Nachhaltige Universität
Climate change is transforming the world. The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is committed not only to responding to this process of transformation, but also to actively shaping it through its research and coursework, whilst also becoming more sustainable itself.
To this end, we are assessing the climate and environmental impacts caused by the university’s operations, with a view to identifying possible measures in coursework, research, knowledge transfer, governance, building and operations. This is giving rise to various projects as well as an internal network comprising different stakeholders and working groups.
[Spurred on by the increasing...]
Spurred on by the increasing severity and urgency of the global environmental and climate crisis, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar has decided to embark on a path of transformation that will lead to sustainable university operations in the medium to long term.
The objectives are set out in the figure above. Work is currently under way on a sustainability strategy, which is due to be finalised by the end of 2026. Initial measures to support the transformation process have already been launched and are, in some cases, already being implemented. Building on this, the sustainability principles of environmental sustainability, social justice and economic efficiency are to be continuously developed and promoted within the university’s operations.
Sustainability Strategy
We are currently developing a sustainability strategy for the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar through a participatory process involving stakeholders from a wide range of sectors and fields of expertise.
This is helping to foster a joint understanding of sustainability and consensus on the selection of effective measures. In thematic workshops and expert discussions, we are applying the ‘Whole Institution Approach’ model to this end: we are formulating objectives and measures across the five key areas of governance, campus, coursework, research and knowledge transfer.
TRAFO 2030: Four sub-projects for a sustainable campus
With its ‘TraFo 2030’ transformation plan, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is taking responsibility as an educational and research institution and setting the course for a sustainable future. The aim is to ensure the university is fit for the future in the areas of energy, mobility and quality of life. The transformation plan thus forms the basis for the comprehensive further development of the campus in terms of sustainability, climate protection and resource efficiency.
With ‘TraFo 2030’, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is pursuing a holistic approach: energy supply, open space design, environmental management and mobility are being considered jointly in order to develop the university sustainably and ensure it is fit for the future.
Contact persons:
Elena Okuntsova, Head of the Building Management Department and
Lena Vogt, Professorship for Transport System Planning
The focus is on four key areas of action:
Concept for a climate-neutral energy supply
The aim here is to develop a long-term strategy. To this end, a comprehensive concept study is being drawn up, setting out the path towards a fully climate-neutral energy supply by 2050. In close cooperation with the Buildings Management Department, preparations for the next planning phase are being initiated on the basis of preliminary work. The study is intended to provide specific recommendations for action and to develop a vision for a sustainable and future-proof campus.
Campus Open Space Planning
The outdoor spaces at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar cover around 10 hectares across three campus sites and shape the everyday lives of students, academic staff and staff. They serve as pathways, recreational areas and meeting places, whilst also offering potential for sustainable campus development.
With ‘TraFo 2030’, these areas are being considered holistically for the first time as part of a campus-wide open space planning initiative. The aim is to develop a guiding vision for open spaces that will make the campus sites climate-resilient, biodiverse and attractive. The planned study aims to identify specific measures for climate adaptation and de-sealing, as well as to produce a design manual to serve as the basis for future construction projects in outdoor spaces. Furthermore, specialised drafts will be developed for selected areas to illustrate possible future scenarios for the campus. The kick-off meeting with the commissioned firm took place in August 2026.
Energy monitoring & EMAS certification
Another key focus of the transformation plan is the development of a modern energy management system, which is currently being set up in accordance with ISO 50001. To this end, the existing infrastructure for recording energy and water consumption is being expanded and supplemented by digital monitoring software (see also further down this page).
In future, energy consumption for electricity, heating, cooling and water is to be recorded, evaluated and analysed, largely on a building-by-building basis. This will enable potential savings to be identified in a targeted manner and measures to improve energy efficiency to be developed.
In addition, an environmental management system in accordance with EMAS is being established. This is intended to support the University in systematically recording its environmental impacts, implementing improvement measures and continuously developing its own environmental performance. EMAS is also a system for environmental auditing. Through audits, it enables the university to undergo external scrutiny and ensure the continuity of its environmental performance. At the same time, certification enhances transparency and provides long-term planning certainty for the university’s operations.
Company Mobility Plan
How do students and staff travel to the university and between campus locations in their day-to-day lives? The ‘Mobility’ sub-project is dedicated to addressing this question.
The Transport System Planning professorship, in collaboration with the Facilities Management department, is developing an operational mobility management concept for the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. This is based on a comprehensive analysis of the current situation and needs, as well as the development of a joint vision for sustainable mobility.
From June 2026, a university-wide online survey was conducted, in which more than 450 people took part. In addition, focus groups and traffic surveys in the university’s car parks are planned or are already underway. The findings will be incorporated into the development of specific measures designed to strengthen sustainable mobility options and improve everyday university life for students and staff.
BAUHAUS4EU
The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is the lead partner of the European university alliance ‘BAUHAUS4EU – A European University for Resilient, Sustainable, Inclusive and Beautiful Regions’. One of the alliance’s objectives is to contribute to sustainable and inclusive campus development at all 10 university sites involved in the project. The consortium spans nine European countries. This provides an opportunity for a rich, topic-specific exchange of experiences at an international level, taking into account local and regional challenges and solutions.
Sustainable campus development is a core theme of this long-term project and is addressed in two specific work packages. The alliance has been funded by the EU (ERASMUS+) since January 2025 for a period of four years.
Photovoltaics for the data centre
A photovoltaic system with a capacity of 86.7 kWp is to be installed on the roof of the University Library on Steubenstraße in 2026. It was commissioned and financed by the Thuringian State Office for Construction and Transport. In future, the system is primarily intended to supply the adjacent data centre with environmentally friendly solar power.
The expected electricity yield is equivalent to the annual consumption of around 25 two-person households.
New LED lighting in our workshops
Steven Mac Nelly, who was the environmental officer at the time, and Andreas Theune-Hobbs from the Building Management Department led this project: the lighting in the Main Building of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and in the Wood Workshop has been converted to LED technology.
With a budget of just over 40,000 euros, all the workshops there were refitted by June 2025. Alongside the energy savings and reduction in CO₂ emissions, even better lighting was achieved in the workshops, which significantly improves health and safety at work.
External certification under EMAS
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is currently the most relevant system for environmental management and auditing. The scheme helps organisations and businesses to improve their environmental performance and reduce environmental risks. Through EMAS certification, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar aims, as part of the TRAFO project, to secure an effective tool for sustainable operations by the end of 2026. The objectives include, amongst other things, the implementation of operational environmental protection measures, the saving of resources and costs, as well as the creation of an even stronger awareness of sustainable working practices within the university context.
Smart thermostats
Smart thermostats have been installed at Bauhausstraße 7b and Coudraystraße 11c, enabling demand-driven and energy-efficient control of the room temperature.
At B7b, they maintain a set base temperature and increase the temperature on request. At C11c, on the other hand, a time-controlled heating profile with an integrated night-time temperature reduction is in operation. These measures reduce heating consumption, improve energy efficiency in these buildings and reduce CO₂ emissions.
Thuringia: Coursework and Learning Sustainably (ThüLeNa)
Guided by the core principles of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in higher education, the cross-university project ‘Thuringia Teaches and Learns Sustainably’ (ThüLeNa) aims to promote teaching innovations, holistic perspectives and transformative skills in engineering education. ThüLeNa is designed to help increase the appeal of engineering degree programmes and to attract people with an interest in sustainability to work in key sectors dominated by engineering.
The other ThüLeNa project partners are Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, Ilmenau University of Technology, Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences Jena, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences.
The project will run from 2024 to 2028 and is funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
Find out more
SDG Campus
The SDG Campus is a digital learning platform that offers learning resources on technologies in the context of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Courses have been available to students at the eight participating network universities since 2022. The learning resources – in the form of introductory, foundational or advanced courses and challenges – promote interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills, enabling students to tackle global challenges such as the climate crisis, famine or the protection of animals and the environment using technology-based solutions.
The Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education made the development of the SDGCampus possible. It was coordinated by the Technical University of Hamburg and HafenCity University Hamburg as part of the joint project ‘Open T-Shape for Sustainable Development’. In addition to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, other project partners included the Technical University of Dresden, the Technical University of Munich, the Technical University of Berlin and RWTH Aachen University. The project ran from 2022 to 2025, though the resources are, of course, still available for use.
Future Forum for Climate-Friendly Universities (ZKH)
The aim of netzwerk n’s ‘Future Forum for Climate-Friendly Universities’ is to provide support in drawing up a climate protection strategy. It is led by the University of Vechta and the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development. Bauhaus University took part in this project and was able to organise various training courses and consultancy sessions.
"1 per cent rule"
In January 2024, the Senate of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar had responded favourably to a proposal from the Finance & Planning Committee to establish a funding base for climate protection and sustainability measures amounting to 1 per cent of the funds allocated to all budgeted units. Due to financial changes in the overall budget, this model is currently on hold and is to be revisited as soon as possible.
Sustainability Working Group Faculty Civil and Environmental Engineering
Sustainability is a central topic with high social relevance that is anchored in various areas of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In the working group, we are working on the creation of a catalog of measures at faculty level, which will emphasize the importance of sustainability and increase its visibility internally and -externally.
AG Sustainability of the University Library
Since 2022, the working group has been committed to making the UB and the Steubenstrasse site more sustainable, climate-resilient and greener. To this end, we are designing measures to save energy, protect birds in the vicinity of our buildings, improve the waste recycling system, ensure sustainable administration and portfolio development and improve thermal building insulation.
BAUHAUS4EU
The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is the lead partner in the European university alliance ‘BAUHAUS4EU – A European University for Resilient, Sustainable, Inclusive and Beautiful Regions’, an alliance whose objectives include contributing to sustainable and inclusive campus development at all 10 university sites involved in the project. The consortium spans nine European countries and offers the opportunity for a rich, topic-specific exchange of experiences at an international level, taking into account local and regional challenges and solutions. Further information on the alliance and the Green and Inclusive Campus Task Force can be found on this website:
DG HochN
The German Association for Sustainability at Universities (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltigkeit an Hochschulen e.V.) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the sustainable development of universities in Germany. It organises events (hubs) for almost all areas of higher education to discuss sustainability-related issues in a way that is as practical as possible. Participation is free of charge for the members of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
Dates and an invitation to get involved can be found on this website:
Membership of the Thuringian Sustainability Pact
The Thuringian Sustainability Agreement is a voluntary agreement between the Thuringian State Government and the Thuringian business community. The agreement aims to promote sustainable development in Thuringia and focuses on issues such as climate and environmental protection, resource-friendly practices, energy efficiency and social sustainability. The Bauhaus- Universität Weimar has been a member since September 2024. The project is funded by the Thuringian Ministries of Environmental Protection, Energy, and Nature Conservation, as well as by the Thuringian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Science, and Digital Society.
Network n
The n network is a non-profit organisation which, through nationwide projects, highlights ways in which students, PhD candidates and young professionals can contribute to the sustainable development of their universities. The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar was part of the BMWK-funded project ‘Zukunftsforum Klimafreundliche Hochschule’ (ZKH), in which a total of seven German universities are being supported in drawing up a holistic climate protection strategy for their institutions. At our university, for example, there were teaching modules on sustainable mobility known as Bauhaus.Modules. Information on the project, which was completed in July 2026, is available on this website:
