ClimNeutRes

Climate neutrality is a key challenge for society - and therefore also for research operations. The Leibniz Association has set itself the goal of being climate-neutral by 2035. This requires an inventory of current greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the development of specific reduction measures. To drive this process forward, 14 of 97 Leibniz institutions launched ten pilot projects in the period 2023-2024 to create the basis and knowledge for broad implementation.

The IOER and the GWZO (Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe) joined forces for a joint pilot project, which was led by the IOER. Both institutes trialled their own management approach to climate neutrality, but also used the exchange and resulting synergies for further development.

The project developed and tested an approach for the permanent establishment of GHG accounting and monitoring. The focus here was particularly on the emissions generated within procurement and mobility management (LeNa: ‘supporting processes’). Six fields of action of operational sustainability management were analysed, which are transferable to most institutions: Management, Mobility, Events, Nutrition, Procurement and Waste. These comprised a total of 14 sub-activities.

Effective climate management requires detailed recording of direct and indirect GHG emissions from all of the institute's activities. To this end, an external consultancy was brought in for systematic recording in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (Scope 1/2/3) and specific data analyses were carried out. This data formed the basis for deriving targeted measures to reduce emissions.

The results of the pilot project strengthen the structural anchoring of integrated sustainability management at the IOER and GWZO with a special focus on climate-neutral procurement and mobility (Scope 3), insofar as the IOER has already made progress with Scope 1 and 2 emissions and these only account for 5% of total emissions. Findings on management approaches and measures were documented in a final report. The project team also promoted knowledge transfer within the Leibniz Association through two events and public relations work.

Following the conclusion of the project in September 2024, the IOER will continue to support broad implementation within the Leibniz Association by sharing experiences and helping to shape joint approaches. The IOER is also planning an annual GHG balance sheet to track the reduction in emissions in a targeted manner.