"With the ClimateCheck, we are focusing on transparency. Not only the district councillors, but also the citizens of the Ludwigsburg district will then know what every decision means for the climate," says District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier. "With the ClimateCheck, we are raising awareness among the administration, district council and citizens and offering a decision-making aid." Climate-relevant aspects are thus recognized during the planning stage and considered at an early stage.
Making projects more climate-friendly
"Our aim is to make even more consistent use of the district administration's potential for climate protection," continued the district administrator. "We want to be a role model when it comes to climate protection and master this joint task in all of our organizational units. With the new online tool, our employees can quickly and easily see which adjustments can still be made to make various projects more climate-friendly."
Online questionnaire measures climate impact
Depending on the subject area, the author of a proposal for the district council must answer an online questionnaire to assess the climate impact of their project. No exact greenhouse gases are calculated in order to keep the effort reasonable. In the end, the answers result in a value between "-2", which means a strong negative climate impact", and "+2", which in turn means a strong positive climate impact. Projects with a negative climate check must be justified. The final decision is then made by the district council. The impact on the climate is taken into account in a similar way to the financial consequences of a decision.
Tool can also be transferred to other municipalities
The tool developed is not only intended to benefit climate protection in the district's projects. Together with Komm.One, an institution of the state and local authorities in Baden-Württemberg, the Ludwigsburg district office is offering the opportunity to transfer the ClimateCheck to other local authorities and institutions. "We need to become more efficient in climate protection. The KlimaCheck is a good example of how not every local authority has to reinvent the wheel," explains Tina Prietz, Climate Neutral Administration Officer and project manager for the KlimaCheck. For a small fee, local authorities have the opportunity to adapt their own website and the stored questionnaire to changing conditions and individual needs at any time.
Request from the district council at the start of the ClimateCheck
In March last year, the Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen parliamentary group suggested developing a procedure for checking the climate impact of all draft resolutions. The Climate Protection Team implemented the Climate Check in cooperation with the Digitalization and IT department, Komm.One and the City of Ludwigsburg.
Note: Municipalities that would like to take part in the ClimateCheck can contact klimaschutz[at]landkreis-ludwigsburg.de.
