University operations

A wide variety of resources are required to ensure the smooth operation of the University of Innsbruck. Energy, space and resource management as well as mobility, catering services and procurement must be managed with sustainability in mind.

In the area of social sustainability, healthcare services for students and employees also play an important role. In addition, the campus locations themselves should be designed to be biodiversity-friendly and serve as a model for other institutions and locations.

In order to make operations at the University of Innsbruck sustainable, great importance is attached to the efficient use of resources, energy and mobility. This includes energy, space and resource management as well as the sustainable design of catering services and procurement. Since 2018, the university has been using 100% eco-labelled green electricity and has drawn up an annual carbon footprint since 2019 to transparently document its progress. The University of Innsbruck follows the "ClimCalc" methodology, whichhas established itself as the de facto standard forAustrian universities as part of theClimate-neutral universitiesworking group at Alliance of Sustainable Universities in Austria.
The current CO2 balance can be found at here.

With the aim of achieving climate neutrality by 2035, climate-friendly travel guidelines were introduced in 2021, which, among other things, prohibit flights to nearby destinations and promote climate-friendly alternatives. In addition, the University of Innsbruck offers additional company benefits to promote sustainable mobility for employees.

Employees can apply for a subsidy of 365 euros for the use of public transport at Annual tickets for local public transport. Furthermore, employees who would like to buy a bicycle can receive a salary advance in the form of an interest-free loan of up to 7,300 euros via Bicycle campaign. Thanks to a contract with Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe (IVB), employees of the University of Innsbruck can use the bicycle hire systemCity bike Innsbruck at a special rate, whereby the annual fee is waived for you. With the special rate, borrowing a city bike is free for the first 30 minutes of each journey, after which usage fees are charged depending on the duration of the journey.

Another measure to promote sustainable mobility at the University of Innsbruck is the internal e-car sharing scheme. Two electric vehicles (a car and a minibus) are available for use by all employees for business trips. These offer a relatively sustainable way of making the necessary journeys, particularly in cases where destinations cannot be reached or are very difficult to reach by public transport, for example for field research in the high mountains or for excursions with students.

The University of Innsbruck has set itself the goal of becoming fossil-free by 2035. The owner of most of the university buildings, the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG), is also striving to make its portfolio climate-neutral.

With this in mind, the following steps are planned in the 2025-2027 performance agreements:

  • Development of a climate neutrality roadmap 2035
  • Creation of an implementation concept for climate neutrality in 2035 and decarbonisation of the university buildings together with the stakeholders involved

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