Development and implementation of an integrated sustainability management system in the local public sector, based on the sub-projects “Accounting System Reform” (Freiburg) and “Administrative Reform in the Case of Energy Management (Lüneburg)”

In a joint development process together with the pilot cities of Freiburg and Lüneburg and in collaboration with the KPMG-funded Institute for the Public Sector, an implementable approach to integrated sustainability management was developed and tested. This integrated approach is being realized in the two key areas of sustainability indicators/ finance and municipal energy management. Such a concept must account for the specific functions, organizational structures and challenges particular to political-administrative systems as well as meaningfully bring together the different strands of municipal development. The approaches and experiences of cities and towns attempting to put sustainable development into practice must also be combined with administration reform processes, in particular in municipal accounting. Both theoretical findings and practical experiences are made use of to solve the practical problems encountered in this project.