Sustainability

Sustainability at Studierendenwerk Heidelberg

At Studierendenwerk Heidelberg, sustainability is an integral part of our code of conduct. Our comprehensive understanding of sustainability contains all three pillars of sustainability: economic, ecological and social. The Climate Protection an Sustainability Guidelines, our yearly carbon footprint is based on the Greenhouse-Gas-Protocol, the Actionplan and the sustainability Report within the framework of KLIMAWIN is reflecting our comprehensive understanding of sustainability.

Plant-based, regional and fresh

With up to 12,000 meals sold per day in our 19 dining facilities, the products used in our canteens and cafés account for a significant share of Studierendenwerk’s Scope 3 emissions.

We continuously optimise our purchasing, our meal planning and the Food Services. Some Cafeterias are awarded by Peta as vegan friendly for their plant based supply. Our understanding of regional products is a distance of under 300 km and seasonality come into focus through our “favorite of the month”. Additionally we change over progressively to self-production for example our pasta and patties.

Mensa 2.0 Pilot Project

Plant-based meals, greater transparency in product selection, and prices that remain affordable: With this goal in mind, the range of Products and portfolio at the Heilbronn Education Campus were redesigned. The project is funded by the Dieter Schwarz Foundation and it focuses on areas where changes can be made in food service — especially in purchasing, menu planning, and the range of offerings.

To achieve this, the use of products was optimised according to several criteria within the constraints of the budget: Butter, a product with a large carbon footprint, was removed from the regular menu, and fish and meat dishes were reduced by at least 50 percent compared to before the pilot project was implemented. Processed food has either been eliminated entirely or replaced with home-made products—freshly prepared meals are now the norm. Beverages are served exclusively in glass cups; fresh meat is sourced only from farms meeting at least the in German so called “Haltungsform 3” standard; and the self-made pasta now has its own buffet station. The customer experience is modern—that means digital, multilingual, and visually appealing, including suggested combinations for the buffet. This should be viewed as a pilot project: It is intended to be rolled out to all of the Studierendenwerk’s cafeterias align them with the company’s philosophy through a contemporary approach. Subsequently, the concept was also implemented at the Zeughaus cafeteria, on the Sontheim campus, and at the Triplex cafeteria.

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Renovation and student living

Affordable housing is not only our obligation, it should be a fundamental right for students. We don’t just want to offer rooms and a roof over your head, we want to create living spaces that offer room for development and personal growth. In our Facility Management we take structural, energy-related and social aspects into account. Before a large scale building project begins we will involve an energy consultant.

This includes also renovations, urban gardening on more than 150m² and an energy standard for new buildings of KfW 40.

Saving energy – the right way
A competition among 15 halls of residence

1000 students from a total of 15 halls of residence: The competition took place in winter semester 22/23. The price was a party hosted in the halls of residence, which, like the entire project, was subsidised by the “Klima-Strom-Fonds”. With the awareness campaign by BUND, two other accompanying sustainability campaigns and a new student tutor programme set up by Studierendenwerk with 23 students, the focus was consistently on maximum impact – which paid off with results that exceeded all expectations. For example, the hall of residence complex “Holbeinring” with over 600 residents saved an average of 20 per cent of energy compared to the previous year. Expert estimates in the run-up to the competitions reckoned with 10 per cent at best. The success was primarily due to the preliminary conceptual work: the residents were informed weekly about their current status of the challenge, they were provided with tips and background information how to save energy, took part in events, were able to go on a trip to the Klimaarena and received intensive media coverage throughout the competition. Being mentioned in the DSW-Journal, the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung or SWR, the competition was widely covered and regularly featured. SWR even presented the campaign in a six-part TV report, which was aired in the evening news.

Here’s a montage of the TV feature:

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Raising awareness about environmental protection in Children? – Yes of course!

From expired bandages and plastic packaging to egg cartons and misprints, pretty much everything can be recycled using an arts-based educational approach. The approximately 270 children cared for in our daycare centres are taught in a playful way at a very early age about the importance of environmental protection and resource conservation, for example through water cycles, visits to the beekeeper or by growing their own fruit and vegetables, which also make it onto the plates in the daycare centre after being harvested by the children. The following example from our daycare centre in Humboldtstraße shows how sustainability can also be realised outside of the home and food service sector.

Sustainable Business Project

Sustainability and climate change have long played a major role in the pedagogy and early childhood education of our daycare centres, the employees were therefore very enthusiastic when they were able to take part in the so called ‘Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften’ showcased by a project organised from the city of Heidelberg. Our daycare centre at Humboldstr. 17 was put to the test with several site inspections by recognised experts: Do we comply with all relevant standards, how high is our electricity and energy consumption and how many emissions are caused annually by our use of wind power, for example? A complete carbon footprint drawn up specifically for the daycare centre clearly showed that 75 percent of the emissions fall under Scope 3, which means that they are indirect emissions along the value chain. Half (!) of this is due to commuter traffic, which clearly emphasised our need for action in terms of mobility. As a result, we started to introduce a company mobility management system and thus set the course for systematically analysing untapped potential and subsequently deriving measures that would benefit our employees and create incentives to switch from car to bike or train. As the second most important emission factor is our electricity consumption, the ventilation system was quickly optimised. Studierendenwerk Heidelberg has already received an award.

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Creating a sense of community through our various offerings for students

Advice on student financing such as BAföG, a psychosocial advice center (PBS), legal and social advice for students, cultural events and two service centers as a central point of contact for everything to do with everyday student life – Studierendenwerk Heidelberg offers a whole range of services for students that make student life much easier and in some cases make it possible to concentrate on your studies in the first place. The Studierendenwerk’s print products are of course all made from recycled paper, work is underway to introduce an electronic file and a diversity department for people from the LGBTQIA+ community was recently introduced to promote diversity.