This spring, two people joined the Directorate University Culture to fill new positions within the sustainability strategy: Maike Heitkamp-Mai is the Sustainability Officer and Marie-Luise Steffler is the Climate Protection Officer. In this interview, they talk about new territory, challenges and highlights so far.

1. Both of your positions are new territory for TU Dresden. How do you manage to explore this new territory? Why do you think it is important that these positions exist at TUD?

Maike Heitkamp-Mai: The good news is: Even though our positions are new, the topics have been in TUD's focus for a long time. The Sustainability Strategy was adopted and published a year and a half ago, and the Green Office has been in operation since 2021. The TUD environmental initiative tuuwi and the Environment Commission have already been active for much, much longer.

Marie-Luise Steffler: The newly created Climate Protection (Project) Office is new territory at the TUD, but environmental activities already have a long tradition. EMAS environmental management has been in place since 2003, which I can build on. I also benefit from the TU as a real laboratory and the studies that are important for our climate protection concept.
Both positions promote sustainable practices and position the university as a pioneer in climate protection.

Maike Heitkamp-Mai: These two externally funded positions in the Directorate University Culture are a visible commitment to the importance of sustainability at the university.

2. What currently determines your day-to-day work?

Marie-Luise Steffler: A central aspect of my work is the exchange with relevant stakeholders and the involvement of students and staff. In addition to project management tasks, I am currently preparing the "Climate Protection Ideas Workshop", which takes place as part of the Sustainability Week. This event offers a platform to bring together different perspectives, develop innovative ideas and raise awareness of climate protection at TUD. Dialogue and cooperation are just as important as the diversity of approaches in order to jointly develop sustainable solutions.

Maike Heitkamp-Mai: The focus of my work is currently on taking up the TUD's sustainability strategy in all its breadth and networking intensively with the stakeholders involved. To this end, I am holding discussions, taking an in-depth look at the areas of activity, goals and measures and following the participatory development process. I am also concerned with the connection between sustainability and internationalization - for example in the organization of the Heritage Network General Assembly in May or in the preparation of the Global Sustainable Development Congress, at which I will represent TUD from 16-19 June together with Dr. André Lindner and Claudia Seiler.

3. what do you want to achieve in the next 18 months? What are your goals?

Maike Heitkamp-Mai: My goal is to further develop the sustainability strategy effectively and collaboratively. I would first like to publish the action plan as soon as possible and establish participatory processes to incorporate new measures and ensure the broad involvement of the university community. At the same time, a monitoring system is to be set up that makes progress and effectiveness measurable and presents the implementation status transparently. For me, it is crucial to create reliable structures and clear responsibilities as well as to bundle the diverse activities at the university and develop them further as a joint, lively process. Open communication and the continuous involvement of everyone are particularly important here

Marie-Luise Steffler: The aim of my "term of office" is to develop an integrated climate protection concept for the university that includes concrete measures to reduce emissions and raise awareness among the university community. This involves identifying areas of activity and actively involving students and staff in the process. Broad participation is encouraged through workshops and information events to ensure that diverse perspectives are taken into account. This creates a common foundation for a sustainable future for our university.

4. Describe current challenges and opportunities in your area.

Marie-Luise Steffler: In order to achieve the climate protection targets that have been set, there is a certain urgency to reduce emissions quickly. To achieve this, many processes need to be rethought, buildings need to be upgraded and habits need to be changed. This is difficult and requires more than just (mental) strength.

I see opportunities in the TUD's forward-looking commitment. If climate protection is consistently taken into account here, the transformation towards greenhouse gas neutrality can succeed.

Maike Heitkamp-Mai : Anchoring sustainability at the university is a multi-layered and complex task, precisely because it permeates all organizational units and activities. This requires coordination, clear priorities and sometimes the ability to withstand conflicting goals. At the same time, this complexity offers enormous potential: TUD brings committed stakeholders, in-depth knowledge and a great deal of openness to the table. The University Executive Board's clear commitment, which provides orientation and creates commitment, is particularly important. This creates the opportunity not only to think about sustainability, but also to profile it together as a strength.

5. what have been the highlights of your rather short "term of office" so far?

Maike Heitkamp-Mai : A personal highlight for me was arriving at the Directorate University Culture - in an environment that is both warm and highly professional. The exchange with my colleagues Alexandra Seifert in the Green Office and Janne Stolte in the Environment Commission's office, who work with a lot of experience and commitment, is particularly valuable to me. I see it as a great opportunity to set new impulses together with Marie-Luise Steffler in this established context. I see it as a great opportunity to set new impulses together with Marie-Luise Steffler in this established context.

Marie-Luise Steffler: A particular highlight was the Health Day, where I was able to contribute the perspective of climate protection together with colleagues from Environmental Management. This year's motto "Fit from within - a healthy diet for better health" was a perfect fit, as diet-related emissions account for around a fifth of our greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. I was able to provide information about the "KlimaTeller", which has been labeling climate-friendly dishes in the Studentenwerk Dresden canteens since November 2024.