The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) has been recognised as a "multiple winner" in the Paper Atlas 2025 for its renewed outstanding commitment to the use of recycled paper with the Blue Angel.
The Hochschule Niederrhein has been achieving top results in the Paper Atlas university competition organised by the Pro Recycling Paper Initiative for two years now. Now in its tenth year, the competition has set a new record: 59 universities took part and together achieved an average recycled paper quota of 71 per cent. Other "multiple winners" include the University of Tübingen, the Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Sciences, the FernUniversität in Hagen, the University of Vechta and the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.
The Hochschule Niederrhein consistently uses 100 per cent Blue Angel paper in its administration. Only recycled paper with the Blue Angel is also used in the faculties and in the in-house print shop. In two years, this use has saved a total of over 969,000 litres of water and around 218,000 kilowatt hours of energy compared to virgin fibre paper. The amount of water saved is equivalent to the daily consumption of more than 8,000 people. The energy saved could cover the annual electricity requirements of around 62 three-person households.
Marc Gebauer, spokesperson for the IPR, emphasises: "The Hochschule Niederrhein is one of the pioneers in sustainable paper procurement. By using recycled paper with the Blue Angel, the university achieves concrete ecological savings and sets important impulses for other universities as an example of best practice."
Since 2008, the Paper 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 Paper 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 at www.papieratlas.de.
