Sustainability

Sustainable development is firmly anchored in our institution here at Furtwangen University. Sustainability actitivies are focused on 4 areas at the University.

The HFU university executive has decided that EMAS must play an integral role in university operations in accordance with the importance placed on sustainability in the HFU Mission Statement in the area of "social responsibility and safeguarding of the future".

The broad spectrum of sustainability measures taken at Furtwangen University are coordinated by the Office for Sustainable Development.

We have been honoured to welcome Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker to the university on two occasions to host so-called "Afternoons in the future". These were held within the context of the HFU sustainability strategy. During his talks, Professor von Weizsäcker looked at "Sustainability 360 degrees" from two perspectives.  Having been involved in this area at the highest levels in the world, he was able to provide wide-ranging scientific, technological, political and sociological insights into the subject. The events were organised by Prof. Dr. Achim Karduck, the Senate Representative for Sustainable Development at HFU who introduced the "Campus in Action– from Knowledge to Action" slogan for the sustainability strategy.

The two "Afternoons in the future" events, "Lebensraum Erde: Wir brauchen Qualitäts-Innovationen für unsere Zukunft" and "A new enlightenment is needed for a full world" represent the core idea of Campus in Action and were captured on video by the team from GLFtv, headed by Professor Martin Aichele and Ada Rhode.

Furtwangen  University has a history of education and innovation stretching back from than 170 years. Sustainable development is anchored in our strategic mission.

Sustainable development/SEED and the necessary awareness for resources have a lot to do with education and with knowledge about the possibilities and challenges of technological innovation. Our students spend several important years of their lifetime of learning at HFU. During their studies they will be active in project teams, at international partner universities, in companies or in research institutions. Herein lies our key responsibility as a public educational institution. Our graduates will be those who can help shape, technologically, economically and socially, the SEED challenges of the future. A tree with its roots and leaves is symbolic of the necessary long-term outlook for sustainability.

Sustainable/SEED is anchored in the mission statement of Furtwangen University. Academics, Research, Transfer and Operations across the 9 HFU faculties offer impressive activities for SEED. They can be categorized by the UN Sustainability Goals 2030 which demonstrate the full spectrum of challenges for SEED.

Below you can find out more about the various HFU Sustainability/SEED activities which are also demonstrated in short videos. HFU is networked with a strong and diverse innovation ecosystem. It links education, resources and the window to the world.

We look forward to hearing your suggestions and about your SEED activities, e.g. for projects, workshops, lectures, etc. Please feel free to contact me or the persons listed in the various initiatives below directly.