With its sustainability strategy, the University of Würzburg relies on paper that is 100 per cent recycled. For this, it received the highest honour in the Papier Atlas 2025.
The award was presented on 4 November by Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment in Berlin. Dr Uwe Klug, Chancellor of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), accepted the award. The title is awarded annually for outstanding commitment to the use of recycled paper labelled with the Blue Angel and thus made from 100 percent recycled waste paper. This year, a total of 59 universities, which together achieved an average recycled paper quota of 71 per cent, were considered.
In administration and university operations, JMU uses 100 per cent Blue Angel paper - in the Papier Atlas 2024, its share was around 90 per cent. This makes an important contribution to climate and resource protection: last year alone, JMU was able to save over 657,000 litres of water and almost 148,000 kilowatt hours of energy by using recycled paper compared to virgin fibre paper. This amount of water corresponds to the daily consumption of more than 5,400 people. The energy saved would be enough to cover the annual electricity needs of more than 40 three-person households.
"We have anchored our participation in the Papier Atlas as one of several measures in the University of Würzburg's sustainability strategy," explains Professor Anja Schlömerkemper, JMU Vice President for Equal Opportunity, Career Planning and Sustainability, "the award encourages us to continue on this ambitious path."
Thomas Leimeister, Head of Department 3 - Finance Service Centre at JMU: "I see this as confirmation of the path we took in 2019 towards exclusively purchasing recycled paper and would like to thank you for this great recognition."
Marc Gebauer, spokesperson for the Initiative Pro Recyclingpapier, emphasises: "Julius-Maximilians-Universität is one of the pioneers in sustainable paper procurement." By using recycled paper with the Blue Angel, the university is achieving concrete ecological savings and setting important impulses for other universities.
About the Papier Atlas
Since 2008, the Papier Atlas has documented the paper consumption and recycled paper quotas of German cities every year, as well as universities since 2016 and districts since 2018. Cooperation partners include the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the Federal Environment Agency, the German Association of Cities, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, the German Association of Counties and the German University Association. In 2025, the Papier Atlas recorded both increased recycling paper rates and a new record level of participation: A total of 260 municipalities and universities took part.
All results are available for download on the Paper Atlas website .
