Sustainable responsibility
As thought leaders of social development, universities are particularly challenged to live up to their pioneering role with regard to sustainable development. A conversation with Maria Kalleitner-Huber, Head of the Department for Sustainability at the Mozarteum University, about potentials and challenges at an (art) university.
Image: "Plant Cube" (2023), Greenhouse of the Sculpture Class - Department of Fine Arts and Design
What path led you to sustainability?
My personal path to sustainability began with my choice of studies - I decided on an individual diploma programme in environmental consulting, specialising in environmental management, waste management and waste disposal technology. I was particularly influenced by life cycle thinking with regard to products and services. The planning and design steps are of central importance and the responsibility extends far beyond one's own company: Under what conditions is a product manufactured? Is it practicable or does it quickly become waste? Many aspects of this can be transferred to a university enterprise. Sustainability is about the social responsibility of our actions. The goal is to leave behind as little negative and as much positive as possible.
What does sustainability mean at an arts university?
Implementing sustainable development requires a transformation both internally and externally, which is an enormous feat and requires questioning established structures and processes. This begins with the consumption of resources and extends into decision-making and information processes. More concretely: Artistic activities in the visual and performing arts require a certain materiality and experimental approaches to a theme. Here it is necessary to weigh up what resources are needed to achieve effects or learning effects. And what alternatives there are. The strong international orientation of the Mozarteum University, especially in music, and cultural exchange are absolute necessities for the further development of the institution, its teachers and students. This is linked to a certain amount of travel, which presents us with challenges in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The arts sector is just as subject to the growth narrative of "faster - further - higher" as other economic sectors. This is accompanied by negative consequences, also for the artists.
How closely is sustainability linked to art? Can art change the (surrounding) world?
Art has always raised socially relevant questions and critically examined developments, so the connection is very close! We are embedded in different "environments", family, colleagues, circles of friends, local communities, etc. Our actions have direct local or indirect effects. Our actions have direct local or indirect, even global effects. Artistic approaches can make this connection perceptible and emotionally tangible for all our senses. What doesn't touch us, supposedly doesn't affect us. Art can achieve great things here, also in terms of using creative approaches to develop alternative solutions. Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity are indispensable in order to be able to meet complex challenges such as the climate crisis or social injustice with practicable instructions for action. It is important to build the competence and empowerment of our students to be part of the solution in their future professional environment.
Which climate protection measures do you think are really important, for individuals or institutions?
In terms of CO2 emissions, the biggest polluters for the university as a service provider are building management and mobility. One of the biggest levers is electricity and energy consumption; here it is important to identify and use savings potential and to switch to renewable energy sources as quickly as possible. In everyday mobility, the choice of means of transport, the distance and the frequency of the routes travelled are decisive. With the home office option, for example, we were able to make an important contribution to preventing traffic congestion and also to improving the work-life balance.
What goals does the Mozarteum University set for itself in terms of sustainability, and what activities are already in place?
"Responsibility - Sustainability" is anchored in the development plan as one of our three overall strategic goals. The overarching goal is to orient all activities towards sustainability. In the implementation, we are guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, which sets goals for a fairer society in all dimensions of sustainability. Students and teachers alike are already actively addressing the climate crisis or social injustices, e.g. by participating in the Sustainability Challenge or with the European project "Open your eyes and tell me what you see", which places the climate crisis at the centre of a musical-compositional cooperation. In the visual arts, there are numerous cooperation projects and thematic semester focuses on the confrontation between art and ecology; in drama, burning social issues and developments are dealt with, such as the housing shortage in Salzburg. The coaching programme 'Arts of Change - Change of Arts' offers students the opportunity to engage with art, sustainability and socio-ecological transformation in terms of content and methodology.
What do you have planned for your department in the future?
We are currently setting up an interdisciplinary working group for sustainability, which is intended to establish a continuous development and improvement process to uphold our social responsibility. Sustainable development is a process that impacts all areas of the university and is addressed in teaching, research, EEK, operations & resources, governance and third mission. By the end of 2024, a sustainability strategy and thus a concept will be available on how sustainable development can be structurally implemented and lived at the university. In university operations, the introduction of an environmental management system is in preparation, a voluntary instrument for improving environmental performance, which will be established by 2024. In cooperation with AKID, the INDI Day, which is dedicated to issues of inclusion and diversity in a discursive and performative way, will be enriched with an Arts of Change exhibition.
What do you personally miss about the debate between (art) universities and sustainability?
We need more freedom to devote ourselves more to the social relevance and impact of our work, but artistic quality should not be neglected in the process. Universities also have a great external impact, which they should use more to position themselves for a fairer society.
What do you think is good about (art) universities and sustainability?
The fact that they think outside the box. Things are constantly being initiated that offer new points of reflection.
(First published in Uni-Nachrichten / Salzburger Nachrichten on 10 June 2023)
