Sustainability
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
(Brundtland Report “Our Common Future” by the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).
For the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), sustainability is a key responsibility. The BNITM wholeheartedly supports the relevant goals of the European Commission, the Leibniz Association, and the United Nations (UN). We view sustainability as an integral part of global health and development policy, and since 2021, it has been firmly anchored as a cross-cutting goal in the Institute’s strategy. Through interdisciplinary, practice-oriented, and collaborative research and mutual capacity-building—particularly in close partnership with middle- and low-income countries—the BNITM, together with local partners worldwide, contributes to the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), and now also Goal 13 (Climate Action).
To expand this commitment, specific sub-goals will be defined and prioritized from 2026 onwards as part of a structured sustainability management framework, and effective measures will be devised and implemented.
The initial focus is on increasing energy efficiency. To this end, the institute’s leadership has, among other things, appointed a sustainability liaison, established an interdisciplinary energy team, and initiated an internal process for developing climate action measures within the institute. The goal is to gradually intensify sustainable practices and embed them in the institute’s day-to-day operations over the long term.
Energy Efficiency
Research facilities with laboratories are energy-intensive. The BNITM has adopted an energy policy that mandates the responsible use of energy and naturally limited resources and supports global climate protection goals. Through an energy management system compliant with ISO 50005, the goal is to achieve annual energy savings while continuing to enable cutting-edge research at the highest level. Among the first energy-saving measures is the conversion to intelligently controlled, energy-efficient LED lighting in all areas of the buildings. Additional solutions are continuously being planned, developed, and implemented.
Climate Protection
An institute-wide, ongoing process has been initiated to systematically advance climate protection at BNITM. Suitable courses of action—particularly those aimed at reducing energy and resource consumption—are identified and evaluated, and the prioritized measures are implemented step by step.
Additional Areas of Action
Based on the Guideline to Sustainability Management in non-university research organisations (LeNa), we are gradually addressing the following areas: strategy and organizational development, research processes, human resources development and management, building and infrastructure, research support processes, digitalization, knowledge transfer, and communication.
Sustainable research combines scientific excellence, health equity, fair and long-term partnerships, responsible use of resources, and resilient structures. Together with partners from academia, politics, business, and society, we are scaling up proven approaches and developing new solutions.
- BNITM Energy policy ( PDF 60 KB )
Sustainability Officer BNITM
email: nachhaltigkeit@bnitm.de
Energy team BNITM
email: energieteam@bnitm.de
