The University of Strasbourg adopts an energy sobriety plan

"Unistra" was singled out recently for wanting to close its premises for two more weeks this winter, in order to reduce its heating bill, but "it was only the tree that hid the forest, it was harbinger of something much stronger", underlines its president, Michel Deneken.

"With the Ukrainian crisis, (energy) markets have increased by 500% and this only precipitates the need for long-term measures", adds Mr Deneken, for whom the new plan adopted by the Council of administration of the university aims to "do well by doing less".

Unistra, which has seen its gas and electricity bill rise from 10 to 35 million euros per year between this year and next, voted for the first time a deficit budget for 2023, of 24 million euros, against a surplus of 4 to 5 million euros in previous years.

"The budget for 2023 would be roughly in line with recent years if it weren't for the energy crisis," notes Frédérique Berrod, vice-president in charge of finance.

In the weeks to come, Unistra will begin by realizing its carbon footprint and implementing numerous saving measures, in terms of heating and lighting of its 153 buildings spread over six campuses and 600.000 m2, which accommodate 60.000 students.

Already, the drop in room temperature to 19 degrees and the commissioning of heating a month later than usual, in November, have made it possible to achieve savings of around 5%.

As for the two additional weeks of closure this winter, the university management regrets "the media storm" that the announcement caused, and that Unistra "served as a punching bag", while "all the universities had thought to that". But it will still allow 3% more savings.

Insulation of buildings, adaptation of the university calendar or installation of photovoltaic panels are all avenues under study for the years to come, while business continuity plans in the event of a power cut, particularly in research laboratories , have been updated.