Viadrina-Vizepräsidentin Janine Nuyken (r.) mit der Geschäftsführerin der Industrie- und Handelskammer Ostbrandenburg, Monic Zweig (M.), und der Beauftragten für Nachhaltigkeit an der Viadrina, Sahra Damus, vor der Photovoltaikanlage auf dem Dach des Auditorium Maximum in Frankfurt (Oder)
Viadrina-Vizepräsidentin Janine Nuyken (r.) mit der Geschäftsführerin der IHK Ost-BB, Monic Zweig (M.), und der Beauftragten für Nachhaltigkeit an der Viadrina, Sahra Damus, vor der Photovoltaikanlage auf dem Dach des Auditorium Maximum. © Heide Fest

The European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) has successfully implemented the European environmental management system EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) and was awarded the EMAS certificate on Tuesday 28 July. With the publication of its first-ever environmental statement, the university is making its environmental performance, targets and measures transparent and documenting its progress towards more sustainable campus operations. 

Specific measures include reducing resource and energy consumption, commissioning a photovoltaic system, the introduction of smart energy management technology, a comprehensive review of space requirements, the gradual energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings and outdoor areas, and the integration of sustainability into administrative processes as well as into research and teaching. 
 

Vice-President Janine Nuyken explains: “For us, this ambitious certification is both an honour and an incentive. We want to embed sustainability into our everyday university life – in sustainable catering, sustainable procurement, but also in specific space-saving and construction measures, such as the refurbishment of the main building and the removal of paving from the campus square.”&

Viadrina takes on a pioneering role

Following its successful EMAS validation, the European University Viadrina is now one of the 20 higher education institutions and universities across Germany currently listed in the EMAS register. In Brandenburg, it is the second higher education institution to hold EMAS certification, following the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE). In Frankfurt (Oder), Viadrina is the first public institution to bear the EMAS seal.
 

Monic Zweig, Managing Director of the East Brandenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce, offers her congratulations: “As the first public institution and the second university in Brandenburg to hold EMAS certification, Viadrina is playing a pioneering role in establishing a certified environmental management system within the city, the region and the state.” 

 

EMAS certificate: structural integration and annual evaluation 

With the introduction of EMAS, Viadrina is systematically embedding sustainability into its university operations. The environmental management system creates binding structures to use resources efficiently, reduce environmental impact and continuously improve the university’s environmental performance. This is based on the Sustainability Mission Statement and the Environmental Statement, published for the first time,.

 

EMAS certification is not a one-off process: in future, the university will be audited annually by an independent environmental verifier. The certificate must be regularly renewed on the basis of demonstrable progress in environmental management.