On 6 June 2024, WIK held an online workshop on "smart, sustainable municipalities" with about 40 chief digital officers and climate protection managers from German municipalities. Hannah Horstmann, Julia Schönhärl and David Sossna presented the digital strategies from the cities of Konstanz, Amberg and the district of Steinfurt and showed how sustainability plays a role in them. WIK shared first results of an analysis of 200 digitalization strategies of German municipalities.
The event was part of the WIK non-profit research project, in which we are investigating the extent to which municipalities are already strategically dovetailing on topics of digitalization and sustainability. The study will be published later this year.
The workshop highlighted that more and more municipalities are publishing digitalization strategies. Several municipalities are also pursuing the goal of using digitalization for greater sustainability. Whether a climate data platform in Konstanz, a citizen wind farm in the district of Steinfurt or an energy-efficient building management system in Amberg: project examples show that municipalities are already thinking the topics of digitalization and sustainability together. Political support and clear responsibilities are crucial to promote sustainability at the local level and to implement measures.
Presentations of the workshop:
