Studierendenwerke NRW aim for climate neutrality by 2030!

Cologne, 28 June 2022: Basic resolution of the Working Group of Student Unions NRW for a more sustainable orientation of the student unions

The twelve management boards of the student unions in North Rhine-Westphalia unanimously set a strong signal for a sustainable orientation of the student unions at a strategy meeting on June 22, 2022: They want to become climate-neutral by 2030. They are committed to sustainable management in line with the climate policy goals of the state of NRW.

Corporate carbon footprint

To this end, the Studierendenwerke NRW want, among other things, to carry out a so-called "Corporate Carbon Footprint" with suitable partners by 2023 and thus regularly record the responsible greenhouse gas emissions in the companies.

Jörg J. Schmitz, spokesman for the Working Group of Student Unions NRW and Managing Director of the Cologne Student Union, summarizes: "The Student Unions NRW are already extremely committed to sustainable management. For example, they specifically save energy in the dining halls, avoid waste or prefer to buy products from sustainable production. In addition, for example, they purchase green electricity for the dormitories, convert the vehicle fleet to e-mobility, and save paper in the administration. In the future, all of this is to be driven forward with the help of external expertise. With this uniform target definition, the student unions want to send a strong signal to students, universities and the state of NRW and live up to their ecological responsibility."

Dr. Jens Schröder, deputy spokesman of the Working Group of Student Unions NRW and managing director of the Studierendenwerk Bielefeld, adds: "We expressly welcome the goal of the new state government, which has just been agreed in the coalition agreement, to make the universities in the state climate-neutral by 2035. With their energy-intensive buildings, especially the dormitories and catering businesses, the student unions are happy to offer themselves for close cooperation with the state and the universities in order to reach the goal even faster."