Leuphana wins the German Sustainability Award 2023
2023-11-03 Lüneburg/Düsseldorf. Leuphana University Lüneburg is one of the role models for sustainable change in Germany. It has been awarded this year's German Sustainability Award (Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis, DNP) for its achievements as a pioneer of sustainability in educational institutions. The DNP is the national award for excellence in sustainability in business, communities and research and is the largest of its kind in Europe. The award is presented by the Stiftung Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis e.V. (German Sustainability Award Foundation) in cooperation with the German government, municipal umbrella organizations, business associations, civil society organizations and research institutions.
University President Sascha Spoun is delighted with Leuphana's success in the competition: "We see the award as confirmation of the sustainability strategy we have been pursuing for many years and the successes we have achieved. It has always been important to us not only to firmly anchor the topic of sustainability in research and teaching, but also to put it into practice in everyday university life."
The jury's decision confirms that Leuphana is one of the 100 pioneers of transformation in Germany, taking the top spot among German educational institutions, and that its transdisciplinary approach carries the idea of sustainability into business and society. According to the DNP Foundation, it made it through to the final "because it has made particularly effective, exemplary contributions to transformation, thereby setting an example and sending the right signals to its sector and beyond."
This year, pioneers in 100 sectors were identified for the first time. In each sector, artificial intelligence was first used to research around 50 companies in publicly available data such as sustainability reports, rankings and websites. Their sustainability profiles, created in accordance with the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), were then subjected to scoring. Expert juries for each sector - a total of around 150 experts from research, consulting, associations and civil society - then selected the finalists and winners in a nomination and a decision round. Leuphana came out on top in the final against TU Munich and Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.
The awards ceremony will take place on November 23 in Düsseldorf. The Federal Government will be represented by Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius.
Background:
Leuphana regularly submits sustainability reports. They document the consistent further development of the sustainability concept in all areas of the university - from research to campus design. Innovative courses, research projects, conferences and exemplary initiatives in the university administration show why Leuphana is considered a role model when it comes to dealing with sustainability issues in an action-oriented manner in the interaction of different disciplines.
Leuphana has been carbon neutral since 2014. Emissions from business trips, company vehicles, electricity and heat consumption are avoided or offset. This was achieved through energy savings and a climate-neutral energy supply.
Further information: www.leuphana.de/en/university/sustainable.html