Climate neutrality by 2030

The climate protection strategy, originally drawn up in 2021, sets out a concrete path to climate neutrality by 2030 and comprises 122 measures across ten key areas of action. At the end of 2025, the updated strategy was unanimously adopted by the senate.

Sustainable mobility is one of the key themes: the ‘FahrRad’ semester in 2026 serves as a prime example of how sustainability can be implemented in everyday university life.

In this year’s ‘Stadtradeln’ cycle challenge, Fulda University of Applied Sciences fielded the largest of Fulda’s 35 teams, with 57 active participants. Together, the university community covered 7,288 kilometres across 884 individual journeys. In the local rankings, the Fulda University of Applied Sciences team came seventh. The ‘FahrRad’ semester thus contributes to making everyday journeys more climate-friendly and supporting sustainable mobility at the university.

Responsibility for drawing up and implementing the climate protection strategy lies with the Sustainability Office, headed by Clarissa Plendl. The strategy was developed in close collaboration with the Facilities Management team and other members of the university community. For each area of action, a baseline assessment, an assessment of previous measures and an updated catalogue of measures were drawn up. The strategy follows the principle of ‘reduction before substitution before offsetting’: priority is given to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, followed by replacing climate-damaging resources with more environmentally friendly alternatives and – where necessary – offsetting them.

In addition to mobility, a specialisation is placed on heating. As the provision of heating for the university’s buildings accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions, the plan envisages, amongst other things, the use of heat pumps or connection to a district heating network as possible solutions. Commuter transport is to be addressed more comprehensively in a separate plan for sustainable mobility. This is expected in spring 2027 and is intended to comprise further measures for the transition to climate-friendly modes of transport.

Even against the backdrop of the planned watering down of the Hessian Climate Protection Act, Fulda University of Applied Sciences intends to continue pursuing its climate protection targets with the same determination. The implementation of the 122 measures will be driven forward in the coming years by the Sustainability Office in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. A further update of the climate protection strategy is planned for 2030.