Networks networks Sustainability

Heidelberg University has been named one of three European universities appointed to the United Nations’ “UN Academic Impact SDG Hubs” network. As part of this initiative, academic institutions around the world form cooperative alliances, known as “hubs”, for each of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting joint action towards sustainable development. Heidelberg University has been appointed Vice-Chair for Research of the SDG 13 Hub “Climate Action” and is represented by the Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE).  

Heidelberg University is a member of the German Climate Consortium (Deutsches Klima-Konsortium, DKK) and is represented there by the Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE). DKK is the largest independent self-organization of climate research in Germany. It addresses key questions such as how human-induced climate change is caused, how society can respond to it, and which facts and instruments can support the necessary decisions in economic and environmental policy. A core concern of DKK is dialogue with policymakers, the business sector, and the public. DKK promotes this dialogue by connecting independent research with political and economic actors, with the aim of formulating science-based options for climate mitigation and climate impact management and providing robust research results to support them.

Heidelberg University is a member of the German Association for Sustainability at Higher Education Institutions (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltigkeit an Hochschulen e.V., DG HochN) and is represented there by the Sustainability Office. The aim of DG HochN is to make sustainable development at higher education institutions in Germany visible and to strengthen sustainability actors through practice-oriented, co-creative exchange. This is to be achieved by DG HochN acting as a platform for exchange and expertise on sustainability in higher education and, as an intermediary, by connecting change agents across organizational and status group boundaries. In addition, DG HochN cooperates with other national and international sustainability networks in order to leverage synergies and provide mutual support.

Heidelberg University is a member of the Green Industry Cluster (GIC) in order to actively help shape a leading region for green technologies in Mannheim and Heidelberg. The purpose of the cluster—to prepare the manufacturing sector and other fields of application for the changing requirements arising from climate change and environmental protection and to support them through this transformation—closely aligns with Heidelberg University’s research, education, and knowledge transfer objectives. In operational terms, Heidelberg University is represented by the Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE) and the transfer agency hei_INNOVATION.