These discussions took place as part of the BreGoS (Bremen Goes Sustainable) project. In BreGoS, all state universities in Bremen – the University of Bremen, Hochschule Bremen - City University of Applied Sciences, Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, and the University of the Arts Bremen – have joined forces to plan and implement concrete measures on sustainability issues such as biodiversity, climate protection, mobility, and resource conservation. An important approach is the transition to sustainable laboratory operations.

Kathrin Moosdorf, Senator for the Environment, Climate, and Science, says, “The BreGoS competence network shows how collaborations between universities and professional groups promote learning from each other. Academic and technical staff are working together in order to find climate-friendly solutions in an area with great potential for saving energy. These solutions can then be implemented in other research institutions.”

Researchers and specialists in facility management and occupational health and safety from all participating Bremen universities as well as additional German research institutes and universities met to share their experiences and best-practice examples. Concrete implementation strategies were provided, amongst others, by Andreas Fouquet, head of facility management at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology Bremen. “We have used adapted technology and optimized regulations in operating our laboratories for years. There are numerous possibilities and working together, we now want to roll these out for the various laboratories. Although a more sustainable laboratory operation is an incomparably greater challenge in existing buildings than in new ones, it is still feasible.”

From Marko Rohlf’s point of view as coordinator of the BreGoS project and Professor of Chemical Ecology at the University of Bremen, the event was the start of an in-depth exchange between the network partners. The development of a sustainable laboratory was deliberately chosen as a joint project. “We aim to significantly reduce costs and CO₂ emissions – while maintaining laboratory safety.”