Our Research and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

To achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Forschungszentrum Jülich works on pioneering developments in the areas of information, energy, and bioeconomy and initiates options for action for society both at the national level and through international cooperation. The research required for this is also designed to be sustainable in itself and to utilize its infrastructure resources efficiently.



Prof. Dr. Astrid Lambrecht

Through our research in the fields of energy, information, and bioeconomy, we are helping to create a sustainable future. We conduct research into options for a digital society, a climate-friendly energy system, and a resource-efficient economy.

Prof. Dr. Astrid Lambrecht, Chair of the Board of Directors of Forschungszentrum Jülich

As a publicly funded organization and as a member of the Helmholtz Association, it is our social mission to address our responsibilities for the environment, society, and our employees, and we work systematically to ensure the sustainable development of our own research and operational processes. Similar to our work researching complex scientific issues, we achieve this by relying on interdisciplinary collaboration between our employees in research, technical infrastructure, and administration, and by going beyond the borders of Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Sustainability is firmly anchored in our Mission Statement. It shapes our fields of research, how we conduct research, and how we design and advance our infrastructure and management processes.

Climate Protection at Forschungszentrum Jülich

When it comes to the significant challenge of climate protection, society has a responsibility to drive forward decarbonisation. At Forschungszentrum Jülich, we are tackling this challenge and striving to see it as an opportunity. This includes, for example, the optimization of buildings and the energy supply on campus, the use of renewable energies and the waste heat potential of our supercomputer.

“LeNa” and the Helmholtz Sustainability Policy

Our sustainability management is guided by “LeNa” and the Helmholtz Association’s sustainability policy based on “LeNa”. The “LeNa” guideline for sustainability management in non-university research organizations is the result of a joint research project with the same name (2013–2016) and includes information on a more sustainable approach to organizational management, research, personnel, buildings and infrastructure, and supporting processes. The aim of the guideline is to formulate general and fundamental sustainability standards for research institutions.

Sustainability Reports

Forschungszentrum Jülich submitted its declaration of conformity with the German Sustainability Code for the first time in 2012. The first FZJ Sustainability Report was written for the 2012 business year. We have been publishing our sustainability report every two years since 2014. The aim of these reports is to provide our partners as well as our collaboration partners, employees, and the general public with an insight into how our work is conducted and what values are practised at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Our sustainability reports are prepared on a voluntary basis in accordance with the standard of the German Sustainability Code (DNK).

In some cases, there are considerable delays in the transmission of individual data required for a report, resulting in delays in the publication of the Sustainability Reports. 

Sustainability Report 2020/21
Sustainability Report 2018/19
Sustainability Report 2016/17
Sustainability Report 2014/15
Sustainability Report 2012/13

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Last Modified: 28.10.2024