Workshops

From 2023, the EU Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will come into operation, significantly expanding existing rules on non-financial reporting as well as the circle of those obliged to report. This will now also affect organisations such as non-university research institutions and universities, which have so far provided information about their sustainability activities voluntarily, if at all. Many of those affected are surprised by the legal requirements and expect "reporting for the sake of reporting". The declared aim of the directive, on the other hand, is to advance the sustainability transformation in companies and organisations with the new reporting standard. A look at the legislation and emerging practice can help to better assess the changes and design options.  

In the workshop we will get an overview of the EU directive and first practical experiences. In working groups, participants will then discuss opportunities and risks for their institution and develop possible approaches for implementation.
The workshop is aimed at current and future sustainability officers and managers, collaborating actors and interested parties who would like to exchange ideas and network.

Citizen Science

In the field of Citizen Science (CS), there is an opportunity to shape and roll out transformative processes. By using Citizen Science as a research approach, pressing socio-ecological issues are placed in society and discussed and addressed by citizen researchers using scientific approaches. Citizen Science works on different levels and can strengthen both new scientific knowledge and the learning and empowerment of all participants, as well as socio-political capacities for action. Thus, Citizen Science can be used and set in motion levers that also decisively advance the sustainable transformation.

In the workshop, we will begin by presenting the Helmholtz Cooperation Across Research Fields (CARF) and show how it can contribute to sustainability and lead to transformation. We will also present concrete Citizen Science project examples from the Helmholtz Association that are conducting research in the field of sustainable transformation. In addition, we would like to discuss new project ideas and engage in an active exchange with others from the sustainability network.

Open Science

Open Science opens up opportunities for the digitality of scientific practice. Openness supports research processes and ensures the accessibility of research results. The cultural shift to Open Science thus democratises access to scientific knowledge. The ability of science to solve major challenges facing humanity depends to a large extent on the possibilities of digital processing and evaluation of research results. Sustainable infrastructures are indispensable for their realisation.

The Helmholtz Open Science Policy deliberately refers to the goals of the UNESCO Recommendations on Open Science, whose recommendations are shaped by the goal of 'science in the service of the SDGs'.
In the workshop, we will present these references using examples such as the open handling of research products and corresponding infrastructures. The 1-2-4-All method enables participants to discuss ideas and thoughts on the topics of Open Access, Open Research Data and Open Research Software in individual work, in pairs and in small subgroups within a short period of time and then to compile them together. We would like to discuss with the participants how a cultural change towards Open Science can be further promoted and incentivised and which other scientific structures need to be considered from their point of view.

Effective communication is key to implementing sustainability within an organization and informing and inspiring other research centers to develop sustainably. In this workshop we will get bottom-up and top-down perspectives on sustainability communications. AWIs4Future and the DKFZ Sustainability Group will present how their employee initiatives have structured their communications and are collaborating with their sustainability office. From the top-down side, we will gain insights into how the Care Without Carbon project has been communicating sustainability with impact for the past 10+ years. Following input from speakers, we will have interactive group sessions to exchange and discuss best practices in sustainability communications applicable at Helmholtz centers.

This workshop is directed toward any employees wishing to contribute to the sustainability communications of their institute as well as communications professionals. It will take place in English. We look forward to an engaging workshop and a lively exchange with you.

The topic of diversity is directly or indirectly addressed in several of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is therefore of great importance for organisations that are committed to promoting sustainability. In the workshop we would like to discuss tools and success factors for the implementation of Diversity & Inclusion and find out how the change process towards more diversity within research institutions can succeed. 

As a basis for discussion, two impulses are planned, which present a comprehensive diversity assessment at FZJ and a project for the implementation of diversity mainstreaming at KIT.

The workshop is aimed at D&I actors and interested parties who would like to exchange ideas and network.

The centres of the Helmholtz-Association operate complex, highly specialised scientific infrastructures that often have high energy requirements. They face the challenge of reconciling the requirements of climate-friendly building with those of cutting-edge research. The newly founded competence network "Helmholtz climate-friendly building" has the task of bundling the existing expertise in the building and renovation sector and providing conceptual advice and operational support to individual centres. In the workshop, the planned fields of action of the competence network will be presented and challenges in research building will be discussed, including strategies for dealing with the building and renovation backlog and identifying specific energy challenges of individual research areas.

The competence network plans to work closely with relevant stakeholders in the HGF, including the FZJ's Living Lab Energy Campus. In this real-lab project, solutions for the energy transition are being tested with the aim of integrating these innovative technologies into the campus's own energy system. To this end, demonstrators for the production, distribution and storage of decentrally generated forms of energy are being designed, built and operated, as well as interventions in existing buildings. Using specially developed simulation, modelling and control tools, the efficiency potentials for heat, electricity and energy conversion can be recorded and used. The workshop will discuss the challenges of the real laboratory in terms of construction and licensing, as well as the selected solutions, and will highlight concepts for knowledge and technology transfer.

The green zones are the areas of the HGF sites in which the essential potentials for the promotion of biodiversity and the resilience of the sites against the consequences of climate change lie. Using the example of KIT, we would like to stimulate and discuss which objectives and ways are being pursued to raise these potentials in site development, the individual building project and in green space maintenance with a proportionate use of resources, and which other aspects should still be taken into account.

Procurement

DLR Purchasing orders a very wide range of products and services for more than 10,000 employees - from office desks to complex research aircraft. Compliance with procurement law, customer satisfaction, economic efficiency and sustainability play a major role. For about 10 years, there has been an internal procurement working group to increase the number of sustainable awards. In which cases this has been successful and in which cases we were confronted with challenges, we would like to present in a joint workshop. You are invited to report on your own sustainable purchasing processes - with the aim of an HGF-wide exchange in the spirit of best practice and with the aim of continuously improving our purchasing processes. We look forward to seeing you!

Mobility

Ideas, requirements and offers for mobility differ greatly, depending on local conditions and existing infrastructure. DLR, with its 55 institutes and facilities at 30 locations, reflects this enormous heterogeneity. We would like to present the balance between uniformity of organisation and respect for local characteristics - with the successes and the challenges. To do this, we will look at examples such as participation in different ride-share services in NRW and Bavaria. We will take a look at internal and external communication, as it has taken place, for example, in the development of the Sustainability Forum of the DLR Project Management Agency - from a bottom-up organised initiative to an organisation's own committee, which now advises company management and executives. We look at the example of "Jobwärts", how an initiative of the city and surrounding municipalities (Bonn/Rhein-Sieg) supports us as a company and how the exchange with other employers and city/municipality can be challenging and helpful.