Sustainability is one of the key concepts of the 21st century. Preserving the earth as the basis of our existence in the long term is probably the most important goal and at the same time the greatest challenge of our time. As a publicly funded research institution, the DPZ also has a social responsibility. Resource-conserving and climate-neutral work is one of our guiding principles.
Through our daily activities in science, service and administration, we at the DPZ want to contribute to sustainable management. We strive to achieve this in a continuous, dialogical process with all employees, which includes all areas of work at the institute and in which concrete goals and measures are developed. On this page, we provide regular updates on our goals and the progress made in implementing them.
Sustainability management - anchoring the topic in the institute
Karin Tilch Communikations
In order to develop concrete goals and measures to reduce our consumption and involve all employees, we organized institute-wide Climate Days at the German Primate Center in 2021 and 2022. At both events, facts and ideas were presented on various topics and solutions were then discussed with experts and employees. The results of the discussions on topics such as mobility, energy saving, catering, biotope and cooling strategy were compiled and change processes were initiated and awareness raised.
The information screens at the institute are used to regularly inform employees about new measures and results. Internal events, such as a Climate Lunch with film (April 2023), also anchor the topic in the workforce. In the quarterly magazine “DPZ aktuell”, which is also subscribed to by interested readers outside the DPZ, the topic is regularly addressed in a separate section
Networking
The DPZ is an active member of the Senate Commission for Climate Protection and Sustainability (KfKN) at the University of Göttingen and networks with the surrounding institutes with the aim of developing a “North Campus heat management plan”. The university's heat supply will be converted to low-energy in the medium term, the buildings must be renovated accordingly and heat sources and sinks must be jointly identified. With the help of geothermal energy and storage concepts, the low-temperature supply is to be supplemented and provided with individual high-temperature islands. The project is being coordinated by the DPZ
Strategies for decarbonisation
The sustainability concept at the DPZ focuses primarily on reducing CO2 emissions in its own operations. To this end, processes are analyzed and optimized and operational efficiency is increased from a sustainability perspective. In 2022, a corporate carbon footprint was created for the DPZ, which shows the areas in which we cause particularly high emissions. To this end, consumption for 2020 was analyzed on the basis of the cost of energy and consumables used. In total, almost 8,000 tons of CO2e (CO2 equivalents) were emitted at the DPZ in 2020.
In order to develop concrete goals and measures to reduce our consumption and involve all employees, we organized a Climate Day at the German Primate Center in 2021 and 2022. Measures were initiated in the areas of mobility, energy saving, catering, biotope and cooling strategy. In 2023, the DPZ had a decarbonization roadmap drawn up and we are continuously monitoring its implementation. n im Bereich Mobilität, Energiesparen, Catering,Biotop und Kühlstrategie angestoßen. In 2023 hat das DPZ eine Roadmap zur Decarbonisierung erstellen lassen und deren Realisierung wir kontinuierlich verfolgen.
tons of CO2 equivalents per year. That's about as much as 80
four-person households. The graphic shows the percentage distribution of emissions
emissions to different energy sources and other energy
other energy-consuming processes at the institute.
Carbon footprint of the DPZ
In 2022, we became one of the first non-university research institutes to have the DPZ's corporate carbon footprint calculated, which shows the areas in which we cause particularly high emissions. To this end, we have carried out projects in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences (HAWK) in Göttingen. A total of around 3,433 CO2 equivalents were emitted in 2023
Mobility
Studies on commuter mobility
The carbon footprint determined in 2022 was only based on very general estimates of the commuting mobility of DPZ employees. According to this initial data collection, employees' daily commutes accounted for 1,020 tons of CO2 equivalents, or around 13 percent of total emissions. To make this data more precise, a mobility study was launched in 2023 using an online survey. Around 70 percent of employees took part in the survey.
The results show that just under a quarter of employees use public transport and a good eleven percent cycle. Around two thirds of DPZ employees drive to work. Of these, around eight percent carpool. A look at the type of car drive shows that a good 90 percent run on petrol and diesel and the rest rely on renewable drives. It will be interesting to see how and whether the proportions change in the future.
In terms of distance distribution, it can be seen that just under 60 percent have a one-way distance of up to ten kilometers to cover. Of these, around 30 percent use a bicycle and ten percent use public transport. From a one-way distance of eleven kilometers, the car is used almost exclusively.
In total, DPZ employees commute around 2.3 million kilometers to and from work each year. This causes annual emissions of around 420 tons of CO2 equivalents. The DPZ is working on decarbonization strategies. The first step is to record all emissions, identify major levers and, in coordination with the funding bodies, define savings targets and realistic timetables for achieving the goals.
Business trips
For business trips, we will pay even more attention in future to ensuring that rail travel is booked instead of flights wherever possible and sensible. Here, the Institute follows the guidelines drawn up by the Sustainability Commission of the University of Göttingen. All journeys of up to ten hours are made by train if the time saved by flying is less than six hours. Flights are only used for distances of 1,000 kilometers or more.
Buildings and energy
Karin TIlch Infrastructural savings potential
The lighting in the entire institute is gradually being converted to LED lamps. This will permanently reduce electricity costs by around two thirds of the current costs.
The workplace printers in the offices have been reduced from 130 decentralized to 33 central printers. Toner and paper consumption and the total number of print jobs fell accordingly. All printers run with sustainable default settings such as sleep mode times and double-sided printing.
Power-off switches have also been installed in the offices. The current energy audit shows: Where power-off switches are used, energy consumption drops significantly from the early evening hours.
During the winter months, all employees are asked to reduce the heating temperature in offices and laboratories to 19 degrees. Office containers, corridors and areas in the institute that are only used sporadically are not heated at all in winter. We take an energy vacation for around ten days between the Christmas holidays and New Year. In 2022/2023, this enabled us to save 20 percent on heating and 20 percent on electricity.
Karin Tilch Analysis of building envelopes and systems
In 2022, a student project took place that dealt with energy savings at the institute. Six students from the Energy Management course at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences developed specific guidelines for this. The report on “Local energy management at the German Primate Center in Göttingen” contains a thoroughly planned energy concept for the renewable supply of the DPZ, as well as a step-by-step recommendation for action with estimated savings from the individual measures.
Based on the report, the DPZ carried out two feasibility studies on the conversion of oil-based steam generation to renewable energies (pellets) and for the acquisition of solar systems, as well as an energy analysis of buildings and large systems.
We are now working on further measures with the 2023 roadmap.
Karin Tilch EN: Installation of the solar power system on the DPZ roof in winter 2022/2023
Installation of photovoltaic systems
In the first half of 2023, solar modules were installed on three different DPZ buildings and connected to the power supply. Since the commissioning of all systems, around 113,000 kWh of electricity had been generated by mid-November 2023 and around 70 tons of CO2 had been saved. Photovoltaic systems on two further roofs and a sun-exposed slope in the outdoor area are to follow and will then cover a total area of over 4,000 square meters. This means that up to 700 kilowatt peaks of electricity can be generated from renewable sources in future.
Water and waste water
Thomas Steuer At the DPZ, we need a lot of water for laboratory work and sterilization. Animal husbandry also requires a lot of water to care for the animals, for regular cleaning of enclosures and work clothes and for showering before and after work in a variety of enclosures. In order to use this valuable resource more sustainably, a number of water-saving measures have been implemented in the animal house.
In addition to further sensitizing all employees to the valuable resource of water, litter was introduced as a conservation measure in the animal house. Previously, the enclosures were cleaned every day with running water for hygiene reasons. With bedding, this is only necessary every two to three days or even once a week, depending on the size of the group. Additional water meters have also been installed, which now make it possible to monitor water consumption more closely. Initial data shows that the measure is taking effect and that a total of 29% water has been saved in the animal house compared to the previous year, while maintaining all necessary hygiene standards. In addition, a concept is being developed to centralize the cleaning of laundry from the animal husbandry area (currently with over 30 household washing machines).
All wastewater from all units in the animal house is currently thermally inactivated. In future, only the wastewater from the animal units for which there is an official requirement will be treated. The wastewater from the other animal units will be connected directly to the public sewer system.
Research-related projects
Sascha Bubner Energy-saving potential of biobanks
One process that causes high energy consumption at the DPZ is the cooling and freezing of sensitive biological samples. The more than 300 refrigerators and freezers and four freezers at the institute caused an annual electricity consumption of around 500,000 kilowatt hours and thus accounted for around a tenth of the annual electricity costs (around 70,000 euros). Following the first institute-wide Climate Day in September 2021, a task force was formed at the DPZ to promote more efficient use of the cooling units.
After measuring actual electricity consumption and taking stock of all cooling units in use and the stored cooling samples, four out of six -140-degree and six out of 31 -80-degree freezers were switched off. This saves up to 150,000 kWh of electricity per year. Three freezers were switched from -80 degrees Celsius to -70 degrees Celsius, which also reduces energy consumption, as raising the temperature of the freezer by just one degree can save up to six percent electricity. In addition, a -20 degree cold room has been built to replace around 40 refrigerators.
Consumables
Purchasing
Heike Hofmann-Winkler At the DPZ, we pay attention to sustainable management in all areas. This not only includes monitoring our energy consumption such as electricity, water and heating oil. We also focus on smaller processes such as the procurement of consumables or catering at events.
The purchase unit of the DPZ is the control center for all goods and consumables that are used at the DPZ on a daily basis. The unit's employees strive to use sustainable, regional products with short transportation routes wherever possible. Other laboratory consumables, such as pipette tips, gloves and petri dishes, are also produced in a climate-neutral way. In the case of protective work clothing, for example, FFP2 masks are purchased from German sites wherever possible and ILO standards (living wages, occupational health and safety, etc.) and the Fair Trade quality mark are taken into account. Cotton and other durable fabrics from European production are preferred for workwear.
In the area of office furniture, a line of equipment has been established, so that in future there will be a better fit between divisions and departments when changing furniture. For several years, the following consumables have been procured in a procurement network with other Leibniz Institutes, taking sustainability aspects into account: a) Office supplies and FSC-certified paper for printers and copiers b) Since 2016, green electricity from 100% renewable energy sources (Energy Potsdam).
Animal feed at the DPZ is sourced from a wholesaler that operates sustainably and has a sustainability certificate to prove this. In 2020, it was able to show CO2 savings of 171.9 tons of CO2 equivalent.
Catering
When organizing events, there are also many ways to cater for guests in a more sustainable and resource-conserving way. At the DPZ, we therefore mainly use regional and seasonal products from controlled organic and/or fair production and offer 60 percent vegetarian dishes.
General guidelines for the sustainable design of catering and hospitality at the DPZ have been drawn up. These guidelines should be observed and applied both when requesting quotations from external caterers and when organizing events yourself.
Biodiversity
Karin Tilch 
Karin Tilch 
Karin Tilch 
Karin Tilch 
Karin Tilch