HochNiNa
HochNiNa
The Sustainability Network of Lower Saxony's Universities (HochNiNa) was established in 2018 with the aim of promoting dialogue and cooperation between those responsible for sustainability at universities in Lower Saxony. It aims to give them a common voice in order to expand sustainability at the state's universities.
Sustainability in higher education institutions encompasses not only operational issues such as energy saving, mobility and waste management, but also teaching, research, knowledge transfer and collaboration, as well as the structures and processes required to achieve sustainability within an institution, and reporting.
In recent years, universities in Lower Saxony have – partly due to their differing structures and resources – set very different priorities and developed distinct approaches to ‘sustainability and higher education’. The network aims to benefit from this diversity of expertise and ideas and to provide a platform for discussion, including on specific issues. It also serves as a source of new inspiration and opportunities to reflect on one’s own work.
The network operates through various working groups, currently focusing on the following topics:
- Moorland project for the state administration (contact: Anna Krämer, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg)
- ESD (Contact: Sira Möller, Technical University of Braunschweig)
- Sustainable research (contact: Helen Lehne, Braunschweig University of Technology)
- Sustainable procurement (contact: Katalin Kuse, University of Hildesheim)
- Space-saving & spatial concepts (Contact: Natalie Janus, Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts)
- Marketing for the network (Contact: Marco Lange, Georg-August University of Göttingen)
HochNiNa meets at least once a year for its annual network meeting. The next annual conference will take place in Wolfenbüttel in 2027, hosted by Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences.
Member universities
The participating universities are currently:
- Technical University Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig
- Braunschweig University of Fine Arts
- Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences
- Georg-August University Göttingen
- Leibniz University Hanover
- Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/ Holzminden/ Göttingen
- Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
- University of Veretinary Medicine
- University of Hildesheim
- Leuphana University Lüneburg
- Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
- University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück
- University of Osnabrück
- University of Vechta
- Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences
- Clausthal University of Technology
- Jade University of Applied Sciences
The network is open to all universities in Lower Saxony.
Contact persons
Coordination team of the network
- Anna Krämer, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
- Katalin Kuse, Universität Hildesheim
- Dr. Asja Mrotzek-Blöß, Technische Universität Clausthal
The coordination team is elected at the annual network meeting for a term of 2 years.
Third-party funded project COUNTS
Since August 2023, the HochNiNa network has been implementing the project "COUNTS - Standardisation, further development and communication of greenhouse gas emissions from universities in Lower Saxony". The aim of the three-year project, which is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment, is to enable, simplify and standardise greenhouse gas accounting for universities in Lower Saxony.
HochNiNa’s achievements
Sustainability reporting
In February 2026, HochNiNa presented the jointly developed implementation proposal on sustainability reporting to the working group of full-time vice-presidents in Lower Saxony. The universities will receive a guide to help them implement reporting in line with the HS-DNK and the UNISIMS criteria.
Training on Sustainable Procurement
In order to embed sustainable procurement into procurement practice, HochNiNa has already run several training programmes for the procurement departments of universities in Lower Saxony. On 22 January 2026, the seminar was offered as an official training course as part of the Inter-University Continuing Professional Development (HÜW) programme.
Reports on previous annual conferences
2026 Annual Conference in Clausthal
On 15 and 16 April 2026, the annual conference was hosted by Clausthal University of Technology. There, the network members were first welcomed by the full-time Vice-President, Dr Müller-Bahns, in a welcoming address. The universities then reported on their projects from the past year and shared their experiences. In addition, the thematic working groups reported on their progress since the last network meeting. To round off the first day, guests had the option of taking a guided tour of the Upper Harz Water Management facility. On the second day, the members discussed the structure of the network and worked on the COUNTS project.
2025 Annual Conference in Braunschweig
In 2025, the Technical University of Braunschweig hosted the annual network meeting on 2 and 3 April. Once again, the universities began by reviewing the past year and reporting on their successful projects. Following the report from the coordination team, the team was re-elected. The community of member universities confirmed Anna Krämer from the University of Oldenburg and Katalin Kuse from the University of Hildesheim in their posts. Asja Mrotzek-Blöß from Clausthal University of Technology was newly elected to the coordination team.
On the second day, the members exchanged views on the results of the working groups. This was followed by a discussion of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s (MWK) new guidelines on sustainability reporting and the development of a sustainability concept through target agreements. The event concluded with a series of workshops from the externally funded COUNTS project.
2024 Annual Conference in Hanover
In 2024, the network met at Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts on 17 and 18 April. There, President Prof. Dr Josef von Helden welcomed the HochNiNa members. The universities then presented their successes and challenges from the past year to one another in a review of the year. In addition, the coordination team provided an insight into discussions with other networks. On the second day, the various working groups reported on their findings, and network members had the opportunity to visit the Energy Life energy laboratory on the Linden campus.
2023 Annual Conference in Oldenburg
The 2023 network meeting took place on the 19th and 20th in Oldenburg and was jointly organised by the University of Oldenburg and the Jade University of Applied Sciences. The meeting brought together 15 sustainability and climate protection officers from 12 universities in Lower Saxony. During two lively, labour-intensive days, the next goals and steps of the network were discussed and further cooperation was structured in the form of working groups on specific topics and project content.
On Wednesday 19 April, the network representatives were welcomed by Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder, President of the University of Oldenburg, together with Mr Stahlmann, Vice President for Finance and Administration. "As universities, we have a special responsibility when it comes to the ecologically sustainable use of resources and climate protection. We are called upon to contribute to solving this global problem with our research - and at the same time, of course, we see it as our duty to minimise our own emissions," said Bruder.
The University of Oldenburg is represented in the network's coordination team by climate protection manager Anna Sarah Krämer.
(Image copyright: University of Oldenburg)
2022 Annual Conference in Emden
On 30 June 2022, the members of HochNiNa met for a networking event at Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences in Emden. Following a welcome address by the university’s president, Prof. Dr Kreutz, the university gave a presentation on its projects from the past year. In the afternoon, the focus was on discussions regarding a potential joint project, funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment.