HNEE receives German Sustainability Award

The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) has received the German Sustainability Award. Chancellor Markus Koenecke accepted the award at the official gala on 28 November. A total of 100 winners from 20 sectors and industries were honoured as part of the 17th German Sustainability Day with over 1200 guests in Düsseldorf.

HNEE received the award as a driving force for sustainable development. HNEE's holistic approach, its continuous work and the comprehensive commitment of all university members to sustainability make the university unique among educational institutions and is recognised for this.

Sustainability anchored in the curriculum, the focussed range of courses on the tasks of social transformation, strong research with one of the highest proportions of third-party funded research in Germany and multi-award-winning sustainability management are the hallmarks of the Brandenburg university, which has been climate-neutral for 10 years. Since it was founded in 1992, HNEE has been teaching its students the skills they need to successfully transform into a sustainable society. In 2010, Eberswalde University of Applied Sciences changed its name to reflect its focus on sustainability: Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.

With the presentation of the German Sustainability Award by the jury of the German Sustainability Award with 224 members (each expert jury with around five experts) from research, associations, consulting and civil society, it is at the forefront of the transformation process in the German educational landscape.

Prof. Dr Matthias Barth, President of HNEE, is delighted with the public recognition of the continuous commitment and work of all university members. For him, it is the constructive and creative impulses that anchor sustainability in the economy and society and support social development towards greater sustainability.

Kerstin Kräusche, Sustainability Officer at HNEE, also sees the German Sustainability Award as a special honour for HNEE's comprehensive commitment. For her, it shows that a transformation towards sustainability can succeed in all areas of a university. This includes research, teaching and administration, but also the opportunities for students and all other university members to participate in shaping sustainable university life.

The award ceremony for the 100 pioneers in the field of sustainability took place on 28 November in Düsseldorf in front of around 1,200 guests. In addition, exemplary achievements in the transformation fields of resources, society, nature and climate were honoured with special and honorary prizes.

This year's German Sustainability Award was presented in a two-stage competition based on AI-supported research, the involvement of expert juries and a proprietary scoring system.

The rbb visited us on this topic and got an idea of what it was like.

 

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