Sustainability at the Max Planck Institute Magdeburg

Sustainability at the Max Planck Institute Magdeburg

Biodiversity at the Institute, climate-friendly mobility and careful use of resources

Since its foundation, renewable energies, resource-saving production processes and efficiency enhancement have been core topics of research at the of research at the MPI Magdeburg. For some time now, the topic of sustainability has not only been important as a research subject, but also plays an increasingly important role for scientists in their own scientific practices [1,2]. thus, a group of employees at the institute has joined forces to raise awareness at our institute to the issue of sustainability in research. Some important activities have already been launched:

  • Collection of wrapping waste in the tea kitchens
  • Raising awareness of waste paper collection in the offices
  • Direct recycling of conference posters as painting paper for kindergartens
  • Introduction of recycled paper in numerous printers
  • Food-sharing fridge for employees
  • Planting fruit trees in the MPI garden
  • Harvesting and processing fruit from the institute's garden
  • Own beehive in the MPI garden
  • Bicycles on loan for institute employees
  • Fair-trade laboratory clothing
  • Sustainable use of old equipment


The Sustainability Group meets weekly for a "Sustainable Lunch" to discuss new and ongoing ideas. Concrete projects are proposed to the Institute's management and implemented in close coordination with the Institute's administration and building services. Through the cooperation of colleagues from different Institute departments, who otherwise have little to do with each other in everyday life, the dialogue between different experts in the Institute is strengthened. Thus, while pressing apple juice together, one or the other scientific idea can be exchanged or a problem can be viewed and solved from a completely different perspective. The sustainability group of the MPI Magdeburg maintains a close and lively exchange with the sustainability office of the neighbouring Otto von Guericke University [5] and is in contact with other local sustainability groups in Magdeburg. The approaches of the Magdeburg Max Planck Institute to sustainable research are presented to the public by the sustainability group as part of the Long Night of Science and the Long Week of Sustainability in Magdeburg [3,4].

Max Planck Sustainability Network

Together with the Green Team at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig and the Sustainability Group at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, the Sustainability Group of the MPI Magdeburg is one of the founding groups of the Max Planck Sustainability Network. The Magdeburg Sustainability Group also hosted the 1st "Sustainability in the Max Planck Society" workshop in 2019. During this event, the Max Planck Sustainability Network was officially founded. The website of the Max Planck Sustainability Network can be found here:

www.sustainability-network.mpg.de

15/16 May 2019 at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg [more]
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