Designations for offices have always been associated with a certain sprode. This is no different at the office for the environment, fire and disaster control. But once the surface has been scratched open, a wide variety of tasks and areas of activity come to light: nature conservation, climate protection, waste management, immission control.
And if you go even deeper: resource conservation, ecological footprint, seasonality, fair trade and sustainability. A comprehensive task that the office has been performing for 25 years now. A review and outlook on the occasion of the anniversary was given at a ceremony at the university.
The office does not celebrate its anniversary with a pompous party. Instead, there was already an action day in july on the eastern plateau of the michelsberg monastery, where various groups, associations and organizations made visible what the office is concerned with.
"The office has always seen itself not only as an executive body, but also as a service provider for the citizens of bamberg, offering information and advice on all environmental topics", ralf haupt, social, public order and environmental officer of the city of bamberg, recapitulates the leitmotif of the "green office" the city of bamberg at the beginning of the anniversary event. "
Afterwards, head of the office herbert schutz gave a review of the office's 25 years of work. The founding and the first mabbige walking tests under the aegis of the mayor of old burg, max reichelt, who was one of the listeners, as was the former head of the office, rudolf gnad, were followed as early as 1991 by the first important step towards coping with the increasingly complex future: the acquisition of an ozone measuring device and the adoption of the bamberg waste management statutes.
The principle of sustainability
milestones followed, such as the environmental calendar, the local implementation of agenda 21, a traffic alert map, a permanent problem waste collection point, fish passes and walking aids or, most recently this year, the establishment of bamberg as a "fairtrade town" and the strategy for biological diversity.
The guest lecture by marcel hunecke, professor for general, organizational and environmental psychology at the university of applied sciences dortmund, provided a very in-depth insight into the principle of sustainability from an individual perspective. "To be more than to have was the title of his presentation on the demand for sustainable lifestyles.
Materialism is a thread running through the lives of many individuals, and it has two essentially "toxic effects": it leads to social comparisons ("my neighbor has a newer, rougher car, so he's better off") and neglected social relationships.
One of hunecke's guiding questions was therefore: "but how and by what means do we achieve life satisfaction beyond material consumption and economic growth??" hunecke presented the six essential psychological resources with which the individual path to sustainability can be achieved successes: enjoyment, self-acceptance, self-efficacy, mindfulness, construction of meaning and solidarity.
A very scientific and challenging lecture, but one that resonated with many listeners, as the response in the ensuing discussion and Q&A session showed.