On the path to climate neutrality, cities and municipalities must balance emissions within their own sphere of influence—a demanding task, considering the sheer number of stakeholders that need to be involved. The Bavarian capital Munich relies on its own “Corporate Carbon Footprint” team—supported by akaryon and its ESG-Cockpit as well as Climate Alliance Germany.
Addressing the challenges of a climate-neutral administration
Key pillars of Munich’s climate neutrality strategy include:
- Central decision as a foundation: In 2019, the Munich City Council set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2030.
“A central building block for the success of the project, in my view, is the decision for a climate-neutral administration at the highest level – whether it’s an official council resolution or a directive from the mayor. This is the prerequisite for everyone to participate and pull together,” says Astrid Keidel from the Department of Climate and Environmental Protection of the City of Munich. (Quote translated from German) - Monitoring: The Munich City Council calls its instrument for monitoring progress the “Corporate Carbon Footprint”. The process began in 2019 with the first assessment. The most recent assessments were published for 2020 and 2021. The upcoming assessment will be conducted using the ESG-Cockpit from akaryon in collaboration with Climate Alliance Germany.
- Leading by example and involving stakeholders: Focused measures include renovation of the city’s own properties, high energy standards for new buildings, and switching to renewable energy sources or decarbonizing district heating. They also comprise raising awareness among municipal employees, sustainable mobility offerings, and internal guidelines such as for business travel. A unique feature of Munich’s approach is the inclusion of all municipal enterprises and affiliated companies in which the city holds at least 50% of the shares.
- Network of municipal actors: Communication is especially important in this process. The Munich City Council regularly plans coordinated announcements with stakeholders, information events on the process and timeline for data submission and reporting, networking meetings (e.g., already held on the topic of photovoltaics), and synergy-building (e.g., initiated exchanges between clinics and care facilities on sustainable procurement or sustainability in food services).
“A central success factor for us is network building, because it’s the only way we can involve and motivate all of the roughly 200 participants. It’s also important that we, as the city administration, act as the central point of contact and keep the threads together,” explains Astrid Keidel. (Quote translated from German)
Stakeholder involvement, comparability, clarity—ESG-Cockpit contributes
In climate accounting, the Munich city administration faces the following challenges, among others:
- Number and diversity of stakeholders: Managing directors, climate protection officers, and other contacts from all participating institutions must be involved. This requires strategic exchange and strong communication.
- Comparability: The baseline years of the companies vary, and data development fluctuates due to external factors such as pandemics, wars, increases in floor space, varying data availability, or different reporting standards within companies. Figures therefore require explanation.
- Double counting: The emission data of the municipal utilities reflect the entire energy production and thus also include the final energy consumption of the other participating companies. This requires clarity.
The ESG-Cockpit helps to manage these challenges in a structured way.
The Munich city administration acquired the accounting tool and provides it free of charge to all participants who contribute data to the city’s assessment or wish to prepare sustainability reports for their own companies and organizations.
In cooperation with akaryon and Climate Alliance Germany, users are thoroughly trained and advised. The goal is efficient and simplified citywide carbon accounting in the future.
Transferability to other municipalities
Whether for a large city or rural municipality—additional success factors for a climate-neutral city administration, in addition to a central decision and the use of helpful software such as the ESG-Cockpit*, include, according to Astrid Keidel, head of the “Corporate Carbon Footprint” team:
- Pointing out to municipal enterprises and affiliated companies that by participating in the climate-neutral administration, they can fulfill some of the legal obligations they are subject to—a win-win situation
- Thematic exchange beyond the boundaries of one’s own municipality, for example within the Climate Alliance working group “Climate-Neutral Administration” or engagement with guidelines such as the ifeu guide “Climate-Neutral Municipal Administration in Baden-Württemberg” (Original title: „Leitfaden Klimaneutrale Kommunalverwaltung Baden-Württemberg“)
*You can find information about the services related to the ESG-Cockpit, which Climate Alliance Germany also offers for your city or municipality, here.
**The German working group “Climate-Neutral Administration” of Climate Alliance meets regularly in person or online. It focuses on topics such as reporting, processes, tools, data collection, standards, financing, and measures, and enables exchange. If you are interested in becoming part of the working group and advancing the goal of climate-neutral administration in your municipality, you can contact Sina Jäger at s.jaeger(at)klimabuendnis.org.
Click here to access a more detailed version of this article on the website of Climate Alliance Germany.