Sustainability Innovation Campus

Goals

The Upper Rhine region is already being hit particularly hard by the consequences of climate change, and they will become increasingly severe in the coming years. These circumstances call for swift and targeted action. The idea of the innovation campus is to create a research and transformation hub for sustainability innovations – internationally visible and regionally effective.

To “Klimaanalyse Südlicher Oberrhein”

(REKLISO) (German only)

The need for profound social transformation in the area of sustainability is also reflected in the coalition agreement of the Baden-Württemberg state government: The State of Baden-Württemberg has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2040.

The status quo

In December 2022, the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament passed the budget for the years 2023 and 2024, which includes an initial one million euros in funding for ICN in the year 2024. The ICN is also being supported by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation during its start-up phase

Press Release “Innovation Campus Sustainability included in state budget”

On 4 October 2023, the University of Freiburg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) invited representatives from science, industry, politics, and civil society to an initial information and network meeting under the motto ‘Transformations for Urban Regions of the Future: Climate Protection, Resource Conservation, and Well-Being’. Participants discussed ideas for shaping the three innovation fields of climate protection, resource conservation, and well-being in working groups and in a panel discussion.

Audience at the Sustainability Innovation Campus (ICN) kickoff events, including Rector Krieglstein and Minister of Science Olschowski

The kick-off on 24 January 2024 marked the official launch of the Innovation Campus Sustainability (ICN). At the opening event in Freiburg, Science Minister Petra Olschowski announced the first three projects to receive two years of funding as part of the ICN. In addition, three other exploratory projects will receive seed money funding.

The Projects

Two-year funding

ZUKAMAS: ZUkunftsorientiertes KlimAwandel-MAanagement für Städtische Grünflächen

Urban vegetation, particularly trees, plays a vital role in city life. It cools urban areas, regulates water cycles, and enhances residents’ well-being and quality of life. However, climate change poses a significant threat to these benefits. To keep our cities livable, we must scientifically monitor the health of urban flora and evaluate the effectiveness of various treatment approaches.

The project’s goal is to understand how green spaces and urban trees can help adapt urban environments along the Upper Rhine Graben to climate change. This includes identifying suitable tree species and analyzing the ecosystem services trees provide. The project will work alongside citizens and urban planners to develop strategies for preserving urban greenery.

The project aims to involve the public extensively in its research and findings, raising awareness about the importance of urban green spaces and their preservation.

Sustainability Transformation of Community Catering

The project aims to make a lasting impact on the food system’s sustainability by focusing on one of its key sectors: communal catering in administrations, schools, hospitals, care homes, and businesses. In the coming years, significant efforts will be needed to reshape communal catering to consistently benefit the regional economy, protect the climate and biodiversity, and enhance public health and well-being.

The project envisions a future where every communal catering facility offers delicious, healthy meals produced through eco-friendly, regenerative, and fair practices, primarily sourcing from regional agriculture and food industries. These meals will be resource-efficient and climate-friendly. Pricing will be structured to ensure accessibility for all while covering all costs.

To achieve this goal, the project’s researchers and practitioners are investigating the implementation of evidence-based sustainable practices across the entire catering process – from planning and procurement to preparation, consumption, and recycling. They are also examining the necessary political and financial frameworks to support these changes.

Visions of Sustainability

This project uses transdisciplinary research in conjunction with a solution-oriented environmental film series on sustainability issues. Its aims are to better understand: 1) What motivates citizens of various ages and backgrounds to engage with this type of cultural offering, 2) how these citizens interact and debate with experts, 3) what lessons they carry into their daily lives, 4) how to support them in developing practical skills for action.

The project partners include the Harmonie Kino Freiburg, where the film series will be screened starting in October, the Greenmotions Film Festival staff, and the Volkshochschule Freiburg, who have jointly developed an accompanying program.

Christine Buchheit, Freiburg’s Mayor for Environment, Forestry and Waste Management, Youth, Schools and Education, serves as the project’s patron.

Seed money funding

PROLOK – Process Scheme for Localised Heat Adaptation in Small Municipalities

Rising temperatures due to climate change are threatening health, well-being, and quality of life. There is an urgent need to develop skills and concrete measures to address these progressive changes.

To date, small municipalities have lacked a systematic approach to deal with heat waves, particularly in the context of urban-rural relationships. These communities, often constrained by limited human and financial resources, are the primary focus of this project.

The PROLOK project aims to build capacity for preventive and innovative heat hazard management in these small municipalities. This effort contributes to sustainable development and builds upon the transdisciplinary LoKlim project (2020-2023).

KBR-Innovation-Communities – Strengthening and Consolidating Innovation Communities on the Basis of the Climate Citizens’ Council of the Freiburg Region

Achieving Sustainability Through Democratic Transformation

This project aims to establish an Innovation Community (IC) – an active network empowered by transfer and implementation partners. The IC will cooperatively solve problems related to measurable climate protection progress through democratic action.

By creating shared experiences of successful transformation, the project seeks to strengthen collective climate protection efforts, boost self-efficacy, promote transformation-oriented attitudes, enhance trust in democracy, and improve personal well-being.

A key implementation measure is the creation of a regional photovoltaic (PV) transformation community. This community will comprise civil society actors, energy consultants, and sustainable solar traders and craftspeople. Their goal is to activate neighborhood tours in Freiburg, promoting solar energy adoption.

NaWo-Collab – Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Sustainable Living and Building

The NaWo-Collab exploratory project taps into regional resources and potential to develop innovative, sustainable housing solutions. It focuses on utilizing geothermal and solar energy sources, as well as residual forest wood from areas like the Black Forest.

These approaches aim to sustainably transform the existing housing stock while bolstering the regional economy, particularly in the skilled trades sector. The project’s goal is to create a comprehensive package of measures that will accelerate the implementation of climate targets in housing in a socially equitable manner.

Through these efforts, the Upper Rhine region is set to become a model for climate-adapted housing concepts, with relevance extending far beyond its borders.

The Research Approach: Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science

The scientists of ICN follow approaches of transformative and transdisciplinary sustainability science, which are characterized especially by the following five criteria:

a comprehensive reference to sustainability,
a solution orientation,
interdisciplinarity based on excellent disciplinary research,
transdisciplinarity,
as well as reflexivity and adaptation.

In doing so, they link engineering development work with social science issues from the outset.

The Fields of Innovation

The fields of innovation of ICN – climate protection, resource conservation, and well-being – are based on the sustainable development goals (SDG for short) of the United Nations in the areas of climate adaptation and mitigation (SDG 13), resource efficiency/resource conservation (SDG 7,12,14,15) and societal well-being (SDG 2,3). At the same time, the fields of innovation are a reflection of the three sustainability dimensions economy, environment, and society. All processes, projects, and activities of ICN are located in these areas and at their intersections. The goals of the three fields of innovation are closely interlinked and are taken into account accordingly in each case.

Climate protection

The application-oriented basic research conducted in the climate protection field of innovation aims to achieve climate neutrality in Baden-Württemberg by no later than 2040 – well ahead of the federal government – despite relatively low wind power potential and while maintaining economic value creation.

Resource conservation

This field of innovation is about facilitating the transformation towards sustainable resource conservation, circular economy, and bioeconomy. The goal is to develop the Upper Rhine region into a model region for sustainable products, processes, services, and infrastructures, also including innovative regional value creation to strengthen rural regions.

Well-being

The ICN’s understanding of well-being encompasses individual, social, economic, and ecological aspects. Accordingly, the solution-oriented research in this field of innovation aims to enhance the well-being of all citizens in the Upper Rhine region through systemic changes.

Strong Networks: Together for Sustainability

Sustainability Innovation Campus (ICN) - Networks of the University of Freiburg and the KIT

A big goal requires strong networks so that urban regions on the Upper Rhine, which are particularly affected by climate change and at the same time strong in innovation, can become laboratories for system innovations. The applicant universities UFR (with the university medical centre) and KIT form the core of these networks.

In addition, actors from numerous other fields are instrumental for the development and implementation of the research at ICN, as the vision of ICN can only be realized through their involvement. They include partners from the private sector; (non-university) research institutes; cities, municipalities, and rural districts; civil society, including NGOs; chambers and professional associations as well as research and business promoters; media; etc.

News

Sustainable Transformations – FRIAS Lunch Lectures

In the winter semester 2024/25:
Wednesdays, 12 to 1 p.m

via Zoom, in English

The FRIAS Lunch Lectures in the winter semester are dedicated to the topic of ‘Sustainable Transformations’ and provide insights into the university’s research in the field of sustainability. They are organised by the Young Academy for Sustainability Research at FRIAS and the Sustainability Innovation Campus. The English-language lectures will feature interdisciplinary tandems and take place on Wednesdays from 12 to 1 p.m. only via Zoom.

Documentation of Past Events

Workshop on communal catering (07.11.2024)

At the beginning of November, a workshop of the ICN project Sustainability Transformation of Community Catering took place in Karlsruhe. The topic of the workshop was how municipalities can organise sustainable communal catering. In addition to presentations on the design of community catering and examples from municipal practice, the participants were able to obtain further information and exchange ideas at the two workshops.

Prof Dr Arnim Wiek and Dr David Sipple at the workshop ‘Municipalities design sustainable community catering’ of the Innovation Campus Sustainability (ICN)

Käpsele Innovation Festival (15 July 2024)

The Käpsele Innovation Festival took place for the first time on the grounds of the ZMF on 15 July 2024. The ICN was represented by Dr Nina Kulawik, who discussed the limits of green technologies with Karlkristian Dischinger, CEO kd-holding GmbH, Andreas Schäfer, Business Development Manager Hydrogen, Lisa Langer, CFO ionysis and Florian Reiners, founder of Wiferion GmbH. With 600 guests, the festival was fully booked and the ICN with its two Freiburg managing directors was able to introduce itself to a broad regional audience and further expand its network.

Hochschulsymposium München (15/16 May 2024)

On 15 and 16 May, Dr Dörte Peters was a guest on behalf of the ICN at the XVII Hochschulsymposiumin Munich entitled ‘Sustainability in science: the need for new forms of cooperation’. Lectures, panel discussions and personal exchanges highlighted the importance of creating space for dialogue between science, politics, business and society.

TransferAllianz Conference (7 May 2024)

On 7 May, Dr Nina Kulawik participated in the panel ‘Impact mit Nachhaltigkeit’ at the TransferAllianz conference on behalf of the ICN. The session dealt with the design of transfer activities with regard to sustainability and the selection of suitable sustainability concepts. The discussion showed why it is worthwhile for scientific institutions to emphasise the topic of sustainability in transfer. It focussed in particular on the important role of interfaces such as the ICN and the significance of transdisciplinarity in the transfer of knowledge in science and society. Other speakers included Christian Brei, Vice President of Leuphana University Lüneburg, and Isabel Gomez, Managing Director of C2C LAB, Berlin. At the conference, the ICN was presented to a broad audience from science and society and valuable contacts were made.

Kick-off of the ICN projects (7 May 2024)

On 7 May 2024, the kick-off of the ICN projects took place in the Senate Hall of the KIT in Karlsruhe. This event centred on the special, transformative and transdisciplinary character of the innovation campus model recently established by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The aim of the workshop was to exchange information on the specifics of the ICN across all projects, to enable close networking between the projects, and to optimise their work during the ICN’s development phase. The workshop served to find out where the individual projects stand, where they want to go and how they can be interlinked with the overall concept of the ICN and its structure.

As a result, numerous synergies emerged between the funded projects in the areas of transformation/innovation, for example with regard to the potential linking of the various innovation ecosystems, which can contribute to better visibility and greater reach of the projects.

Full documentation of the kick-off of the ICN projects

(German only)

_ICN_Kick-Off Projekte_Ergebnisse (749 kB), 6. June 2024

Kicking off the ICN (24 January 2024)

At the ICN kick-off event on 24 January 2024 in Freiburg, Minister of Science Petra Olschowski announced and presented the ICN ’s first three start-up projects and three exploratory projects. Read more in the ICN kick-off press release.

ICN kick-off press release “The Sustainability Innovation Campus is Launched”

Initial information and network meeting (4 October 2023)

On 4 October 2023, the University of Freiburg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) invited representatives from science, industry, politics, and civil society to an initial information and network meeting under the motto ‘Transformations for Urban Regions of the Future: Climate Protection, Resource Conservation, and Well-Being’. Participants discussed ideas for shaping the three innovation fields of climate protection, resource conservation, and well-being in working groups and in a panel discussion.

‘The enthusiastic response and intensive exchange between the participants have already stimulated the development of the campus at this early planning stage’, says Daniela Kleinschmit, the University of Freiburg’s Vice Rector for Internationalization and Sustainability. ‘We want to start building up a network as early as possible, because this will be decisive for the work and the success of the Sustainability Innovation Campus – and we are very much looking forward to intensifying and expanding the network’.