Freie Universität Berlin 2026 Sustainability Report Now Available

The recently published 2026 Sustainability Report includes an overview of the university’s 25-year commitment to sustainability and the proposed plan for the next three years.

The new Sustainability Report recounts how Freie Universität Berlin has pursued its sustainability and climate goals with concrete measures. This includes the internal climate protection fund established in 2026, which can be used to finance new ideas and initiatives from university members, as well as climate-friendly measures that promote biodiversity for buildings and other campus facilities. 

Since 2001, Freie Universität Berlin implemented a university-wide energy management system that was certified by the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in 2021 and has maintained this status since then. These measures have helped the university reduce its energy consumption by 32% since 2001. Moreover, for the past fifteen years, the Sustain It! initiative has been promoting sustainability through activities such as the Sustainability Days, FUdSharing, and the UniGardening project. Since 2024, the university has also been successfully implementing a project to promote cycling.

Among their goals, they aim at reducing CO₂ emissions resulting from business travel by 20% in the period 2026–2030 compared to the 2018/19 baseline. They are also planning to organize training sessions for instructors to convey the teaching and learning concept of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). 

Read the report here: https://www.fu-berlin.de/2026_Sustainability_Report.pdf

Find out more about the IAU’s commitment to ESD: https://iau.global/sustainable-development