Dialogue for greener campus life: TU Chemnitz initiates exchange!

Dialogue for greener campus life: TU Chemnitz initiates exchange!

On July 4, 2025, Chemnitz University of Technology (TUC) took an important step towards a more inviting campus design. TUCaktuell Campus AG Sustainability has launched a discussion project dedicated to improving the quality of stay on the campus. This space, located between the central lecture hall and seminar building and the cafeteria, is perceived as uninviting by members of the university. Prof. Dr. Marlen Arnold, Rectorate Representative for Sustainable Campus Development, supports this project and points to empirical findings that support this perception. The Sustainability Working Group plans to contact all of the university's status groups in order to document actual impressions and collect suggestions for improvement.

In order to promote dialogue, a contact point will be set up on the forecourt of the central lecture hall and seminar building by July 10, 2025. Several dialogue dates have been scheduled for this purpose: on July 4th, 2025 and from July 7th to 9th, 2025, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. There will also be special guests including a sustainability expert on July 8, 2025 at 2:45 p.m. and an urban designer on July 9, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. The event series concludes with an event to evaluate initial ideas and an outlook on July 10, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. Those interested also have the opportunity to leave their thoughts and ideas digitally at a collection point.

Commitment to sustainability

The Department of Ecology and Sustainability (NATUC) at Chemnitz University also contributes to promoting climate awareness and climate justice. It organizes weekly meetings to work on various projects and invites interested parties to actively participate in these events. This commitment to sustainability is in the context of a broader goal for Chemnitz University of Technology to become a fair trade university.

The university, student council (StuRa) and student union have been working on the application for the Fairtrade University label for over a year. This initiative is added by the fact that on November 2, 2023, the cafeteria forecourt was rented to the fashion label SHEIN, indicating concerns about its compatibility with the objectives of the Fairtrade label. SHEIN opposes the concept of fair trade, further complicating the security situation for the Fairtrade initiative at the university.

The Fairtrade campaign

As part of these efforts for more fairness and sustainability, the German Student Union welcomes the Fairtrade Universities campaign. This campaign specifies the topics of sustainability and offers a structured framework for the universities' commitment. Universities are seen as important institutions for education, research and self-study, and the student and student unions in Germany play a central role in this.

With a constant focus on ecological responsibility and social justice, over 950 university catering facilities operate sustainably, including more than 400 canteens and cafés. Many of these establishments already use fair trade products such as coffee and tea, further supporting fair trade efforts. The German Student Union wishes the Fairtrade Universities campaign much success and hopes that numerous universities will take part.

For further information about the event details or the results of the dialogue project, those interested can contact the following contact details:
Prof. Dr. Marlen Gabriele Arnold: Telephone 0371 531-37012, Email: sustainability@wirtschaft.tu-chemnitz.de
Simone Günther: Telephone 0371 531-33887, Email: simone.guenther@wiwi.tu-chemnitz.de
Jan Reissmann: Telephone 0371 531-37467, Email: jan.reissmann@mb.tu-chemnitz.de