Sustainability Management
The main tasks of Sustainability Management at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (h_da) are the structural anchoring of sustainable development in the university administration and the strategic orientation of h_da with regard to sustainable development. The team works closely with colleagues from Health, Safety and Environment, Construction and Real Estate, the Green Office and other specialist departments in the following areas:
Strategic topics
Sustainability strategy
Together with the sustainability consultancy e-hoch-3, the sustainability management team is working on a sustainability strategy for the university. The aim is to position the university as a pioneer in the field of sustainable development. The sustainability strategy is embedded as a sub-strategy in h_da's overall strategy and is intended to support and concretize it. The sustainability strategy is being developed in a participatory process - starting with an assessment of the current situation through to the development of concrete goals and measures.
In addition, the results of the sustainability strategy form the basis for the work of sustainability management.
Sustainability report
The starting point for sustainability reporting is an initial survey of h_da's current situation with regard to sustainable development. The report currently being prepared will be based on the standard of the German University Sustainability Code (HS-DNK).
This first status report is to be updated in future in the form of a sustainability report and will be published every two years. The university will publish the first report in 2024
Indicator system
Sustainability management is currently preparing the development of an indicator system. The indicators for the key topics defined in the sustainability strategy will make it possible to measure progress towards the targets also defined there in future. The indicator system is based on recognized standards (e.g. CSRD, GRI, STARS).
Sustainability communication & trend scouting
The core topic is the internal and external communication of sustainable development issues at h_da. This includes the development of communication strategies for :ne and :ne trends in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and their support on communication issues. Other key topics are the evaluation and further development of the measures implemented and the establishment and structural anchoring of processes and implementation of (technical) formats for target group-specific communication and exchange.
:ne specific communication channels:
- h_da SUSTAINABLE
- Sustainability blog
- :ne Newsletter (can be subscribed to via data maintenance, only in german)
- Green Office
- Sustainability Day (annual)
Operational topics
Climate protection
Many areas of university operations have a direct impact on sustainable development at h_da. This applies, for example, to the aspects of energy supply, circular economy, mobility and sustainable construction. The responsible organizational units support and advise the sustainability management in order to further accelerate sustainable development at h_da.
Climate adaptation
The consequences of climate change vary from region to region. In the Rhine-Main region, we can already expect a continuous increase in heat waves, droughts and heavy rainfall events until the middle of the century. This will have a negative impact on university operations and thus on the quality of teaching. To counteract this, the sustainability management team is currently drawing up a climate adaptation concept for h_da and supporting the implementation of measures to adapt the campus.
Biodiversity
In order to increase the diversity of plants and animals on the h_da campuses and thus contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, Sustainability Management implements various measures together with other central organizational units and volunteers.
Postal address
Schöfferstraße 3
64295 Darmstadt