"For the first time, all universities in the state of Bremen have joined forces with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research to achieve shared goals: To develop more sustainability in science operations and more sustainable solutions for all of us. This ranges from the load bike system at the University of the Arts to the resource-efficient running of laboratories at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. We can only tackle the climate crisis together by implementing our own good ideas and those of others, learning from each other, and consistently pursuing the goal of greater sustainability together. ‘Bremen Goes Sustainable’ – BreGoS – I am very pleased that our universities have committed themselves to this goal," said the senator in her opening remarks.
University leaders, project coordinator Professor Marko Rohlfs, and other project leaders presented the project's objectives as well as the specific contributions of the respective universities. On the university campus, Kathrin Moosdorf learned about the "Biodiversity Hub," among other things. The hub is where students, building management staff, gardeners, teaching staff members, and university management are working together on ways to implement a new green space management system to promote biodiversity on campus. "Even at this early stage of the project, it is evident that important connections have been made between the universities. Each individual institution is working on its holistic campus development strategy for greater sustainability, increased biodiversity, and resource-efficient operations. By networking with each other, environmentally friendly solutions, as well as the infrastructure and resources of Bremen's universities, can be thought of collaboratively and used sustainably," said Prof. Dr. Jutta Günther, President of the University of Bremen.
BreGoS
Within the “Bremen Goes Sustainable" project (BreGoS), all state higher education institutions in the state of Bremen – the University of Bremen, Bremen City University of Applied Sciences (HSB), the University of the Arts Bremen (HfK), and the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences – will jointly develop and test sustainability initiatives in the areas of biodiversity, mobility, and the use of resources and energy by the end of 2025 under the leadership of the University of Bremen. The findings are to be anchored in the structures of the higher education institutions. The Alfred Wegener Institute, Heimholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) supports BreGoS with input from its own sustainability processes and organizes forums for exchange. Researchers, students, and staff from administration and technology are involved in the project. Accompanying sociological research evaluates the development of networks and practices that emerge in the project. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will contribute one million euros to the project over a period of three years.
