Engagement
The AG Nachhaltigkeit has now been promoting and coordinating student projects on the topic of sustainability at the University of Basel for five years. In the years 2023-2024, it not only recorded an increase in membership, but also realized more than 20 projects and public events. In addition, the students once again organized the Sustainability Week in the spring semester. Furthermore the new internal university funding program SHAPE provided financial and coaching support for student projects. Employees also continued to work towards greater sustainability in various areas of the university, e.g. in research, university sport and the university library.
Student engagement
The aim of the student initiative AG Nachhaltigkeit1 is to make the University of Basel and the Basel region more sustainable through student projects. The focus lies on supporting student commitment to a more sustainable University of Basel. The AG Nachhaltigkeit is sponsored and supported by the Sustainability Office and the student representatives (skuba). Over 55 people were active in projects of the AG Nachhaltigkeit in the years 2023 - 2024.
The following picture gallery summarises some of the projects and events of the AG Nachhaltigkeit:
Sustainability weeks 2023 and 2024
The Sustainability Week Basel is organised annually by students from the AG Nachhaltigkeit and supported by the Sustainability Office. During the Sustainability Weeks 2023 and 2024, respectively 18 and 16 events took place. Both Sustainability Weeks were each attended by around 500 people and their program covered the entire spectrum of sustainability. It included lectures, practical workshops, informative excursions, cooking courses, swap meetings and clothing and bicycle repair opportunities. Various plant-based Apéros also invited visitors to linger and network.
The best impressions of the two sustainability weeks are summarised in the following picture gallery:
Start of the sustainability committee
The Sustainability Committee began its work in October 2023. It held a total of five meetings in 2023 and 2024 and, among other things, drew up recommendations for the Rectorate on the further development of the ‘less for more’ programme to reduce university flight emissions. It also dealt with concerns from the faculties and groups, for example on the sustainable orientation of the catering offer.
Engagement in various other university areas
Numerous employees are committed to greater sustainability in their day-to-day work in various ways. In the Department of Physics, a group of doctoral students analysed the energy consumption of their workspaces in a project funded by ‘U Change’2 and developed recommendations for reduction measures. Many other researchers are also increasingly focussing on the topic of sustainability, including in laboratories. Biannual Green Lab workshops provided an opportunity for networking and dialogue. In addition, since 2024, the topic of sustainability has been integrated into the yearly mandatory biosafety courses for around 1,000 laboratory employees. The University Library is also endeavouring to make its operations as sustainable as possible, e.g. by delivering books by bicycle courier, providing e-books and supporting open access publications. A special program item on sustainability was held at the Career Service Centre's annual Long Night of Careers in 2024: Alumni of the Master's Degree in Sustainable Development presented their current fields of activity to interested students.
Sustainability in the University Sports
Several thousand students and employees take part in the programmes offered by Unisport every year, which has firmly anchored sustainability in its own mission statement: ‘We use resources responsibly and promote sustainable action’. In practice, this can be seen in particular by travelling to the course locations with as few emissions as possible (see Mobility chapter). Another example is that participants can borrow sports equipment, whenever possible and on fair terms, in order to protect the environment and avoid unnecessary purchase costs. It is very important to University Sport to motivate people to engage in lifelong sport and exercise in harmony with nature and the environment. Sustainable behaviour is also understood to mean the conscious use of physical and mental resources: be it in tension and relaxation during a yoga or crossfit lesson, in playing or competing together or in experiencing nature on a hike or during a flight with a paraglider.
Promoting sustainable student projects with SHAPE
In 2024, third-party funds raised by ‘U-Change’2 were used to support students in the development and implementation of sustainable project ideas. As part of the newly developed SHAPE (Student Hub for Action, Projects and Engagement) funding program, a workshop on ideation and project development was held each semester in cooperation with the Innovation Office. Participants and other interested parties then had the opportunity to apply for project funding of up to CHF 2,000. In total, four projects were supported financially and coached in the realisation of the project ideas.
Clubs and initiatives
The University of Basel also offers the opportunity to get involved in various sustainability organisations. A selection of student associations and initiatives is listed below.3
Amnesty Students Basel
Calcutta Project Basel
Foraus
Offener Hörsaal
Reatch
UniGärten
[1] Due to its recognition as a student association, the name is expected to change in the course of 2025.
[2] The U-Change funding program of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences financed innovative student projects on sustainable development and education between 2017 and 2024.
[3] The list of student organisations does not claim to be exhaustive.
