Sustainability Advisory Board of the University of Vienna: Review of the retreat

On March 21, the Sustainability Advisory Board gathered at the DOCK at the Danube Canal to discuss and drive forward the University of Vienna's current and future sustainability initiatives.

The day began with a keynote speech by Tomas Refslund Poulsen, Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). The many years of intensive engagement with sustainability at this university, both in its own operations and in the areas of research, teaching and outreach, made Poulsen's experience reports and inputs extremely informative and inspiring.

Alexander Hammer and Birgit Kessler from DLE Finance and Controlling then reported on sustainability aspects in the area of financial investments at the University of Vienna. Among other things, they highlighted the fact that all of the university's fund investments are labeled with recognized sustainability seals from the EU (e.g. UZ49 or FNG) or are classified in accordance with Article 8 or 9 of the EU Disclosure Regulation.

In the morning workshop, the Advisory Board then focused on the topic of "How do we work today and tomorrow?". Working methods within and between the nine working groups of the Advisory Board were discussed intensively in small groups and then debated in plenary sessions.

The vegan-only catering provided by VeganWirtin was just what was needed before further keynote speeches followed in the afternoon.

Julia Gram, the Sustainability Coordinator, reported on the further development of the strategy, while Petra Schön, Faculty Manager at the Center for Translation Studies, shed light on the path from a common thread to setting goals. A particular focus was placed on the definition of goals within the working groups and the development of key performance indicators (KPIs).

These important impulses were taken up in the final workshop of the day, which took place within the working groups.

In the final plenary session, the potential new goals of the working groups were presented and a final discussion on the further development of the University of Vienna was initiated.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the Advisory Board for their contribution to this inspiring and productive day and look forward to seeing how we can continue to move the University of Vienna forward together with the help of these sustainability initiatives.