Humboldtⁿ and the Sustainable Transformation of Universities

Abstract

The sustainable transformation of society is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Universities are central actors for knowledge generation and transfer in the sustainability field and, at the same time, are facing the question of how they can become sustainable social actors and make their activities and infrastructure sustainable. Against this background, the 16 member universities of the State Rectors’ Conference of North Rhine-Westphalia have joined forces in the Humboldtⁿ initiative to pool their efforts in the field of sustainability and to anchor generational responsibility for sustainable action in research, teaching, administration, infrastructure, and transfer. How the joint responsibility for the questions for the future in the aforementioned complex of topics is addressed via Humboldtⁿ and which focal points are set in the process will be presented and discussed using examples from the institutional sustainability transformation and examples from the research area from RWTH Aachen University. In this way, the implementation of transformation processes at universities and their possible blueprint effect can be illuminated.

1 Introduction

The implementation of sustainable development is one of the greatest challenges for today’s but also future generations. Many universities around the world have recognized this, and the importance of sustainability in its three dimensions—social, economic, and ecologic (Corsten and Roth 2012)—has increased significantly at universities in recent years. The transformation of universities also plays an important role in societal transformation processes. On the one hand, universities respond to societal needs, and on the other, through their knowledge production, they shape socio-technical systems in which the respective society moves (Stephens and Graham 2010). As so-called change agents (Purcell et al. 2019: 1344), they play a central role in implementing measures to transform to a more sustainable society (Schneidewind 2014). Moreover, universities are key learning sites that educate future generations of citizens and leaders. Thus, they have a leadership role in raising awareness regarding sustainability among young scholars and future decision-makers (Kohl et al. 2021), as well as in motivating and inspiring them to act on a shared vision of the future (Purcell et al. 2019).

The actions that started with the UN Conference on the Human Environment in 1972 aiming at contributing to sustainable development (Findler et al. 2019) have therefore been strengthened over the years to make universities more sustainable and increase their impact for societal transformation (Wals 2014; Pashby and de Oliveira Andreotti 2016). The structural transformation of universities has been flanked by declarations of intent, such as the 2009/2010 German Rectors’ Conference statement on sustainability, as well as the establishment of networks at regional and global levels, such as Humboldtⁿ, and is further driven by student movements such as Students for Future.

Sustainability is thus increasingly entering into university efforts as a guiding principle (Kohl et al. 2021), as the necessary change can only occur and the future be shaped through a strategic (re)orientation of universities. However, translating sustainability principles into corresponding strategies at universities is fraught with challenges (Leal Filho et al. 2015, 2020). The development and presentation of a sustainability strategy confront university administrations with various tensions and conflicting goals. These include, for example, conflicts between institutional goals, cultural preferences, and individual and organizational drivers. Innovative perspectives, such as the Whole Institution Approach (WIA), therefore aim at a holistic view of the entire organization. By involving all members of the university—individuals and groups as well as communities—the transformation process can be implemented systemically. University leaders, such as the rectorate, are central to this. They must shape the transformation process and drive implementation within a given timeframe, but not neglect associated frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty (Purcell et al. 2019).

Further barriers to the sustainable transformation of higher education institutions include government regulations and a lack of engagement from external stakeholders (Blanco-Portela et al. 2017). This leads to delays in, for example, the establishment of sustainability initiatives at universities, despite an increasing focus on and internalization of measures to implement sustainability goals. At the same time, the institutionalization of these initiatives, which are often supported by committed students, staff, and professors working on a voluntary basis, is slow to get off the ground. It is therefore of great importance for anchoring sustainability as a transversal topic at universities that the measures are accompanied by appropriate funding (Kohl et al. 2021).

While collaboration between different stakeholders within a university is important to meet sustainability goals, cooperations between higher education institutions are necessary to achieve their sustainable transformation within the challenging timeframes set. The sustainability initiative Humboldtⁿ of the State Rectors’ Conference of the Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) founded in 2021 thus bundles the sustainability efforts of 16 universities. How is the initiative addressing the issue of sustainability? What are their priorities? How do they succeed in implementing them? These central questions are explored in chapter three. First, Humboldtⁿ is embedded in the processes for sustainable transformation of universities, and the developments in this area to date are outlined. In doing so, the WIA which is applied in transformation processes at universities worldwide is also addressed. Finally, chapter four presents the process of sustainability transformation of the RWTH Aachen University as a best-practice example in order to outline the concrete implementation of sustainability activities in North Rhine-Westphalia as an example for Humboldtⁿ.

2 Sustainability at Universities

The term and concept of sustainability were established at universities shortly after the United Nations Brundtland Report in 1987 (Giesenbauer 2021), and activities to implement it have continued ever since (Findler et al. 2019). Moreover, with the signing of the Magna Charta, which stated “that the universities must give future generations education and training that will teach them, and through them others, to respect the great harmonies of their natural environment and of life itself”¹ in September 1988, numerous European universities formalized their efforts to contribute to climate goals in Bologna. Specifically, however, developments over the past three decades have focused on attempts to integrate sustainability into university systems via statements and charters (Lozano et al. 2013), curriculum redesign (Qian 2013), regional and global partnerships, and sustainable campus initiatives (Findler et al. 2019), in order to increase the focus on people and nature. Numerous initiatives have been implemented to green campuses since the 1970s and make them more climate-friendly and livable (Lozano et al. 2015; Blanco-Portela et al. 2017; Washington-Ottombre et al. 2018; Giesenbauer 2021). By doing so, universities aim to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases as well as to regional sustainable development (Blanco-Portela et al. 2017), which is why they clearly differ from companies: While the latter focus on developing more sustainable products and services, universities aim to generate knowledge on and about sustainability and provide skills and values for future professionals, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and leaders that go hand in hand with a greater awareness of sustainability (Blanco-Portela et al. 2017).

Accordingly, the focus of universities for several years was on the generation of knowledge on and about sustainability as well as its transmission (Michelsen 2016). However, as Wu and Shen (2016) make clear, an integrated understanding of sustainability in university curricula (beyond environmental and engineering topics) has developed only recently. Meanwhile, and especially as a result of the pandemic, mass lectures are increasingly being replaced by online lectures to provide basic knowledge. In-depth content is taught in face-to-face seminars and project work, with the aim of promoting and developing competencies individually (Giesenbauer 2021). But, sustainability is increasingly also integrated into research, transfer, operations, assessment and reporting, collaborations, the institutional framework, multiplier programs, university management, institutional policies, and the university community in general through various focal points. Examples include the University of Hamburg, Leuphana University in Lüneburg, and Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, which have established sustainability as a guiding principle in the past (Schneidewind 2014). In this context, the transformation of the universities is being driven forward via various measures. These include the institutionalization of sustainability through the development of corresponding strategies, the establishment of staff positions and vice-rectorates as well as student initiatives such as Green Offices and data collection in the form of sustainability reports (Leal Filho et al. 2019). However, while converting teaching, research, campus management, and operations to more sustainable forms special attention should be paid to avoid that these processes remain limited to further digitalization (Giesenbauer 2021).

In some cases, however, a new discipline—sustainability science—has been introduced and established to “understand the complex and dynamic interactions between natural and human systems” (Kohl et al. 2021: 224). Furthermore, bachelor's and master's degree programs, both undergraduate and graduate, related to sustainable development have been established, and research activities on sustainability have been initiated (Weiss and Barth 2019). In addition, attempts are also being made to position the topic via various sustainability rankings as well as networks. However, Kohl et al. (2021) state that this partly hinders the holistic approach to implementing sustainability at universities, as these developments establish new sustainability satellites that do not include all disciplines and thus ultimately do not establish sustainability as a transdisciplinary idea.

Further, universities have been identified as being at the forefront of the scientific and technical implementation of sustainability goals, as well as the dissemination and sharing of knowledge, and the training of future leaders and professionals and their awareness of sustainability issues (Kohl et al. 2021; Purcell et al. 2019). However, they hardly played a role in policy advice and active implementation of national sustainability strategies. As a consequence, their role in policy formulation at national and international levels has often been underestimated, even though all UN agencies and most governments work closely with the scientific community, as they have knowledge that can make a significant contribution to finding solutions as well as initiating the necessary change (Kohl et al. 2021). However, this is increasingly changing. The role of universities as potential influencers of future societies, for example through knowledge communication (Bonaccorsi et al. 2010), is becoming increasingly clear and more emphasized (Kohl et al. 2021). In this context, it is also important to explore the impact of sustainability activities at universities for the transformation processes toward a more sustainable society, as less is known about this so far than about the measures themselves (Findler et al. 2019).

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly established new drivers for the implementation of sustainable development also at the political level (Giesenbauer 2021). They also serve as new guidance for higher education institutions to align and adapt their core processes with the related SDGs. This allows Higher Education Institutions to increasingly align their academic activities and operational processes with sustainable development. Moreover, the application of the SDGs brings universities into sharper focus as key players in the context of sustainability. At the same time, by embedding the SDGs at a strategic level in universities and using them to connect higher education with business, industry, health care, community partners, and entrepreneurs, the shift toward a more sustainable society can be more fully advanced (Purcell et al. 2019). In this context, the actual commitment of universities to sustainability is subject to constant change. Thus, transformation processes—especially in the field of sustainability—can be actively promoted and socially articulated challenges can be incorporated into teaching and research in order to increasingly feed the evolving issues back with external societal needs (Schneidewind 2014). In this way, changes within universities in cooperation with external stakeholders can help create a more sustainable and inclusive future (Purcell et al. 2019).

In the context of societal efforts toward a more sustainable society, universities become “living labs” where sustainable lifestyles, new ways of doing business, and documenting the benefits of sustainability practices can be tried out (Purcell et al. 2019), which in turn can be explored locally in an inter- and transdisciplinary way (Giesenbauer 2021). Universities thus become places where real sustainability challenges are formally addressed in collaboration with stakeholders (König and Evans 2013), creating an experimental form of governance (Evans et al. 2015). Nevertheless, it is central to engage all stakeholders, processes, and operations in the sustainable transformation of universities, thus addressing change holistically. How this can be achieved is outlined in the following chapter.

2.1 WIA as an Approach to Sustainable Transformation of Universities

The structural anchoring of sustainability in a central position within universities can be achieved via the WIA (Michelsen 2016). This perspective allows a transversal view of changes in the three central areas of the university mandate: Teaching, Research, and the Community Service (Kohl et al. 2021). Only in this way can a systemic upgrade and a shift in basic attitudes as well as worldviews (Giesenbauer 2021) be achieved.

Therefore, WIA is recommended by the World Action Program on Education for Sustainable Development in its Roadmap ESD for 2030, the National Action Plan on ESD as well as the German Rectors’ Conference and the German Association for Sustainability at Universities e.V. for the successful transformation of universities toward more sustainability. It enables universities’ core competencies in the fields of action teaching, research and transfer to be consistently interlinked and effective sustainability solutions to be developed. At the same time, the WIA provides for the inclusion of all university members and their commitment to sustainability in the transformation processes. In this way, they can be initiated and implemented.

Defined by UNESCO (2012), WIA is a process that requires the active engagement of a wide range of stakeholders in the collaborative redesign of fundamental operations, processes, and relationships to make significant progress toward sustainability. Today, WIA is understood as a way to holistically implement sustainability at the institutional level. It encompasses all areas of university life: facilities, operations, interaction with stakeholders in the university community, governance, capacity building, teaching content and methods, and the learning process itself (UNESCO 2014). Thus, this approach involves all stakeholders—leadership, faculty, learners, administrative staff—in the transformation process, developing a common strategy and plan to implement sustainability and education for sustainable development across the institution. This requires both technical and, where possible, financial support for the realignment of higher education institutions. Specifically, this includes providing relevant best practices, training for university leadership and administration, and guideline development, as well as related research. Inter-institutional networks should also be mobilized and expanded to promote exchange and make WIA more visible as an approach to transformation processes (UNESCO 2014).

Thus, WIA is an important tool to transform universities (Kohl et al. 2021), as it seeks to holistically address the challenges involved. Thus, departmental thinking, conservative management, lack of incentives, low institutionalization of sustainability, lack of interdisciplinarity, and lack of financial resources should be addressed (Blanco-Portela et al. 2017). This also requires a redefinition of sustainability. Sustainability needs to be seen as a problem-solving approach to unleash innovation and encourage leaders to think and work systemically and look beyond their domain (Nidumolu et al. 2009).

3 Humboldtⁿ as an Example for the Joint Sustainable Transformation of the Higher Education Landscape of North Rhine-Westphalia

In order to drive forward the systemic transformation of the universities of North Rhine-Westphalia, they have joined forces in the initiative Humboldtⁿ in order to take responsibility for the future issues arising in the thematic complex of sustainability. In doing so, Humboldtⁿ is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for two years (2022–2024). The political relevance of the topic as well as the initiative is also made clear by the reference to Humboldtⁿ in the coalition agreement of the CDU and Die Grüne (2022–2027). Humboldtⁿ aims to combine efforts on the way to becoming a sustainable university and thus to take a pioneering role in tackling the major challenges society is facing. The universities are supported in this by two strong partners (see Fig. 1). The Wuppertal Institute contributes expertise in research and project support, and the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts plays a central role in promoting young scientists.

Fig. 1

Participating universities and partners

Humboldtⁿ pursues as a central goal the strengthening of capabilities to shape the sustainability transformation. The universities themselves shall be places of sustainability transformation. Thus, central impulses for anchoring generational responsibility for sustainability emanate from Humboldtⁿ, which are to be expressed in sustainable action in the fields of research, teaching, transfer, administration, and infrastructure. Thus, Humboldtⁿ anchors sustainability strategically and holistically at the universities, for which the foundation was laid with the Humboldtⁿ Declaration.²

Humboldtⁿ concentrates on four scopes: the sustainability map, promoting young academics, project management and an interministerial dialogue—as well as the cross-sectional area of public relations and events (see Fig. 2). In this way, attention is to be drawn to the topic of sustainability and the associated challenges and areas of tension at the universities and beyond. In addition, Humboldtⁿ aims to strengthen the transfer in the context of sustainability research to all areas of society as a contribution to holistic transformation. The topic of sustainability is addressed in both fundamental and application-oriented research. In addition to research, Humboldtⁿ also focuses on teaching activities. The participating universities strive for the transversal integration of sustainability topics and research into university curricula. Thus, the network is to promote and strengthen the establishment and continuation of courses of study on the subject complex. In addition, the anchoring of the topic of sustainability in teaching is to be strengthened via a lecture series, which is to be digitally supported and carried out across different sites.

Fig. 2

Humboldtⁿ scopes of work

Structurally, Humboldtⁿ is composed of a leading advisory board, an overall advisory board as well as the office. The leading advisory board is involved in the project leadership and management and consists of the rectors of the universities of Bonn, Siegen, Witten/Herdecke, Wuppertal, the chairman of the Landesrektorenkonferenz NRW (LRK) as well as the president of the Wuppertal Institute and the secretary general of the Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts. This body maintains a close exchange with the office, which coordinates the central work areas and carries out and organizes the public relations work and events of the initiative. Furthermore, the work of the advisory board is supported by an overall advisory board, which includes the presidents and rectors of the LRK member universities, chairpersons of the participating non-university institutions, and representatives of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Both committees develop strategic objectives for Humboldtⁿ and define central tasks for the working areas. In doing so, they engage in an interministerial dialogue with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in order to introduce the scientific results on the topic of sustainability into political debates and discourses.

3.1 Sustainability Map and Poster Exhibition

The visualization of sustainability projects and activities at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia is driven by the sustainability map (for access see Fig. 3). It is a dynamic, participatory mapping, as projects can be entered at any time and by all status groups via the website. Different statuses can be selected during registration—from in planning to completed. The Humboldtⁿ office checks the entries for accuracy and then activates them. In addition to increasing the visibility of sustainability activities at the state's universities, the map aims to strengthen networking among themselves but also with representatives from industry, society, and politics. Among other things, potential synergies can be identified and experiences on best practices with regard to the implementation of sustainability can be exchanged in order to further advance the sustainable transformation of universities in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the emergence of new initiatives (Giesenbauer 2021). This creates dynamic feedback processes that, as Blanco-Portela et al. (2017) makes clear, are of great importance for organizational change as well as the implementation of sustainability strategies.

Fig. 3

Access to the sustainability map in German (on the left) and the virtual poster exhibition in German (on the right)

In the poster exhibition “Humboldtⁿ focuses: Under pressure. Sustainability and its areas of conflict” (for access see Fig. 3), selected sustainability projects and activities of the 16 universities depict and address areas of tension and conflicting goals of sustainability. How, for example, can sports activities contribute to the preservation of biodiversity? The Cologne Sports University addresses this question by introducing school classes to nature through sports activities in summer and winter camps, thereby raising awareness of nature conservation and avoiding a disconnection between the experience of nature and the overall systemic context. The transfer field of action in particular shows how conflicting goals can be addressed. Using the example of the mobility transition, the University of Wuppertal shows how apps developed in Living Labs can be used to promote climate-friendly journeys within the city by combining public transport with private providers. If possible, this traveling exhibition will be shown at all university locations in North Rhine-Westphalia as part of or in the context of sustainability events. It can also be viewed virtually on the website of the sustainability initiative. The exhibition thus complements the sustainability map with the aim of making the sustainability efforts and transformation processes at the universities more visible.

3.2 Promoting Young Researchers

As outlined in the introduction, the promotion of young researchers is at the core of the sustainability alliance. Humboldtⁿ specifically focuses on the training of young researchers. Young researchers are to be sensitized to sustainability issues and incorporate them into their work. In view of the SDGs and the national climate goals, which include the transformation processes for phasing out coal in the Rhenish coalfield, Humboldtⁿ not only provides students and researchers in North Rhine-Westphalia with excellent research and networking opportunities, but also points to concrete fields of action and opportunities for impact. In this context, a permanent working group on sustainability will be established at the Junge Kolleg of the Academy for all fellows, and additional fellowship positions will be offered. The Junge Kolleg is a place for research and interdisciplinary dialogue and connects scholars from the humanities, natural sciences, engineering, economics, and medicine as well as artists at a similar career stage. Through the newly created working group “Sustainability” interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cooperation is to be strengthened and the insights gained from this are to be brought back to the respective university as well as incorporated into the university's own research.

In addition to the Junge Kolleg, Humboldtⁿ strengthens the engagement with the topic of sustainability via the Humboldtⁿ-Schools. This format, which is explicitly aimed at doctoral students and postdocs, serves to bring together junior researchers from different disciplines on a specific sustainability issue. Scientific input is combined with the teaching of methods of transdisciplinary research. In this way, participants from all universities in North Rhine-Westphalia are sensitized to issues of transdisciplinary and transformative research—irrespective of their previous disciplinary training and the concrete reference of their own research work to sustainability issues—and at the same time introduced to an examination of the associated problems. This shall enable them to integrate sustainability into their research work as well as their teaching. The topics of the Humboldtⁿ-Schools are defined bottom-up from within the scientific community and prepared together with partners from society, politics and business. The first Humboldtⁿ-School at the University of Bonn dealt with climate change and its risks and required adaptation strategies. The participants received input from various disciplines as well as from the field and worked on incorporating sustainability in its broader sense into their research. In the upcoming Humboldtⁿ-School addressed at postdocs and to be held at RWTH Aachen University, hydrogen, which is of central importance for the transformation of carbon-intensive industry, among other things, will be the focused upon as well as associated innovations.

3.3 Project Management and Interministerial Dialogue

In addition to the scopes already described, Humboldtⁿ is to initiate projects to implement sustainable higher education and, in doing so, strengthen networking and synergy building among the members of the State Rectors’ Conference. The two partners, the Wuppertal Institute and the Academy, will also be involved where appropriate, as well as other external partners. Thus, Humboldtⁿ is to make a central contribution as a platform in project acquisition. This has already been done, for example, with project applications that are currently in the review phase and are to be expanded in the future in order to further promote the anchoring of sustainability at the universities through central projects.

At the same time, the universities have committed themselves to developing a joint state-wide sustainability concept for the universities in North Rhine-Westphalia. To this end, the universities are developing specific sustainability goals with measurable indicators in the fields of action of research, teaching, infrastructure, administration and transfer, based on the state government's sustainability strategy, in order to then implement these in a timely manner. In this context, the interministerial dialogue is of central importance, which should help to exchange and transfer best-practice examples within and between universities and thus further highlight the leading role of universities in the transformation of society, industry, companies, and municipalities and drive forward their implementation based on scientific findings. Furthermore, this dialogue is important in order to take up the challenges formulated by society, but also on the part of companies as well as industry, in the universities and to integrate them into research and teaching. How this can be achieved in the area of research and, moreover, how the sustainable transformation of universities can be advanced through corresponding research activities is illustrated below using examples of transformation research at RWTH Aachen University.

4 Transformation Process Toward a Continuously More Sustainable RWTH Aachen University as a Practice Example of the Transformation of NRW's Higher Education Landscape

RWTH Aachen University considers as its duty to ensure that the university, in all its diversity and its wide range of different organizational units—from teaching and research institutions to administration—is structured to accommodate and facilitate sustainable development as set out in the WIA. RWTH Aachen aims to guarantee and encourage this by embedding tools, processes, and measures in all of the university’s everyday activities—research, teaching, operations, and governance. RWTH Aachen University is part of the Humboldtⁿ sustainability initiative and contributes to this network, among other things, its experience in implementing its sustainability strategy as well as research approaches and results. In doing so, it additionally benefits from the exchange on transformation paths to a sustainable university with the other universities in NRW. In the following, it is described which structures have been established especially for participation, how the strategy process is conducted, and with the focus on one field of action of the WIA, it is pointed out how sustainability is implemented in the field of research.

4.1 Structures and Participation at RWTH University

In line with the WIA approach, appropriate governance structures were first created at RWTH. Since mid-2020, the Sustainability and University Governance staff unit has had the special task of driving forward the continued development process toward a more sustainable RWTH (see Fig. 4 for the timeline). Its task is to pool existing sustainability structures, projects, and initiatives and to coordinate and promote their implementation. This also includes providing support to university management when they are preparing to make decisions. As a central contact partner, the staff unit works in close collaboration with all university groups—professors, academic, and non-academic staff as well as students, to coordinate initiatives and strategic targets regarding sustainability.

Fig. 4

Sustainability process of RWTH Aachen University (selection)

The rectorate appoints RWTH professors to take on individual tasks of strategic importance for the university and to carry out representative functions in specific areas. In 2021, the rectorate appointed rectorate delegates for sustainability for the first time to help guide the operational sustainability process with strategic planning support. In addition to advising the rectorate and promoting collaboration between RWTH and other universities and networks, they are leading the so-called GreenTeams (see below).

Next to these developments in the university’s governance, the elected representative committee of the university students (AStA) has established a department for sustainability. The Department for Sustainability and Student Engagement of the AStA promotes awareness of, and commitment to, sustainability among students and all other members of the university. The department was established in 2019 and is involved in the strategy process, in close collaboration with the Sustainability and University Governance staff unit.

The aim of the Internal Sustainability Network is to establish good communication channels and transparent responsibilities for sustainability at RWTH Aachen University. To this end, sustainability officers have been appointed for all faculties, central institutions, and administrative units. On the student level, the AStA Department for Sustainability and Student Engagement is involved as well as partly appointed sustainability officers of individual departments. In addition to internal networking and the forwarding of information, instruments are also implemented to facilitate work, such as a virtual “sustainability bulletin board.”

Through various exchange formats, the staff unit, in close cooperation with the rectorate delegates for sustainability, as well as AStA, offers opportunities for participating, dialogue, and networking among the various stakeholder groups. In addition to the weekly sustainability consultation hour, three GreenTeams (each for the topics teaching, research, and operations) take place every six months under the leadership of the rectorate delegates. These Green Teams have been established in order to implement the commitment to a more sustainable RWTH in everyday university life, as stipulated in the sustainability mission statement. Next to these, the sustainability round table for exchange between student initiatives, the staff unit and the AStA takes place every six months as well.

Sustainability is also a central guiding theme in the cooperative ventures with different partners from regional, e.g., with the city of Aachen on heating transition, to international level, e.g., within the IDEA League—Working Group Sustainability and Climate Change Adaptation on university campuses.

4.2 Strategy Process as Part of Governance

The process for a sustainable transformation of the university can be divided into a strategy process with clearly defined milestones and parallel measures in the fields of teaching, research, and operations. The strategy process essentially focuses on three milestones—sustainability mission statement, sustainability report, and the sustainability roadmap.

The challenge of synchronizing a common understanding of sustainability and commitment of all members of RWTH to sustainable action as a basis for joint work for sustainable development was addressed at the beginning of the sustainability process by developing the sustainability mission statement.³ Based on the open consultations in which all university members could participate, a draft mission statement was developed. The mission statement—with reference to fundamental frameworks applying across the universities’ borders—such as the SDGs—was finally approved by the Senate and all the university groups on July 22, 2021.

The first sustainability report⁴ (access via Fig. 5), exclusively available in a digital format, shows where the university is already fulfilling its responsibility and where there is some room for improvement. The report features six different sections, each one explaining how sustainability is embedded in the university's underlying strategies, its responsibilities, developments to date, and selected current projects. In addition, the report summarizes key figures in RWTH’s various spheres of action and outlines the current situation concerning sustainability activities. It transparently presents how, for example, energy consumption and the number of business trips have developed in recent years. It was the first time that the data was collected altogether, rather than in the individual organizational units. At the same time, the report is intended to shine a light on RWTH's activities in sustainable development and to serve as a starting point for monitoring the university's sustainability performance.

Fig. 5

Access to the sustainability report

The Sustainability Roadmap⁵ shall outline the process of RWTH to become a sustainable university and implement the vision from the sustainability mission statement (Corsten and Roth 2012)—establish sustainability as a core topic in research, empower learners and instructors to use innovative ideas to drive the development of sustainable solutions as well as developing the campus operations more sustainable, reducing the environmental footprint in the spirit of climate neutrality, and actively foster a culture of responsible and inclusive cooperation. The roadmap will cover the period until 2030. To decide on and implement the necessary activities, concrete and measurable goals including indicators and corresponding measures need to be defined. On behalf of the rectorate, the Sustainability and University Governance staff unit organizes the corresponding exchange in coordination with the Rector’s Delegates for Sustainability and the AStA Department for Sustainability and Student Engagement. Progress reports and updates on current developments will be presented and discussed in the GreenTeams. The finalized roadmap will be presented and approved in the Senate. A continuous review of the performance related to sustainability efforts will be the basis to make adjustments required in case of deviations.

4.3 Sustainability in Research at RWTH Aachen University as One Example for the Fields of Action of WIA

RWTH’s commitment to excellence also holds the university responsible for pursuing a self-reflective and pluralistic value debate regarding excellent research—both among the stakeholders of the teaching and research projects at RWTH and with additional scientific and non-scientific bodies at the local, national, and international level. The students and early career researchers are an important pillar of change. They are the ones who are pushing toward more sustainable practices and are ready to take the reins on this transformation process themselves bringing challenges and chances simultaneously.

In order to meet these requirements, a future-oriented university needs to be particularly agile while also contributing to meeting the SDGs. In the University of Excellence proposal “The Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology. Knowledge. Impact. Networks.”,⁶ RWTH’s goal is to contribute to and help shape a sustainable society. This requires a holistic understanding of sustainability; the transformation to a sustainable society for future generations can only succeed, if the three dimensions of environment, economy, and society are tackled at the same time. With its fundamental and application-oriented research in a variety of fields, RWTH is making significant contributions to sustainable development.

RWTH therefore has pooled its scientific expertise in an interdisciplinary research environment of eight cross-faculty profile areas to work on solving the great social challenges of our time in interdisciplinary teams using innovative approaches. In these profile areas, scientists from the different disciplines work together to create a solid foundation for societally relevant innovations based on the findings from fundamental and applied research. They coordinate their research activities, use state-of-the-art infrastructures, and create large research networks with national and international partners from science and industry.

Sustainability and social responsibility are firmly integrated in the University’s approach to research and run through almost all research areas. Sustainability in research can manifest in many different ways (see Fig. 6):

Fig. 6

Understanding Sustainability in Research (Own illustration based on Wedl, I.; Reimoser, C. (o.D.): Explikation zum BMBF-Verbundvorhaben Leitfaden Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement »LeNa Management«. BMBF-Project “Leitfaden Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement in außeruniversitären Forschungsorganisationen (LeNa),” Munich.)

In the following, concrete examples of sustainable RWTH research projects will practically give an introduction of the three dimensions of sustainable research as seen in Fig. 6—sustainability research, socially responsible research and research for sustainable development—as well as how RWTH is contributing to them.

RWTH initiates projects that research concrete sustainability-related questions and are explicitly intended to contribute to their solutions. These include for example the „Forschungskolleg Verbund.NRW‟⁷.

Forschungskolleg Verbund.NRW

Research concerning the increase of resource-efficiency regarding Composite Building Materials.

In its Ph.D. projects, Forschungskolleg Verbund.NRW deals with all areas belonging to the value chain of relevant composite materials and constructions:

• Production and development

• Construction and processing

• Usage and removal

• Recycling and disposal.

Cooperation between various scientific disciplines, meaning the interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers on technological, ecological, social, and economic levels, plays a crucial role. At the same time, a transdisciplinary research approach is employed in order to incorporate the requirements of affected actors such as industrial actors, associations, and public authorities right from the beginning.

The objective of Verbund.NRW is to tackle social challenges like the increasing need for climate protection, resource-efficiency, and recovery of raw materials in order to contribute to sustainable development and to a resource-efficient usage of the aforementioned innovative materials (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7

Access to the website of the ,Forschungskolleg Verbund.NRW‛

In contrast to this specific, more narrowly focused “sustainability research,” other teams deal with the societal impact of research findings and thus conduct “socially responsible research” (see Fig. 6) in their projects, such as those undertaken at the Responsible Research and Innovation Hub.⁸

Responsible Research and Innovation Hub

In the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Hub, which is funded by the Excellence Strategy, intensive collaborations are pursued between science and society, which contributes to more mutual transparency and acceptance and more sustainable results. The intention is that solutions to complex societal challenges will emerge as a result of this cooperation. The Hub is a driving force and a platform for joint action at the interface between science and society and initiates and provides support for various different projects. Its activities include projects for setting up governance structures, the establishment of cooperation and networks at a regional level with the Aachen Volunteering Office through to the United Nations Innovation Network or the ENHANCE Network at an international level. It also offers participatory procedures and processes as well as education programs for citizens such as the Festival of Sustainable Action or the course, Sustainability as Challenge and Opportunity for Society. The course was developed by the RRI Hub together with representatives from the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences and the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Aachen as part of the Lehreⁿ professional program by the German Ministry of Education and Research for students from all three universities. Since 2020, the City of Aachen has been part of the national network “Engagierte Stadt” (Committed City). Based on the question of “what constitutes a good life and how do we shape it together as a collective,” the RRI Hub and various regional partners want to show the potential of a diverse and engaged urban society. Responses will be developed based on a cooperative and creative approach, and regional structures sustainably consolidated. Participatory research is seen as an indispensable part to develop sustainable solutions with and for society. As an “Engagierte Stadt,” communities of responsibility made up of bodies from civil society, politics, administration, science, and the economy are accompanied on their journey toward increased collaborations for local engagement and participation, and support is also provided for the nationwide exchange of information and knowledge transfer (Figs. 8 and 9).

Fig. 8

Berg-Postweiler, Decker, Leicht-Scholten (2023): Academia as a Key Factor in Fostering Responsible Research and Innovation with and for Society: The Case of the RRI Hub at RWTH Aachen University

Fig. 9

Access to the website of the, RRI Hub’

“Research for sustainable development” (see Fig. 6) is, however, the largest area explored at RWTH. This category encompasses a large number of projects where scientists examine the major societal challenges of our time in interdisciplinary teams. In addition to the eight profile areas⁹ at RWTH, these teams also include new structures as the Center for Circular Economy (CCE).¹⁰

Center for Circular Economy

Circular economy as a circular management of resources and valuable materials enables our future generations to have unrestricted access to raw materials. The objective is to enable a sustainable and resource-efficient economy by keeping recyclable materials in the economic cycle for as long as possible while producing as little waste and environmental impact as possible. To implement this vision, various players must be made responsible. Policymakers must create appropriate framework conditions, producers must design products sustainably, and consumers must be made aware of the issue. A successful circular economy requires interdisciplinary cooperation between politics, business, research and society. The CCE bundles the competences of RWTH Aachen University in the field of the circular economy and acts as an impulse generator for internal and external partners. The network thus connects stakeholders from business with regional municipalities to international communities. Since the founding of CCE in 2020, themed issues and editorials have been published in trade magazines on the circular economy, the first conferences have been held, and workshops have been held at trade fairs. By signing the Circular City Declaration at the end of 2021, the city of Aachen also sent a strong signal to promote the circular economy (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10

Access to the website of the ‘CCE’

Next to the objectives of research itself, there is always the discussion of how research is conducted. This issue is strongly linked to the operational field of action, which also shows that it is difficult to make a clear differentiation between the individual fields and the goals to be defined. However, it is precisely the structures in research that are essential in order to arrive at new and innovative solutions in the area of operations as well.

5 Conclusions

In this article, it is shown how universities in North Rhine-Westphalia are approaching holistically sustainability challenges through the joint sustainability initiative Humboldtⁿ. Concrete examples from the RWTH Aachen University from a strategic perspective as well as from the research area furthermore show how universities address these issues as an institution. It becomes clear that a WIA must be chosen in order to integrate sustainability holistically into the higher education landscape and universities. Working with a WIA is mandatory to achieve a sustainable transformation in the fields of research, teaching, infrastructure, administration and transfer.

However, these transformations involve areas of tension and conflicting goals. Examples from the Humboldtⁿ Sustainability Initiative show that, for example, a balance must be struck between top-down and bottom-up measures when implementing transformation processes at universities. Areas of tension are also addressed in research as the examples from RWTH Aachen University have shown. Thus, conflicts of goals exist in various areas, both in terms of content between individual sustainability goals and also administratively between different fields of action. Also, given framework conditions, such as the existing budget, create tensions, which makes it necessary to prioritize the fields of activity and measures in the area of sustainability. In dealing with conflicting goals of all kinds, universities benefit from collaboration in initiatives such as Humboldtⁿ: They can support each other, learn from each other, and share implementation paths. In addition, Humboldtⁿ enables the universities in NRW to speak with one voice to other actors, e.g., politicians, and to jointly demand, e.g., overall necessary changes in the framework conditions.

In addition, however, it is also necessary to feed back the activities for the implementation of sustainability at the universities with the political framework conditions as well as society and the economy. For example, in the case of construction measures that focus on sustainability, it is essential to weigh up the options within the given budget by the state.

The strengthening of the dialogue between science and politics on the implementation of the SDGs envisaged by Humboldtⁿ can be a central contribution to setting the course for the sustainable transformation of universities in North Rhine-Westphalia.