Green Office founded in Kaiserslautern

The Green Office in Kaiserslautern was spontaneously re-established today. Now there is finally a contact point again where students and staff can officially promote sustainability issues at the university together. Initial plans have already been made and ideas collected on how the new Green Office should be set up. There will soon be a dedicated email address and the new Green Office team will be present at our planned sustainability event on June 15 (June 15, Amphitheater diagonally opposite the Mensa from 12:00 - 13:30) to present what we are doing and what we are planning.

The Green Office team currently consists of Lea Öttinger, Maryam Arabshahi and Anne Jacobs as well as some students who have registered their interest and would like to join us in the future. However, we would also be delighted if more people joined and hopefully we will soon become one big team.

What is a Green Office? What does it mean?

There are now Green Offices at many universities throughout Europe. Green Offices are coordination offices for sustainability in all areas of the university, i.e. as a Green Office we want to make our university more sustainable - "greener". However, sustainability does not only refer to environmental and climate protection, but also includes many other areas, is very broad, e.g. it is also about "good cooperation". Basically, Green Offices want to make their universities particularly beautiful places. The Green Office at RPTU in Landau was set up by students and Julia Jawhari, Sustainability Officer, then joined as an employee of the university.

What practical experience can students gain at the RPTU Green Office in Landau?

Students can work with us in very concrete ways to make our university a more sustainable place, e.g. a greener, but also a more social place. Some do it just like that. Some are employed as student assistants. Students can implement their own ideas very creatively or work on existing projects and goals. One example: We are working on the topic of mobility. For example, we compile information for everyone on how to use the buses between the 16 Landau locations or work on a guideline for more climate-friendly business trips. We organize events on the topic of sustainability, such as the Sustainability Week or the presentation of the Green Office at the Market of Opportunities at the Student Info Day.

Why are the practical experiences in the Green Office so important against the background of our overall social challenges?

In today's world, with its huge challenges such as the climate and biodiversity crisis, we need creative, committed people who want to take responsibility and change things. You can learn / practise / apply this at the Green Office. This creates a high degree of self-efficacy, i.e. the knowledge that you can bring about change even in the face of obstacles.