presented the plaque "Bee Friends".

Unfortunately, our colonies were stolen for the second time in the 2024 summer semester, so we have no bees at the moment. We are currently discussing how to proceed and how we can better protect a possible new colony from theft and vandalism. :-(