Federal Minister Dr Barbara Hendricks today honoured Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences as ‘Rising Star of the Year’ at the Federal Ministry for the Environment in Berlin. As part of the Papieratlas university competition, the Initiative Pro Recyclingpapier (IPR) and its partners recognised the exemplary commitment of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, which switched entirely to Blue Angel-certified recycled paper within a year. This also sees the university take third place in the ranking of Germany’s “Most Recycling Paper-Friendly Universities”. “I am delighted with this award, which underlines Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences’ commitment to sustainability,” says Dr Heide Naderer, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. “I am particularly pleased that we can now count ourselves amongst the most recycling-paper-friendly universities in Germany.” The title of “Most Recycling-Paper-Friendly University 2017” was awarded to the University of Osnabrück, with the Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Sciences for Business and the Environment coming in second place.
Following a successful debut last year, the IPR organised the university competition for the second time in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the Federal Environment Agency and the German Association of University Institutions. Universities with more than 5,000 students were invited to disclose their paper consumption and their recycled paper rates. Thirty-nine higher education institutions took part in this year’s competition, setting a new record with an average recycled paper rate of 65.84 per cent. This represents an increase of 8 percentage points compared with the previous year.
The use of recycled paper is a particularly simple and effective measure for conserving natural resources. The Blue Angel eco-label guarantees the highest environmental standards and the best quality. Compared with virgin fibre paper, paper bearing the Blue Angel label saves up to 60 per cent energy and up to 70 per cent water during production. Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences alone achieved savings of over 386,000 litres of water and more than 79,000 kWh of energy in 2016 through the use of recycled paper.
Since 2008, Germany’s cities have been competing to achieve the highest recycled paper rates. The data is collected annually and presented in the Paper Atlas. The success of this project has led to the launch of a separate competition for universities as well.
