Implementing sustainability culture
Here you will find all information about our offers and projects
A swap shelf has been located in the University Administration (UV) work café since August 2023. This is used to give unused items a new lease of life.
Are you interested in setting up a swap shelf in your department? We will be happy to advise you!
Our flowering benches were created with the help of many hard-working hands as part of a hands-on campaign in the summer semester of 2024 and have been making our concrete-heavy campus a little greener ever since.
As a small oasis on the forum square in front of the Audimax, they contribute to both improving the quality of stay and supporting local biodiversity in line with Ruhr University Bochum's sustainability strategy.
We would like to thank everyone who helped and hope you enjoy spending time here!
The aim of our "Sustainable Campus Walk" is to show what sustainability activities are already taking place at Ruhr-Universität.
As part of the walk, we will visit various places together where sustainability is already being practised. Learn about options for bicycle mobility, repair workshops, food sharing programmes and sustainable initiatives, among other things.
We will also provide background information on sustainability at RUB and a space for dialogue.
Further information about the walk can be found here.
You can find the current dates under Events.
Pilot project for CO₂ compensation at RUB: Setting an example for more sustainability together!
Excursions are an essential part of the Geography degree programme, as well as some other degree programmes at RUB. Air travel is often unavoidable, which raises the question of how this can be made compatible with ecological responsibility. A new pilot project, initiated from a study project, now offers an opportunity to meet this challenge. The main aim is to take a step towards taking responsibility for one's own ecological footprint.
In collaboration with BoGa Freundeskreis e.V., a concept has been developed that enables students to voluntarily offset some of their CO₂ emissions from excursions. The aim is not to offset the emissions 1:1, but to take a step in the right direction within the scope of individual possibilities and at the same time to promote a sustainable project at RUB. An Araucaria grove for the Botanical Garden.
Donations can be made simply and easily via the following bank details:
Volksbank Bochum-Witten
IBAN: DE96 4306 0129 0145 7520 00
Purpose: Donation Botanical Garden (Compensation pilot project)
The amount of the donation is freely selectable and can be adapted to your own possibilities. If you would like to orientate yourself on the CO₂ balance of your trip, you will find helpful tools such as the CO₂ calculator from myclimate.de.
The project is not only a pilot for sustainable action at RUB, but also a call to work together on a sustainable study culture.
Updates on the progress of the project will follow.
A core task of the Sustainability Office is to act as a mediation centre for "Living Lab topics" and to network real challenges of sustainable development at RUB with committed students and supervising chairs.
This involves academic work (e.g. Bachelor's or Master's theses) in which the Living Lab approach is applied. The students work in a real-life setting and develop solutions with the involvement of actual users or stakeholders.
You can find more information here.
At Sustain2030, you can actively engage with the challenges and interactions of the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the simulation game, participants take on the role of stakeholders in a fictitious citizens' council that supports the German government in making political decisions. Together in groups of five to 15 people, they simulate the period from 2020 to 2030 and make coordinated decisions that influence the development of the SDGs.
The effects of these decisions are simulated step by step, analysed and, if necessary, adjusted with new measures in order to avoid critical situations and comply with the financial framework conditions. It is important to always maintain a balance and keep all 17 SDGs in mind.
The simulation game makes it possible to understand the complex interrelationships of global challenges in a playful way and to experience in a practical way how sustainable decisions can be made.
Using Sustain2030
The Sustainability Office makes the Sustain2030 simulation game available to interested university members free of charge for individual use thanks to a campus licence.
Would you like to find out more about the possibilities for using Sustain2030? Are you interested in taking part in a simulation game workshop or would you like to organise a workshop for a group on your own, e.g. as part of a course? Then please get in touch with us.
On request, the Sustainability Office can also provide support with the moderation and guide you and the participants through the game process.
You can find more information about the game here.
The Climate Fresk is a scientifically sound serious game based on the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is used worldwide.
As an interactive learning format, it introduces participants to the scientific principles of climate change in a playful and participatory way, helps them to understand the complex interrelationships of climate change and gives them the impetus to take action themselves.
During the workshop, participants work together in small groups to identify and link the causes and effects of climate change. By creating a large puzzle together, a comprehensive picture of the climate crisis is created that sheds light on the scientific basis as well as the social and ecological consequences.
In addition, the personal approach to the issue of climate change is also addressed. Participants have the opportunity to reflect on their emotions and thoughts on this topic and develop ideas together to make a positive contribution to overcoming the climate crisis.
Using the climate puzzle
Our trained facilitators offer individual Climate Fresk workshops in a university context free of charge.
Would you like to find out more about the possibilities of using the Climate Fresk? Are you interested in taking part in a Climate Fresk workshop or would you like to organise a workshop for a group, e.g. as part of a course? Then please get in touch with us.
You can find more information about the Climate Fresk here.
The climate scale is an interactive educational tool developed by the Competence Center for Sustainable Consumption that helps to better understand the climate impact of everyday actions and to illustrate positive contributions to climate protection.
It consists of a classic beam scale with which the CO₂ savings of various everyday actions can be visually weighed against each other in the form of 35 cans of different weights. The climate scale thus provides an answer to the question of what really matters for more sustainability in everyday life and which actions achieve the greatest handprint.
Thanks to its playful approach, the climate scale can be used flexibly and no special prior knowledge is required. It can be used in many different ways and with many different groups, for example as a hands-on tool at an information stand or at exhibitions, as a break-time activity for workshops or seminars or in the context of teaching events.
Using the climate scale
Would you like to use the climate scale for an event or similar?
The climate scale can already be borrowed free of charge at several locations throughout Germany. We are also a rental station for the climate scale. Please feel free to contact us.
Alternatively, you can make your own individual climate scale with the help of craft instructions. A free card game on the subject is also available.
You can find more information on the climate scale here.
Whether as an interactive element at an information stand, as an introduction to a seminar topic or simply for a themed games evening - learning through play can be a key to bringing about real change and creates lively discussions.
In the spirit of the sharing culture, the Sustainability Office lends out board games related to sustainability to university members free of charge.
The following games are available (only in German language):
Further offers:
As part of our semester program, we also regularly offer joint games afternoons. You can find current dates here.
Please send us an e-mail to:
