Hubs – contact partners for interested community colleges or course instructors

The climate-fit Hubs are pivotal to the successful implementation of the project. With their expertise, regional presence and extensive regional networks, they support the development of the courses and help them become established in the respective regions. They provide regional and organisational junctions for ‘climate-fit’, help organise new venues, and supervise those that are already up and running. Our Hubs are happy to help you and answer your questions.

Are you interested in offering climate-fit at your local community college? Or would you like to become a course instructor and teach about global as well as regional climate change, climate protection, and adaptation to the effects of climate change?

If so, and you would like more information on the course content and format, please contact our climate-fit partners ecolo - Agentur für Ökologie und Kommunikation for Northern Germany, ifpro - Institut für Fortbildung und Projektmanagement for Southern Germany, KlimaDiskurs.NRW for North Rhine-Westphalia, Verein Zukunftsfähiges Thüringen e.V. / Projekt Nachhaltigkeitszentrum Thüringen for Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt or Live e.V. for Berlin and Brandenburg.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Hub North since 2019: ecolo GmbH & Co. KG – Agency for Ecology and Communication

The Bremen-based project management and PR agency ecolo is active in all areas related to sustainability, including issues such as nature and climate protection, climate adaptation and sustainable mobility, as well as corporate environmental protection and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). It particularly focuses on creating and sharing information on these topics in a manner tailored to specific target groups. Whether in children’s day care facilities, local community projects, in company headquarters, climate protection competitions, or (local) political processes – ecolo highlights the leverage effects of climate-friendly behaviour and as such fosters societal change. ecolo sees klimafit as an opportunity to make more people aware of the urgent issues of our times, and to motivate them to get involved.

The company’s 26-year history means that employees have access to numerous contacts in northern Germany and beyond, and that they have an intuitive understanding of the ‘climate scene’ at all levels of decision-making. Above all, its involvement in nationwide model projects like the German Climate Preparedness Portal has allowed ecolo to gain deep insights into national developments. The agency is just as much at home in various local projects e.g. to develop strategies for dealing with the consequences of climate change or to promote sustainable mobility. The resulting network with business partners and project partners is also valuable when it comes to acquiring and supporting klimafit locations. Thanks to klimafit, this network is constantly expanding and offering new perspectives so that it can remain close to what’s happening on the ground. http://www.ecolo-bremen.de/

Contact Region North
ecolo
Bithja Menzel
ecolo - Agentur für Ökologie und Kommunikation
E-Mail: klimafit@ecolo-bremen.de
Tel.: (0421)230011-13

Hub South since 2017: Institut für Fortbildung und Projektmanagement ifpro

The Institut für Fortbildung und Projektmanagement ifpro has been active in the area of climate change, climate protection and climate adaptation for over 15 years. It focuses on individuals who are looking for new challenges when it comes to activities in the fields of climate protection and climate adaptation. By educating, advising and onboarding various actors, ifpro promotes climate protection at the local and regional levels.

In addition to developing training concepts, ifpro organises events in a variety of formats, as well as projects on the topic of climate protection in close collaboration with local authorities or institutions active in this context, such as energy and climate protection agencies, as well as planning offices. By organising various climate adaptation projects within the framework of DAS, the Institute has established excellent connections with important actors in Baden-Württemberg and beyond, and serves, among other things, as an advisor to and founding member of the ‘Klimaanpassungsnetzwerk Südlicher Oberrhein’ (Climate Adaptation Network Southern Upper Rhine). As the initiator of the ‘Fortbildungsnetzwerk Klimawandel & Klimaanpassung’ (Climate Change and Climate Adaptation Training Network), ifpro is a hub for people active in various areas connected to climate change.

Especially the part-time training on communal energy and climate protection management provides participants with the skills needed to fill relevant positions on town, municipal and district councils, or at energy and climate protection agencies, planning offices and consultancies, or to take on voluntary work in the field. Course tutors, participants and those who have completed the course continuously expand the growing network. ifpro brought this experience and contacts to the community college pilot project in 2016 and has since established and constantly developed the klimafit Hub South.

https://www.fortbildung-klimawandel.de/ifpro/

Contact Region South
ifpro
Dr Wulf Westermann
Institut für Fortbildung und Projektmanagement ifpro
E-Mail: klimafit@ifpro.de
Tel.: (0761)51914319

Hub West since 2020: KlimaDiskurs.NRW e.V.

KlimaDiskurs.NRW is a non-profit organisation that lobbies for joint action. Founded in 2012, the association, which is backed by foundation funds and membership fees, has set the ambitious twin goals of protecting the climate and strengthening the economy and industry in NRW.

The association’s approach, which is unique both in the area and nationally, brings together actors from across sectors and from civil society (e.g. environmental and consumer organisations and churches), business (e.g. energy-intensive companies and SMEs), academia (e.g. research institutes) and administration (e.g. municipalities) to discuss controversial climate protection topics impartially. The discussions in a protected setting allow ideological debates to be overcome, contribute to mutual understanding and trust, and increase the readiness to compromise. At KlimaDiskurs.NRW, there is no ‘either – or’; instead, dialogues between peers serve as instruments for developing a solution-oriented joint climate protection strategy for NRW.

In order to achieve a successful climate transformation, the association uses open formats to involve the public at large, facilitates internal discourses among its members, and organises KLI-MA.LOUNGES under the Chatham House Rules. The members of KlimaDiskurs.NRW include municipal umbrella organisations, as well as various local and municipal institutions. Having recognised that energy and climate transformation will take place above all on the ground at the local level, in recent years the association has increasingly directed its activities at municipalities and their specific needs, and has systematically included them in the discourse. This established network provides particularly beneficial support for the klimafit initiative.

https://klimadiskurs-nrw.de/

Contact Region NRW
Anja Surmann
Geschäftsführerin
KlimaDiskurs.NRW e.V.
E-Mail: anja.surmann@klimadiskurs-nrw.de (oder klimafit@klimadiskurs-nrw.de)
Tel.: 0211 828 054 96

Hub East since 1 July 2021: Sustainable Thuringia / Sustainability Centre Thuringia Project

The association Zukunftsfähiges Thüringen (Sustainable Thuringia; ZTh e.V.) develops and implements projects within the framework of Agenda 2030 at both the state and national level. Current projects include: RENN.mitte, Globally Sustainable Communities in Thuringia (GNK-T), and the Sustainability Centre Thuringia (NHZ). The NHZ project presents the association’s thoughts and ideas at the municipal level. Established in 2011, the NHZ is a state-wide network and is funded by the Free State of Thuringia through the Thuringian Ministry of Environment, Energy and Nature Protection. It advises local authorities on sustainability-related topics, organises training courses, and promotes the sharing of experiences (e.g. the Thuringia Sustainability Forum (TNF) and ‘Future Forums’), coordinates the processes for Thuringia’s certification mark for Education for Sustainable Development (BNE), and establishes contact with sponsors of BNE education outside schools.

A variety of collaborations with other sustainability actors like the Thuringia Institute of Sustainability and Climate Protection (ThINK), climate protection managers, higher education institutions and universities, organisations and associations, local authorities and various ministries, have arisen through the association and in its projects. The NHZ chairs the state council for the ‘climate-neutral’ certification. It supports important local and regional processes, including the BMBF research initiative ‘Klimaschutzregion Ilmtal – Innovation, Partizipation, Zukunftsfähiges Wirtschaften’ (Climate Protection Region Ilmtal – Innovation, Participation and Sustainable Business). Furthermore, for the last decade the NHZ has been represented on the Energy Advisory Board of the Southwest Thuringia Regional Planning Office (TLVwA) and a joint organiser of its annual energy conference. Since 2013, the NHZ has organised the ‘Mayor’s Dialogue on Sustainable Municipal Development in Thuringia’ (BMD), which addresses the challenge of implementing Agenda 2030 at the municipal level.

With regard to community college courses, the series of events ‘How Can We Survive Climate Change?’, which has been offered by the community college in Arnstadt-Ilmenau since 2019, is worthy of mention. RENN.mitte is one of four regional sustainability-strategy networking offices in Germany. It connects actors and initiatives in the states Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. ZTh e.V. is the consortium leader for RENN.mitte and shares its findings, as well as its partners and contacts, with the states Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, which are also part of the regional klimafit Hub Thuringia.

https://nhz-th.de/

Contact Region East

Nachhaltigkeitszentrum Thüringen 
Zukunftsfähiges Thüringen e.V.
Schönbrunnstraße 8
99310 Arnstadt
anna.allstaedt@nhz-th.de 
Tel: 03628 6407 23

In Saxony, the klimafit project is supported by the State Center for Political Education Saxony (Sächsische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung) as part of its own “Controversial and Local” (Kontrovers vor Ort) project.

Hub Northeast since 2020: LIFE e.V.

LIFE e.V. has been implementing projects in the field of the environment, education and equal opportunities since 1988. The topics include climate protection and resource protection, energy efficiency and climate change adaption, as well as ‘green’ career choices and the environmentally friendly and participative development of urban districts. It also advises consumers and businesses, designs campaigns and training courses, and organises events for young people and adults. From local construction activities, youth camps, street events and ‘neighbourhood labs’ to advocating for gender issues in international climate politics – LIFE e.V. fights for greater environmental justice.

In order to create appealing, high-quality and innovative climate education projects, LIFE e.V. relies on a strong network of regional partners. LIFE e.V. promotes action at the local level – in municipalities, in districts, and in neighbourhoods. The association is active in the region and throughout Berlin. Beyond urban borders, it has an excellent network in Brandenburg. Its work is consistently practice-oriented. As such, LIFE e.V. implements projects in collaboration with Berlin-based companies, schools and institutions concerned about climate protection and climate adaptation in the context of equal opportunities.

As a member of the Interkulturelles Bündnis für Nachhaltigkeit, it has implemented e.g. projects to address environmental problems in Berlin’s residential districts. Together with the Climate Alliance Germany, LIFE e.V. develops educational programmes and supports climate campaigns such as the Week of the Environment. Through various projects, it campaigns for a climate-just mobility transition in Berlin, in order to drastically reduce the CO2 emissions caused by transport. And above all, it employs multifaceted formats in environmental education to promote action in the areas of climate protection and sustainability – from workshops and youth camps to hands-on ‘neighbourhood labs’ and local activities. Not to mention educational modules, like the FAKT online courses for apprentices and craftspeople, which explore the impacts and challenges of climate change in Berlin-Brandenburg.

Over the past several years, LIFE e.V. has established contacts with municipal actors who actively promote and support its work. The success of its creative activities and events is due to the close collaboration with representatives from the respective urban districts, e.g. for climate protection and zero waste in Spandau and Mitte, the mobility transition in Tempelhof-Schöneberg, and environmental justice in Neukölln. In Brandenburg, it has close ties to the Eberwalde University for Sustainable Development, as well as actors in climate education. 

 

https://life-online.de/

Contact Berlin
Ansprechpartner:innen: Kirsten Heininger und Till Rosemann
LIFE e.V Bildung Umwelt Chancengleichheit
klimafit Hub Berlin | LIFE e.V. Berlin (life-online.de)

E-Mail: klimafit@life-online.de
Tel.: +49 30 308 798-30

KlimaKom Hub Bavaria since 2021:KlimaKom eG

As a non-profit cooperative for sustainable development, since 2010 KlimaKom has helped communities to improve their future-readiness and assume responsibility for achieving a climate-just and socially just future. On site, we work together on equal footing with local actors to find feasible, socially and environmentally viable and democratically legitimated solutions in keeping with the guiding sustainability targets of the United Nations, as well as the 1.5-degree goal defined in the Paris Agreement.

One major focus is on improving the crisis resilience of Bavaria’s rural communities. In addition to academic studies on the topics of sustainability, global justice and resilience, as well as devising new sustainability and climate protection / adaptation concepts, KlimaKom can also accompany and support participatory processes and the implementation of planned measures.

Through the klimafit project, KlimaKom has entered the field of adult education, in particular education for sustainable development. Thanks to its years of participation in municipal and regional development processes, the cooperative offers an ideal interface between communities, initiatives, companies and educational institutes – not to mention other cooperatives – across Bavaria.

http://klimakom.de/

Contact: Region Bavaria

KlimaKom eG
Lena Kopp
E-Mail: lena.kopp@klimakom.de
Tel.: 0176 34619704

Hub Rhineland-Palatinate, Hessen and the Saarland since 2021

Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS)

The Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS) is a research institute of Trier University of Applied Sciences, based at its Environmental Campus Birkenfeld site. Birkenfeld is one of the most unique campuses in Germany, offering students the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary studies at the ‘greenest university in Germany’, which took home 6th place in the international GreenMetric ranking in 2020.

At the international, national, regional and municipal level, the IfaS, through its interdisciplinary orientation and various projects, works to enhance value creation in its member regions through the innovative management of local material flows, while simultaneously implementing environmental and climate protection measures. This includes providing support for cities’ and municipalities’ climate protection projects in the context of the national climate protection initiative. In addition, on the basis of the German federal government’s sustainability strategy, between 2017 and 2020 the IfaS supported the coaching process for 13 municipalities in the Saarland with regard to implementing the 17 SDGs and embedding them in municipality-specific strategies.

In addition to directly planning and implementing projects, the IfaS considers its duties to include promoting knowledge transfer on topics such as sustainability, climate protection, climate change, regional value creation, and biodiversity, both nationally and internationally. Accordingly, the IfaS offers a diverse portfolio of educational products. Since 2004 it has offered a master’s degree programme in International Material Flow Management (IMAT), which is now realised in cooperation with universities in six countries. Since 2015, a further focus has been on climate education for schoolchildren. For example, the ‘children’s climate protection conference’ raises awareness among this age group for using energy and natural resources responsibly, producing a lasting change in their attitudes and behaviour in the process.

As Hub West, in the future the IfaS will draw on its experience and network of contacts to increasingly integrate the topic of climate change into adult education.

https://www.stoffstrom.org/

Contact: Region Rhineland-Palatinate, Hessen & the Saarland

Trier University of Applied SciencesEnvironmental Campus Birkenfeld
Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS)
Stefanie Erbach
E-Mail: s.erbach@umwelt-campus.de
Tel.: (06782) 17 1577