Open Access

Jan Münchenberg, Lena Ritzinger

• Cooperative IT services are becoming increasingly important for higher education and research institutions. So far, the focus has mostly been on the fair distribution of financial costs, personnel expenses and risks among the participating institutions – primarily from the perspective of the service providers and customers. However, new legal regulations and sustainability objectives, such as theCooperative IT services are becoming increasingly important for higher education and research institutions. So far, the focus has mostly been on the fair distribution of financial costs, personnel expenses and risks among the participating institutions – primarily from the perspective of the service providers and customers. However, new legal regulations and sustainability objectives, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs1) and GreenIT initiatives, now require that additional aspects of ecological considerations are also taken into account in cooperations. Currently, few established concepts address this need. This paper explores which existing concepts of the financial perspective can be transferred to ecological load sharing from the perspective of established IT service management. It identifies key challenges and underscores the necessity for cultural shifts in decision-making processes, where traditional financial frameworks prove insufficient. While cooperative arrangements may pose difficulties for providers, they offer significant benefits for customers. The statewide service bwCloud-OS serves as a practical example of an initial approach. The ongoing project aims to refine these ecological burden-sharing models further, providing a foundational framework for similar initiatives in other statewide services, thereby contributing to Baden-Württemberg’s goal of achieving climate-neutral universities.…