TU Braunschweig raises the UN flag: a strong sign of sustainability!

TU Braunschweig raises the UN flag: a strong sign of sustainability!

On May 12, 2025, the Technical University of Braunschweig sent an important signal for sustainable development by hoisting the flag of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on University Square. This public commitment to responsibility for sustainable development and the goal of a climate-neutral university is an essential step in the context of the global call to action that the SDGs represent. Professor Manfred Krafczyk, Vice President for Digitalization and Sustainability, highlighted the central role of sustainability in the university's performance and explained that the path to greater ecological responsibility should also be seen as an opportunity.

The university founded the Sustainability Working Group in 2019, which was able to bring the topic further into general awareness. The establishment of a Sustainability Council, which includes representatives of all status groups from university members to business, further strengthens this process. Students also have the opportunity to actively participate in decision-making processes through their own representatives and the General Student Committee (AStA). This shows how important it is to integrate all stakeholders involved in order to develop sustainable solutions.

Measures and strategies

The sustainability strategy of TU Braunschweig follows the “Whole Institution Approach”, which includes sustainability in teaching, research, transfer and administration. Professor Krafczyk, who has also been climate protection officer since 2024, reports that the university has already received awards such as the Fairtrade University and the TUmorrow Awards. These successes are the results of concrete measures that are intended to put the university on the path to becoming a climate-neutral institution.

• Energieeffiziente Neubauten und Sanierungen
• Ausbau der Photovoltaik
• Integration der Digitalisierung als Querschnittsthema

Another important building block is the “Roadmap CO₂ Neutrality”, which aims to achieve a climate-neutral university in the first half of the 2030s. The legal requirements in Lower Saxony call for CO₂ neutrality by 2040, which further encourages the university. The TU Braunschweig also has high energy consumption, comparable to that of a small town. An integrated climate protection concept is therefore being created, which is regularly monitored through a greenhouse gas balance.

National and international cooperation

However, the challenges of sustainable development cannot be overcome by universities alone. The TU Braunschweig therefore cooperates with external partners in the Sustainability Network of Lower Saxony Universities (HochNiNa) and in the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN). With the founding of the Braunschweig climate protection network, a further step is being taken to jointly develop effective solutions.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all UN member states in 2015, is considered the benchmark. This contains 17 sustainability goals that aim to end poverty, improve health and education and effectively combat climate change while protecting oceans and forests. To monitor the progress of the SDGs, the annual High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development serves as a central UN platform.

As part of the World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which ran from 2005 to 2014, the foundation was laid for promoting sustainability in educational institutions. Universities, like the TU Braunschweig, are required to integrate sustainability into research, teaching and interdisciplinary interaction in order to drive change. The University Rectors' Conference has also taken up this topic and sees the role of universities in the sustainable development process as central.

The commitment of TU Braunschweig is a visible sign of the necessary responsibility that universities bear to actively address the global challenges of sustainability. The initiative to develop solutions together with other actors is an important step towards achieving the SDGs and the UN's climate goals.

You can find out more about the SDGs and their importance for sustainable development on the official UN website SDGs. Further information about the universities' efforts in the area of ​​sustainability can be found on the website University Rectors' Conference.

The TU Braunschweig has big plans and is actively committed to a sustainable future. The commitment of this institution could serve as a model for other universities and help ensure that sustainability becomes a central part of academic life. Further details about TU Braunschweig's initiatives can be found in Magazine of the TU Braunschweig.