A new name for the "VPIN"
ETH Sustainability will transfer to the Infrastructure Domain on 1 January 2025. At the same time, the domain will be renamed - as a sign of how important sustainability is for ETH Zurich. ?
ETH Zurich's largest school domain is changing its name - and with it comes a commitment to the future: the Vice Presidency for Infrastructure will become the Vice Presidency for Infrastructure and Sustainability as of 1 January 2025. This was approved by the Executive Board last week as part of the adoption of the organisational ordinance. At the same time, ETH Sustainability - previously a team in the Office of the President - will move to the newly named "VPIN". "The new name of ETH Zurich's largest school domain is a visible sign both internally and externally: It emphasises the significance of ETH Zurich's ecological, social, and economic responsibility now and in the future. Responsible and sustainable action will become an even stronger part of the organisational culture of the entire ETH Zurich," says Ulrich Weidmann, Vice President for Infrastructure.
ETH Sustainability continues to assume a cross-sectional role
In the totally revised organisational ordinance, the President of ETH Zurich continues to be responsible for topics such as equal opportunities and sustainable development. The concrete realisation of such cross-cutting issues by selected Vice Presidents is intended to strengthen the team-oriented management culture in the Executive Board and throughout the university.
“Responsible, sustainable action is to become an even stronger part of ETH Zurich's organizational culture in the future.”Ulrich Weidmann, Vice President for Infrastructure and Sustainability
Claudia Zingerli, Head of ETH Sustainability, highlights her team’s ongoing commitment to assume a cross-sectional role for ETH Zurich: "Our core mandate remains the same: we support, accelerate and initiate processes and projects to advance sustainability at ETH Zurich and in society," she says. "By becoming the Office of Sustainability and transferring to the leadership of the Vice President for Infrastructure and Sustainability, we anticipate more interest and enhanced collaboration and exchange with divisions that already implement a large part of the internal sustainability operations - for example in the areas of construction and energy. Additionally, we continue to focus on areas like reporting, education for sustainable development or partnership dialogue," explains Claudia Zingerli.
“Our core mission: We support, drive and initiate projects and processes that advance sustainability at ETH Zurich.”Claudia Zingerli, Head of ETH Sustainability
In 2025, a new structure will be created as well: the "Sustainability Council", consisting of representatives from the departments as well as staff and student organisations. This is intended to bring to life ETH Zurich's sustainability strategy even more strongly with input from the ETH community and social discourse. The "Sustainability Council" is expected to be constituted in the first quarter of 2025. It will be chaired by the "Delegate for Sustainable Transformation", who will be elected by the Executive Management in the coming weeks.
Sustainability at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich's approach to sustainability is deeply rooted in its overarching university strategy, encompassing ecological, social and economic dimensions. ETH Zurich is firmly convinced that universities bear both a significant opportunity and a societal responsibility to develop innovative solutions to address the challenges of our time.
The ETH Sustainability office remains centrally located at Weinbergstrasse 41 and is accessible as a meeting place for all ETH members.
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