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50 exciting, small and large climate protection projects from a wide range of areas that make Stuttgart a better place to live applied for the #jetztklimachen Prize 2023. Three of these projects were awarded the #jetztklimachen-Preis 2023 by the City of Stuttgart's Climate Protection Department in cooperation with the Stuttgart climate community. As so many outstanding projects were submitted, the jury awarded special recognition to three other projects in addition to the three winners. There was also a special prize from Klima Community e.V. But how did the winners fare after the award ceremony and what's new to report? Special recognitions The jury paid special tribute to three projects for their exemplary character, their appeal beyond the region and their enormous potential for imitation. The Plus-Energy Quarter made of wooden modules in Bad Cannstatt, which generates more energy from renewable sources than it needs itself; the Feuerbach Sports Association with its systematic climate protection and energy-saving measures; and the start-up Proservation with its ecological packaging solution made from grain husks. In order to offer the projects a communicative platform, interviews were conducted in each case, which were disseminated in editorial articles via the various channels of the staff unit. This enabled the Plus-Energiequartier to be presented to a new target group via the building modernization newsletter (over 11,000 recipients). Proservation's new crowdfunding round was also publicized on the #jetztklimachen website and via the Linked-In community. A project video was made last year for the Feuerbach Sports Association, which is also supported by a project of the Stuttgart Climate Innovation Fund. The sports association also won the German Sustainability Award 2023 in the sports category. 1st place: wandering, climate-friendly lunch table The "Sustainable in Hallschlag" project's roaming lunch table, our first winner of the #jetztklimachen prize 2023, brings together the school cafeteria, youth center, daycare center, church, intergenerational house and pub to offer an open, climate-friendly lunch for everyone. There are also suggestions and information on climate-friendly nutrition at home. The jury sums it up: "The great thing about this project is that so many players in the city are pulling together, doing something for a good cause and promoting climate-friendly nutrition." The traveling lunch table has already achieved a lot: The youth center wants to become a distribution point for food sharing, the Johannes Gutenberg School covers sustainable nutrition in lessons and the Generationenhaus has introduced vegetarian food days. The next step is to implement the project in other districts of Stuttgart. The Climate Protection Department is also supporting the design of a designation concept for other districts, with the coordinator for climate-friendly nutrition, Sabine Weick. You can see what a typical walking lunch looks like, where project manager Lisa Langosch sees the future challenges and how Timo Hildebrand got involved on site in the newly shot project video: https: //jetztklimachen.stuttgart.de/drei-fragen-an-wandernden-mittagstisch 2nd place: Freie Radwerkstatt 0711, now: lights and handlebars Students and staff at Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences came together and founded the "Freie Radwerkstatt 0711" (now Lichter & Lenker). They make bikes ready to ride again. They also enable cyclists to repair their bikes themselves, providing tools, spare parts and experienced helpers. Thanks to their cargo bike, they also set up a pop-up workshop in public places. The successful combination of sustainable mobility with the topics of the circular economy and education particularly appealed to the jury. "Alternatives must be offered so that people adopt climate-friendly mobility in their everyday lives," said the jury. The project group was able to move forward immediately after the award ceremony: The non-profit association "Lichter und Lenker" was founded to put the project on a solid footing in the long term. The work is to be expanded above all with cooperation at various locations in the city, for example with a joint workshop with the state parliament or cooperation with other bicycle-related associations such as the German Cyclists' Federation (ADFC). You can take a closer look at the concept in the project video: https: //jetztklimachen.stuttgart.de/drei-fragen-an-lichter-lenker 3rd place: Interactive scavenger hunt "Climate protection and energy saving at Hegel" Every second person trained in climate protection? That sounds impossible? Hegel-Gymnasium Stuttgart has done it! The school's environmental spokespeople have used the "Actionbound" app to create an interactive scavenger hunt on energy saving and climate protection at Hegel. Half the school has already completed it. The jury was particularly impressed by the students' independent initiative. The jury is convinced: "The Actionbound is designed for Hegel-Gymnasium, but this very specific educational project can easily be transferred to other young people and schools." For the environmental spokespersons of Hegel-Gymnasium, it is clear that they want to decide on their own ("without teacher influence") what the prize money of 1,000 euros should be used for. In keeping with the diverse project, we made a video with the pupils and the teacher responsible, Mr. Morgenstern: jetztklimachen.stuttgart.de/drei-fragen-an-hegel-gymnasium With the help of various networks, the project is also to be presented to as many schools as possible in Stuttgart for imitation. Special prize from the Stuttgart climate community: "Inselgrün - the 24/7 open neighborhood and educational garden" The Inselgrün urban garden is a learning and community garden that is open 24/7 in the middle of Neckarpark in Bad Cannstatt. The green oasis has been a meeting place for gardening and lingering since 2012. Inselgrün also includes a "Foodsharing Bürgercafé", educational projects such as cooking courses and workshops on the topics of botany and kitchen gardens, bed sponsorships by residents in the neighborhood, school campaigns and social days organized by Stuttgart companies. In addition to the 250 euros in prize money, the climate community also supported the project in terms of communication. The members of the association were on site at Inselgrün and were busy filming interviews and videos for social media. After the award ceremony, a permaculture workshop and a vegan Christmas market were held on the island of culture. In addition, a new area with raised beds is currently being set up especially for children to sow and harvest. Inspired by so much commitment to the climate? There are many more projects to discover here: www.klima-community.de/jetztklimachen-preis.html And perhaps there are already plans for a new edition of the #jetztklimachen award next year. So stay tuned! :)
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Europe's largest municipal innovation fund for the climate is entering its seventh round - the Stuttgart Climate Innovation Fund . Climate projects can apply in four funding lines until the end of April - specifically for grants of between 25,000 and one million euros. We as the Stuttgart Climate Community were also supported by the fund during our start-up phase. We now had the chance to put our questions to the manager of the fund, Hauke Diederich. When we think of fund managers, many of us think of people in suits who keep an eye on their trading screens. It's probably different for you. How should we imagine your work? Hauke: I actually prefer to wear hoodies and the last time I wore a suit was probably at my wedding. But seriously, my work is very varied and usually takes place in phases. The hot phase of the application process is currently underway, which means that I have designed and implemented an online tutorial together with my colleagues to answer as many questions as possible that keep coming up for a lot of people in one go. Then our team is currently having lots of personal discussions with applicants who want to present their idea, have tips on how to submit an application or have other questions. Our actual "main business" of supporting and funding projects takes a back seat during these phases. For the funded projects, we must of course first and foremost ensure that the funding can be paid out quickly once the project has achieved its objectives. But then, together with the communications team in the Climate Protection department, we also support the projects in their communication with our social media channels, create videos of the projects and establish important links with the city administration. In addition to these tasks, which are closely related to the projects, there are of course also classic project management tasks, such as budget planning and control, monitoring the funding projects on our online platform, which we are constantly developing, preparing submissions to the municipal council and exchanging information with Stuttgart's city councillors. I also have to clarify questions relating to subsidy and EU state aid law, for which I also have the support of a law firm. As you can see, you don't get bored that quickly. But there's always time for a coffee and a joke with colleagues :) Who can apply for funding from you? And what are the four funding lines all about? Hauke: In principle, we support any type of organization. Funding projects are currently running in start-ups as well as in long-established companies, sports and other associations, universities and research institutes. The four funding lines were originally three: depending on the size of the project, the geographical radius also expands, although the projects are of course always implemented in Stuttgart. Small projects (up to €100,000 in funding) must come from Stuttgart, medium-sized projects (up to €500,000) may come from the state of Baden-Württemberg and for the large line (up to €1,000,000 in funding), applicants from all over Europe are permitted. After a year, a cooperation with one of the largest nature conservation organizations in the world, The Nature Conservancy, added another line that specifically promotes nature-based, green solutions up to €500,000 - also for applicants throughout Europe! Some interested parties certainly have some respect for complicated applications. Is there an opportunity to discuss this in advance with personal contacts? Many organizations apply to us for public funding for the first time. We have already taken this into account in the design phase and kept the application process as lean as possible. Nobody is excluded because an attachment has been forgotten or a field has been filled in incorrectly. We then simply ask again. But the best part of my job is the personal exchange with the applicants about their ideas! Our team is always available in the run-up to the application deadline to discuss project ideas or clarify questions. We have already collected the most frequently asked questions online . Recently, the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper reported criticism of the fund's results-based funding guidelines. What do you say to the critics? The Climate Innovation Fund provides funding based on results, which means that the funding is only paid out once predetermined results have been achieved. Of course, this means that you have to think about how you can bridge the initial period without funding and make sure that the promised targets are realistic. For us, however, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages: the projects are freer in their use of funds, i.e. how they achieve their goals. Another advantage is the simple reporting and accounting: when a milestone has been reached, this only needs to be verified and the costs checked for plausibility. There is no need to write lengthy reports that nobody reads in the end. We have also heard from projects that the financing mode has led to people sitting down after each milestone and considering whether it is realistic to achieve the next goal before investing money, manpower and often a lot of heart and soul - and if it is not realistic, they can pull the ripcord in good time and talk to us. Nevertheless, results-based funding is of course a point that we have discussed controversially in the team from the outset and continue to do so now. The Climate Innovation Fund is currently being evaluated by an external consulting team and we have asked them to analyze this point in detail once again. Is there a project funded by you that is particularly close to your heart? I don't have a "favorite project". However, I am always very happy when our projects reach a lot of people or when our support leads to projects being scaled up or receiving awards. For example, the Feuerbach Sports Association was awarded the German Sustainability Award at the end of last year for its "Klimafit " project and the start-up variolytics was accepted into the European Innovation Council Accelerator with its "Emission Control " system for wastewater treatment plants. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us! Picture of the Stuttgart Climate Innovation Fund team - you can see Hauke Diederich on the right (C) Jan Kohlmeyer
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Wow, what a season for VfB Stuttgart! After 34 match days, the club has secured second place in the Bundesliga. VfB are runners-up! But coach Sebastian Hoeneß' team wants to do more than just shine on the pitch. As a club, VfB takes its responsibility for the environment and society seriously and has set itself ambitious targets for sustainable action. Sustainability on the rise: VfB has recognized that soccer is more than just a sport. As one of the most popular clubs in Germany, it has the opportunity to sensitize millions of people to sustainable action. VfB therefore pursues a comprehensive sustainability strategy that encompasses all three dimensions of sustainability: Economic, ecological and social. The specific goals include Climate neutrality: VfB wants to significantly reduce its CO2 footprint and is aiming for climate neutrality in the long term. Sustainable mobility: More e-cars as company cars for employees, promotion of environmentally friendly travel for fans to matches. Resource conservation: including waste avoidance, recycling and energy-efficient buildings. Social responsibility: promoting diversity and inclusion, supporting disadvantaged groups. VfB is thus demonstrating that it wants to live up to its responsibility as a club and as part of society. With its sustainability strategy, VfB sets standards for other clubs and shows that soccer can also make a contribution to a better future. You can find more information here: VfB Stuttgart | Goals A particularly exciting and detailed look at the club's commitment to the German Sustainability Code .
