Sustainability

Sustainability is one of the University of Hohenheim’s central founding ideas.
1816 – the year without a summer – brought devastating harvest failures and famines. So in 1818, the royal House of Württemberg founded the Hohenheim Agricultural Teaching, Experimental, and Model Institute – the forerunner of today’s university. Its mandate was to utilize scientific knowledge to establish a sustainable basis for nutrition and food production, which would also reliably benefit future generations going forward.

Since then, we have maintained and developed our ethos of sustainability. This is how the Hohenheim Model came into being, where sustainability runs through research, teaching and administration.

Studies and Teaching

Sustainability as an overarching issue is addressed in different ways in all three faculties of the university. In the Bachelor’s degree program in Sustainability & Change and the Master’s degree program in Sustainable Bio-based Technologies, the focus on sustainability is visible at first glance. Sustainability is also a central topic in other degree programs, such as the cross-faculty Master's degree course in Bioeconomy. This can be seen in the course catalog, for example. A wide range of events and further training courses enable lecturers to expand their sustainability skills and keep them up to date.

Operations & Infrastructure

We endeavor to implement sustainability in the university’s day-to-day operations. We were one of the first universities in the country to produce comprehensive carbon accounting for 2019 – to gain as complete an overview as possible of emissions, identify hotspots, and target CO2 savings. We have an energy management system, have been using green electricity since 2012, have developed a mobility concept and live by the principle of ‘sharing’ on campus (internal donation, Library of Things, give-away shelves, etc.).

Research and Innovation

A large number of research projects of the University of Hohenheim are dedicated to concrete sustainability issues. This can be seen, for example, in the establishment of sustainability professorships, such as the departments of Sustainable Action and Economics, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, and Sustainable Development and Change, the Land-Atmosphere Feedback Observatory (LAFO) and the university-wide focus on bioeconomy and the Bioeconomy Lab. The prominent role of sustainability is also evident in the publications. Humboldt reloaded also provides students with a sustainable introduction to research.

Governance & Structure

The topic of sustainability is structurally embedded at the University of Hohenheim and is given high priority by the President’s Office. The office of Chief Bioeconomy Officer was established in the President’s Office back in 2018. In 2024, the President’s Office decided to establish a Green Office and a Vice-President for Sustainability. The Structure and Development Plan at the University of Hohenheim contains the subject of “sustainability” both as a sub-heading to the title as well as its dedicated chapter. In a participatory process, university members have been developing a sustainability strategy since 2025.

Culture and Transfer

The sustainability development of the university takes place in a participatory process, giving all interested parties the opportunity to get involved. The five Green Teams at the Green Office, numerous student groups, and other committed stakeholders are making the university even more sustainable and contributing to a culture of sustainability. Joint successes such as the award for the most biodiverse campus in Europe (ICA Biodiversity Challenge) confirm this approach. The transfer of sustainability is promoted and makes tangible contributions to sustainable development in society. This can be seen, for example, at the open day or in the numerous start-ups that have made sustainability their mission.

Contact

Wolfgang Lutz
Technical and Domestic Services Department  (AT)
Energy Management
+49 711 459 22041
Email