Foreword from the Rector

Professor Ulrich Rüdiger, Rector of RWTH, stands in front of a glass wall. He is wearing a dark blue suit, a white shirt and a red tie. He smiles into the camera.
Rector Ulrich Rüdiger
Martin Braun

Dear Readers,

We at RWTH are more committed than ever to our goal of becoming a more sustainable university. Following on from our first report, we are now detailing the current developments and ongoing activities at RWTH in this, our second Sustainability Report.

Our new report shows updated data from the previous one, e.g. related to energy and business trips and it also outlines the current process for developing and adopting sustainability goals and corresponding measures at the University.

Sustainability is reflected in the way we organize and execute our operations and teaching and learning activities. It is, of course, also reflected in the framework conditions of our research – the research and funding landscape is also in a state of flux. This was for example made clear with the German Research Foundation (DFG) announcing it would anchor sustainability considerations in its funding activities.

We expressed our pledge to making RWTH more sustainable when we adopted our Sustainability Mission Statement back in 2021. We have seen much progress and growth in different University structures since then, with RWTH members participating via formats such as the GreenTeams. In addition, the Sustainability Fund set up by University management has offered members the opportunity to implement creative ideas for more sustainable operations at RWTH since 2022. These examples illustrate that we are certainly on the right track – even if we do still have some way to go.

Looking ahead to the future, we are dedicated to making RWTH more sustainable with the help of all our members. As a university, we want to harness our opportunities to have a positive impact on the sustainable development of society. We want to be a role model! In our latest report, we demonstrate where we are already fulfilling this ideal and which developments, projects, and activities are contributing to this aim.

I hope you enjoy reading about our endeavors to make RWTH even more sustainable.

Sincerely,

Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. h. c. mult. Ulrich Rüdiger

Rector