Leuphana certified with environmental seal again

2023-05-30 Leuphana has once again improved its environmental performance. This was the result of this year's assessment by the environmental expert Dr. Burkhard Kühnemann on 08 May 2023. Irmhild Brüggen, Sustainability Officer, reports on selected results.

©Julia Gob
Also unobtrusively self-evident on campus: sustainability efforts pay off.

Background

Leuphana has been certified according to the European regulation "Eco Management and Audit Scheme" (EMAS) since 2000 - and was the first university in Europe to do so. In order to retain this seal of approval, an external audit by a state-approved environmental auditor must take place on a regular basis. Data and information on the environmental management system can be found in the Environmental Handbook.
 

ENERGY CRISIS: 24 percent heat saved

Due to the energy crisis, the University has undertaken extensive measures to save energy. These included lowering the room temperature to 19°C and introducing a new shutdown between Christmas and New Year.

As a result, these efforts have led to a 24 per cent reduction in heat consumption at the main campus between September and December 2022. This is a very pleasing result, even against the background that energy has already been saved at the university for years.

This enormous saving has only become possible with the support of all of you. The changeover to (slightly) colder rooms and the shutdown was not always easy. But the result speaks for itself and in the end everyone benefits from overcoming the energy crisis. Thank you very much for your commitment!
 

Data

  • 100 per cent green electricity
  • 100 per cent renewable heat at the Central Campus
  • our 9 PV systems have produced 616,133 kWh
     

Paper

Paper consumption is down 46 per cent in 2022 compared to 2019 (before Corona). This is where the switch to digital administrative processes is already paying off significantly. We use almost 100 per cent recycled paper, most of which is Blue Angel certified.

In 2022, we used 2,287,500 A4 sheets at the university. This corresponds to:

  • a 214-metre-high stack: 13 times the height of one of the buildings on campus
  • 4,280 packs of 500 sheets each
  • 2,081 A4 sheets per employee

Every sheet of paper was part of a tree at some point. Every sheet of paper that you do not use can continue to be part of a tree. So please continue to avoid unnecessary printing, use the reduction function on the copier and print double-sided. Using recycled paper is already a step in the right direction, but even one sheet of recycled paper still requires 10 ml of water and produces 4 g of CO2.
 

Office supplies

Our supplier for office supplies allepremio is certified according to the environmental management system ISO 14001. The goods are delivered in a climate-neutral way, the supplier avoids filler material as far as possible in the packaging and the packaging is adapted to the goods. Many items are shipped in the manufacturer's original carton without additional packaging. The assortment for the university was put together according to sustainable criteria and is continuously adapted.

The quantities of office supplies delivered in 2022 are similar compared to 2019 (before Corona), exemplified by:

  • 2,375 sticky notes
  • 1,328 folders
  • 62,525 envelopes
  • 1,409 ballpoint pens

On the ground floor of C8, you can make office supplies that you no longer need available to colleagues and students, and you are also welcome to take them out. In the case of larger quantities, please send them via the housekeeping service to: INTERSPACE, C10.U13
 

Waste

Everything you can touch is finite. At some point, the amount of what our planet provides us with is simply exhausted. Careful use of our resources is therefore important and prevention has priority. In 2022, we disposed of 2,213 m3 of residual waste. This is enough to fill an incredible 14,754 bathtubs and amounts to 2,014 litres per employee. The university sent 46 tonnes of waste paper for recycling, which is equivalent to 92,888 packets of flour.

In addition

  • 458 m3 of packaging,
  • 2.9 tonnes of electronic waste,
  • 375 m3 of green waste,
  • 60.7 tonnes of bulky waste and
  • 1.4 tonnes of hazardous waste were disposed of.

Here you will also find information on special items that we collect in order to be able to recycle them specifically: Stamps, CDs, DVDs, mobile phones or corks.
 

Water

The amount of water used to irrigate the outdoor facilities has increased slightly compared to 2021. This can be explained by the dry spring and summer caused by climate change and the many new plantings.

With the purchase of building 25, a rainwater cistern was also acquired. In 2023, the gardener will use this rainwater with a pump to irrigate the new plantings. Rainwater is collected at the central building to flush the toilets. In summer, there are few users in the building because it is the semester break. Therefore, the gardener will also be able to use this rainwater for watering.
 

Mobility

Since the summer of 2022, Building Management has had three e-bikes for housekeeping, the gardening department and the mail room. These new service vehicles are used for trips that were previously made by car.

In the gardening department, the employee has been using the e-bike almost daily since the end of 2021 to transport equipment while working on campus. Since the summer of 2022, the Leuphana Housekeeping Service's cargo bike has been used mainly on the central campus and for trips to the Rotes Feld campus. Since October 2022, the team of the post office has also had an e-load bike. The employees use it to travel all over Lüneburg.
 

Cycling services

Contact

  • Dipl. Umw. Irmhild Brüggen