For 13 years now, B.A.U.M. has been awarding the “Büro & Umwelt” competition to companies and institutions that have been able to integrate resource-saving behaviour and sustainable procurement into their everyday office life. This year, the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld participated in the competition with the support of the Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS) and was honored by the jury for its previous efforts to realize sustainable procurement at the location.
The Environmental Campus Birkenfeld (ECB), as a showcase location for “zero emissions”, sustainable development and “environment”, is pushing the implementation of sustainable procurement throughout the entire site. In this way, ECB is strengthening its unique position to promote sustainable development in all areas of activity, including sustainable procurement, and to pass this on as a multiplier. The efforts of the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld have been reflected for years in the GreenMetric ranking of the greenest universities worldwide. In 2019, the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld was once again the only university in Germany to place itself among the top ten and take sixth place.
In principle, the principle of multiple use or recycling of products and the principle of resource conservation already applies to all procurement processes when choosing products. Waste avoidance and proper separation must also be observed and, if necessary, take back systems. The restructuring of the entire procurement process on the campus with its many facilities and institutes is a major challenge. Nevertheless, a procurement guideline for the campus has already been drawn up and is currently being finalised.