At the Future Campus in Ingolstadt, the Sustainability Competence Cluster will be launched in the 2025/26 winter semester, thus strengthening sustainable development as an interdisciplinary cross-cutting topic in research.

The BayCalc accounting tool, which has been introduced throughout Bavaria, enables universities to record their emissions in a comparable manner. In order to identify a reduction path with regard to mobility-related emissions in Scope 3 of the accounting, the KU is setting out to develop a comprehensive mobility strategy.

The successful cooperation project between THI and the KU for the professional development of trainees from region 10, which was launched in 2024 as part of the BFTR-funded “Mensch in Bewegung” project, is entering its second round. Trainees from the Ingolstadt State Vocational School and the Pfaffenhofen district have successfully completed further training as sustainability coaches and are promoting sustainable development as change agents in their companies.

In the 2025 summer semester, the new Outdoor Classroom  in the park in front of the Main Library is opened and will servce as a place to study open-air and close to nature.

A wall becomes a colorful eye-catcher — and a symbol of a desirable future through community engagement and sustainability! In a participatory mural project, students from the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt are working with citizens to design a 51-meter-long wall near campus.

In a joint project between the Technical University of Ingolstadt (THI) and the KU, and in cooperation with the municipal company Strukturentwicklung Pfaffenhofen a.d.Ilm (KUS), the first group of trainees in region 10 were trained from March to June 2024 to become sustainability scouts or sustainability coaches for corporate sustainability.

KU once again scores top positions in the international THE Impact Ranking

In the Times Higher Education International University Impact Ranking 2024, the KU ranks among the top universities in several areas. In the area of “High-quality education” (SDG4), it ranks first among German universities and 51st worldwide out of 1,681 universities evaluated in this category. The KU also leads the field in Germany in the areas of “Sustainable Consumption and Production” (SDG12) and “Climate Action” (SDG 13), achieving top rankings and a place in the TOP100. The KU also achieved a good result (ranking 201-300) in “Sustainable Cities and Communities” (SDG11), which the KU included in the competition for the first time. For the KU, the outstanding performance in the ranking is confirmation of its long-standing and diverse activities and motivation to further develop in the area of sustainability.

Since November 2023, the KU has been maintaining its own research and educational forest with 1,525 oak, hornbeam, fluttering elm, and checker trees, which was created in cooperation with the Ingolstadt-Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm Office for Food, Agriculture, and Forestry (AELF) and the village of Nassenfels in the Adelschlag forest district. The forest is intended to serve as a research laboratory, with its reforestation and growth being scientifically monitored. At the same time, the forest will be integrated into the KU's teaching program (e.g., seminars in landscape analysis and nature conservation, climatological terrain and analysis methods, theses) and into the network of learning centers for sustainability.

A new position for sustainability coordination in the field of ESD has been established since 2023. The position is the contact person within the KU for didactic concepts for education for sustainable development. In addition, she heads the ESD and Education Research Coordination Office within BayZen.

KU participated in the Times Higher Education (THE) international impact ranking for the first time and achieved very good results in several fields. In particular, the University achieved a top international ranking of 55th place in the area of “High-quality education” (Sustainable Development Goal 4). A total of 1,304 universities worldwide submitted data for this sustainability goal.

For over 13 years, the KU has been addressing sustainability issues as a comprehensive cross-cutting topic for the entire institution. This also includes a commitment to fair trade. KU has once again been awarded the title of “Fairtrade University.”

KU remains in the top ten in Pro Recyclingpapier's university competition

In the nationwide Paper Atlas University Competition organized by the Pro Recycling Paper Initiative, the KU once again ranks among the top ten colleges and universities in Germany that specifically use recycled paper with the Blue Angel label—the highest ecological standard for paper. The patron of the competition, in which 54 universities and colleges participated this year, is Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke. Compared to virgin fiber paper, recycled paper saves an average of 78 percent water and 68 percent energy in production and causes significantly less CO2 emissions. “The KU is thus making an important contribution to climate and resource protection”, emphasizes the Pro Recycling Paper Initiative.

The goal of KU's new development plan is to advance the University's strategic development until 2030 in a consistent, sustainable, and transparent manner. Goals and milestones are defined for all areas of the University's work: research, teaching and knowledge transfer, governance and infrastructure, as well as the cross-cutting topics of internationalization, sustainability, equality and diversity, family friendliness, and inclusion.

By creating the full-time position of Chief Sustainability Officer, the Catholic University is emphasizing the importance of sustainability as a strategic task for the KU. The KU is the first University in Bavaria to implement this position.

With the help of phenology, researchers study the annually recurring stages of plant development and document changes in weather and climate based on the onset of flowering or leaf color change. With the International Phenological Gardens (IPG), Prof. Dr. Susanne Jochner-Oette has taken on the scientific management and coordination of an established European network in this field of research, which has been in existence for around 70 years.  

With the School of Transformation and Sustainability, the KU has established a faculty specifically dedicated to addressing the major challenges of our time. Its innovative structure and program are designed to analyze and accompany the political, social, and ecological changes of the present. Through innovative thinking and co-creative collaboration with our fellows and practice partners worldwide, we are systematically expanding the boundaries of our knowledge at the faculty—for successful sustainable development.

https://www.ku.de/sts

The KU is one of six founding members of the new Bavarian Center for Higher Education and Sustainability (BayZeN). BayZeN sees itself as a “think tank” with the aim of improving the framework conditions for sustainable development and climate protection – with and through Bavarian universities. It focuses on long-term, institutionalized cooperation between universities. The center is based on the “Network for Higher Education and Sustainability in Bavaria” initiated in 2012, particularly by the KU.

In March 2022, the KU was recognized in the UNESCO program “Education for Sustainable Development: Achieving the Global Sustainability Goals (ESD 2030)” as a place of learning for ESD that has contributed to sustainable development in an exemplary manner over many years.

⇒ Read press release here

Since July 2022, Patrizia Hartmann has been the KU's sustainability coordinator, succeeding Ina Limmer. One of her main responsibilities is coordinating the KU's Green Office sustainability office and the supplementary degree program in sustainable development.
Patrizia Hartmann is also working as cluster manager for sustainable development in the “Mensch in Bewegung” transfer project until the end of 2022.

In spring 2022, the KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt opened its new Institute for Machine Learning and Data Science in Ingolstadt. It is a central component in establishing a focus on digitalization at the KU. Working groups at MIDS are involved in a variety of third-party-funded interdisciplinary projects that deal with various facets of KU's focus area of sustainability.

Since November 2021, Dr. Frank Zirkl has been the KU's campus sustainability manager, succeeding Johannes Baumann. One focus of his work is coordinating sustainability management in accordance with EMASplus and shaping the KU's path to climate neutrality.

The new Overall Sustainability Concept lays down the development goals for 2030 in the six action areas: governance, research, teaching, transfer, student commitment, and initiatives.
As part of the update, the action areas were expanded to include transfer, student commitment and initiatives, and governance.

Overall Sustainability Concept 2020-2030

On April 1, 2020, Prof. Dr. Anne-Kathrin Lindau took over the position of Sustainability Officer. As the successor to Prof. Dr. Ingrid Hemmer, she continues to promote sustainability at the KU.

Also since April 01, Prof. Dr. Klaus Stüwe (Vice President for International Affairs and Profile Development) has been the person responsible and contact person for the University Management in the area of sustainability.

The KU is a member of the newly founded German Society for Sustainability at Universities (DG HochN) and is represented on the board of DG HochN, which was founded in April 2020, by Prof. Dr. Ingrid Hemmer.

Furthermore, an external evaluation of the KU's sustainability activities was conducted in 2019. The focus of the expert panel consisting of Prof. Dr. Inka Bormann and Dr. Sebastian Niedlich (Freie Universität Berlin), Prof. Dr. Georg Müller-Christ (University of Bremen), Prof. Dr. Markus Vogt (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich), and Joachim Müller (HIS Institute for Higher Education Development) was on the implementation of the 2019 sustainability concept, the validity of the new concept's goals, and the structures created since 2010.

The conclusion was that "(...) the KU is one of the leading universities in Germany in terms of its content and structural commitment to sustainable development. With regard to some specific aspects (e.g., continuous reporting on sustainability, the whole-institution approach, and EMAS plus certification), the KU's actions are also exemplary. With the evaluation step, the KU is also entering a new field that has not yet been realized by any other university and has been expressly welcomed by experts from the scientific community."

The aim of the MoU is to improve the framework conditions for sustainability at, with, and through Bavarian universities. Based on a shared understanding of sustainability, the network's stakeholders are joining forces to strengthen sustainability across the entire institution in the areas of research, teaching, operations, governance, transfer, and student initiatives. More information is available here.

In January 2018, the transfer project “Mensch in Bewegung” was launched in collaboration with the Technical University of Ingolstadt. It will be funded until the end of 2022 as part of the “Innovative University” program (BMBF). One focus of the project is also to promote engagement with social challenges, such as global sustainable development.

In 2016, a position for sustainability coordination was created to support the implementation of the sustainability concept, particularly in the areas of teaching, student commitment, and transfer.

Ina Limmer held this position since 2016.

In January 2014, the University Management established sustainability as a key action area in the KU's development plan and defined sustainability guidelines.

Since then, an environmental (EMAS) and sustainability program (EMASplus) has been developed annually and approved by the University Management.

The successes and progress made were first described in the KU's sustainability report in 2012.

The Chancellor, Mr. Thomas Kleinert, has been appointed as the person responsible for sustainability within the University Management.

In 2012, a position for a campus environmental manager was created to prepare for EMAS certification, which was successfully achieved at the beginning of 2015.
Johannes Baumann held this position from 2013 to 2021.

• Sustainability Officer: With the appointment of Prof. Dr. Ingrid Hemmer as Sustainability Officer by the University Management in July 2010, initial responsibilities were created to promote sustainable development at the KU.
• Formation of a steering group: At the end of 2012, a steering group was convened with committed employees from the faculties and relevant science support areas, as well as students from the environmental department, to support the Sustainability Officer in the implementation process.

• Research training group: From 2010 to 2013, the Research Training Group “Sustainability in Environment, Economy, and Society” supported research on the ecological, social, economic, and cultural consequences of using resources from the natural environment. The final volume can be viewed here.
• Master's degree in “Geography: Education for Sustainable Development": In the 2010/2011 winter semester, the Master's degree program in “Geography: Education for Sustainable Development,” which is unique in Germany, was launched. In May 2011, it was designated an official German project of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

• Sustainability concept: On December 1, 2010, the University Management approved the KU's sustainability concept, which was developed by the sustainability officer in collaboration with students. It includes goals for the areas of research, teaching, and campus management. The specific measures for achieving these goals have been formulated and evaluated in an annual environmental and sustainability program since 2015.
• Foundation charter of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt: Article 3, paragraph 5 of the KU's Foundation Charter dated September 15, 2010 states that the University “...in research and teaching, takes into account and deepens in particular the Christian view of humanity and the ethical principles of personality, justice, solidarity, subsidiarity, and sustainability...”
• Sustainability communication: In its 2/2010 issue, the KU research magazine (“Agora”) focused on efforts to create a sustainable university. The issue featuring the article “Daring to be more sustainable – Universities are also called upon to orient themselves towards sustainability as a guiding principle in research, teaching and institutional matters” is also available on our website.

Starting in summer 2008, the KU set new priorities with new environmental activities. The Student Representative Council won a prize in the Generation D ideas competition with its “Sustainable Campus” initiative.

The student environmental department was founded in 1990, and parallel to the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the first environmental lecture series was initiated, which continues to this day with a few interruptions.

⇒ More information about the environmental department

From 1994 to 1998, the KU worked closely with partners from industry, local authorities, and associations to implement the Altmühltal Agenda 21 project, making it one of the first Universities in Germany to participate in a transdisciplinary process aimed at embedding the concept of sustainable development in society.

In 1995, the Altmühltal Agenda 21 project became a contribution by the Federal Republic of Germany – with an award from Federal President Herzog – to the European Year of Nature Conservation. A project area entitled “Sustainable University” was established within the Altmühltal Agenda 21 project, and the concept “Sustainable University – An Environmental Concept for the Catholic University of Eichstätt” was submitted to the Senate for approval by an interfaculty project group. This was preceded by a comprehensive environmental check of the KU by the KHG's AK Umwelt (Environmental Working Group) in 1990.

In 1995, the Environmental Department and the Student Convention founded the Franz von Assisi Akademie zum Schutz der Erde e.V. (Francis of Assisi Academy for the Protection of the Earth) as a global and transdisciplinary think tank, which was incorporated into the KU by contract until 1999. The TELE 21 project was of great importance: Regional Innovation, Telematics towards Agenda 21 (1998-2000) in collaboration with the district of Neumarkt, Rome, and Wales. Under the direction of Prof. Greca and with a budget of around DM 7 million, the project focused on research areas such as sustainability and digitization, sustainability management for SMEs, and Local Agenda 21 in Rome and Neumarkt.

⇒ More information here.