2012|13 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

38 Sustainable development of society that will give it the on- going capacity to endure can only be achieved through safe- guarding and reconciling its ecological, economic and social potentials. Not only politics and industry, but also science and research make an essential contribution here. To serve the goal of increasing the sustainability of Fraunhofer research and its application, Fraunhofer IGB employees maintain close exchange with the other institutes at the Stuttgart campus as well as within the Fraunhofer “Sustainability Network” that links more than 20 institutes. In the previous year, an execu- tive-board-level project headed by Professor Thomas Hirth at the Network set the course for the strategic implementation of a sustainability policy for the entire research organization. The policy focuses on a holistic approach and continual opti- mization of the research carried out both in terms of themes addressed and operative aspects. It is being piloted by the ﬁve Fraunhofer Institutes based at the Stuttgart site, who are col- laborating on a common vision for sustainable development. In order to visibly proﬁle this process, they published the ﬁrst cross-institute sustainability report within the Fraunhofer-Ge- sellschaft in March 2012. In the publication, the institutes re- port on the sustainable development aspects of their activities at the Stuttgart research campus and commit themselves to continual improvement through goals and measures they have set themselves. The main challenge faced was to take into account the com- mercial and organizational independence of the institutes. The involvement of employees from all the institutes, from differ- ent ﬁelds of activity and hierarchical levels in the development of guiding principles, goals and activities was the prerequisite for a vigorous process that is hoped will continue to character- ize the institutional culture. Sustainability Action Day One of the measures announced in the Sustainability Re- port was the Sustainability Action Day on June 29, 2012 – the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institutes’ own response to the nationwide “National Sustainability Action Day” appeal. In the run-up to this date, the Sustainability work group at the Fraunhofer Institute Center Stuttgart IZS, coordinated by Ina Andrees-Ostovan from the Fraunhofer IGB, announced an ide- as competition. Of the nearly 50 ideas submitted by the em- ployees a large number were realized on the Action Day and beyond: In a campaign aimed at motivating people to think and act long-term as individuals, Fraunhofer experts advised their col- leagues how everyone can reduce CO2 emissions through pru- dent behavior at the workplace and on the commute. The ﬁrst “brown bag lunch” provided a forum for short talks present- ing current research topics and ideas. This type of scientiﬁc dialog is intended to stimulate networking beyond the walls of the institutes and will be continued at regular intervals. The opportunity to test drive electric vehicles from the Fraun- hofer IAO e-mobility test ﬂeet met with keen interest as did the e-waste collection campaign where the employees had the chance to dispose their private electric and electronic ap- pliances to the charitable company Neue Arbeit GmbH to be PURSUING SUSTAINABLE GOALS – “FUTURE PROJECT EARTH” AT THE FRAUNHOFER IGB HIGHLIGHTS 2012 1 1 + 2 + 3

2012|13 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

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