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EMAS at the University of Kassel - Ecological Agricultural Sciences goes Environmental Management
With the European environmental management system EMAS, the European Union has developed an instrument that offers management methods for compliance with the environmental regulations applicable to the organization and for the continuous improvement of environmental performance and verifies their success with an environmental audit.
The primary goal of the project at the University of Kassel is to initially test the EMAS environmental management system at the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences, including the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen, in order to establish long-term structures for the sustainable development of the department and to test existing structures. Due to its specialization in ecological issues, the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences has long held an outstanding position in the German and international university landscape. By conducting the pilot study, the department aims to further strengthen its position, systematically identify further potential for improvement and thus make its processes more sustainable overall and influence them.
So far, five workshops have taken place over the course of a year. The aim was initially to identify ecological improvement potential in the operational fields of action and to formulate concrete measures. With the involvement of all department members, an initial list of over 80 possible measures to improve environmental performance was drawn up. These include, for example, switching to LED lighting and motion detectors, more renewable energy generation at the department, investment measures to promote sustainable mobility and taking sustainability criteria into account in procurement. In the next step, these measures will be evaluated in terms of cost, potential obstacles, financial resources required and their acceptance, and thus concretized in an initial package of measures. In addition, the key environmental aspects were identified and weaknesses and the need for action were pointed out. At the same time, the first draft version of the environmental policy has also been prepared and will be presented to the Faculty Council in April 2021. These are supplementary guidelines that form the framework for defining specific environmental objectives and are based on the key environmental aspects and weaknesses. The preparation of the environmental statement is then the final project step for the time being. The extent to which an assessment by an external expert will be carried out has not yet been decided.
The process will be supported by the EMAS project team, represented by the Pro-Dean of Faculty 11, Prof. Christian Herzig, and the departmental advisor, Dr. Christin Schipmann-Schwarze, as well as the Coordination Office for Integrated Sustainability Management in Operations, Georg Mösbauer and Nadine Chrubasik.
Contact
Integrated sustainability management in operations
Department V - Construction, Technology, Real Estate
Group VC - Occupational safety and environmental protection
Georg Mösbauer, Tel: 3811
Nadine Chrubasik, Tel: 2519