The incremental Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy · Isabella Proeller / Valeria Haasis – The Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy 6 Stock worked at the

Isabella Proeller / Valeria Haasis

Translated from German by Valeska Maul

The incremental Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy

Teaching Case B

November 17th 2014

Impressum

Proeller, Isabella/Haasis, Valeria (2014): The incremental Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy, cas-

es.regierungsforschung.de, Duisburg.

Contact Information

Bertelsmann Stiftung

Reformkompass.de

Carl-Bertelsmann-Straße 256

33311 Gütersloh

Henrik Riedel

05241 81-81266

[email protected]

Universität Potsdam

Lehrstuhl für Public und Nonprofit Management

August-Bebel-Str. 98

14482 Potsdam

Isabella Proeller / Valeria Haasis

0331-977-3278

[email protected]

For further information about this teaching case go to fallwiki (http://fallwiki.de).

To obtain access to Fallwiki send an email to:

[email protected]

Editor Regierungsforschung.de

Matthias Bianchi, M.A.

Telephone +49 (0)203 379-2706

[email protected]

[email protected]

Regierungsforschung.de is the scientific online-

magazine from the NRW School of Governance

Publisher

Prof. Dr. Andreas Blätte

Telephone +49 (0)203 379-2286

[email protected]

regierungsforschung.de

Isabella Proeller / Valeria Haasis – The Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy 3

The incremental Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy

Authors: Isabella Proeller / Valeria Haasisi

__________________________________________________________________________________ i Prof. Dr. Isabella Proeller is a Professor for Public & Nonprofit Management at the University of Potsdam, Germany. Her

research focuses on strategic management within the public sector, steering and leadership mechanisms of public organiza-

tions and performance management. Valeria Haasis is a research assistant at the chair for Public & Nonprofit Management

at the University of Potsdam. She does research in the field of sustainability, strategic management and Public Value.



Teaching Case

At last! After seven years of continuous work Brandenburg’s cabinet finally agreed upon a sustain-

ability strategy1. The chair holder of the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development, Professor

Stock from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research was relieved to finally hold the 111-

pages long strategy paper in his hands (see annex 1 “Table of Contents for the Sustainability

Strategy of the Federal State Brandenburg 2014” in the dossier). Since 2010 the Advisory Board for

Sustainable Development had been working on developing this document together with the Inter-

Ministerial Working Group (IMAG). Furthermore, the Board had successfully incorporated citizens

actively into the development process. Looking back it had been a very eventful time. The Adviso-

ry Board had built networks and had constantly exchanged information with the administrative

authorities, scientists, politicians and civil society to promote sustainable understanding in all sec-

tors. Professor Stock took a moment to look back on the long and time consuming development

process that had now finally led to some results. He asked himself if it would have been possible

to further integrate sustainability in Brandenburg with an even more advanced sustainability poli-

cy. How would the sustainability strategy look like today without the Advisory Board’s work? What

additional value had the board offered during the development process? In his mind he thought

back over the last term of office.

The Advisory Board for Sustainable Development

In 2007 the Minister for the Environment at the time, Dietmar Woidke, convened the Advisory

Board for Sustainable Development, which was active until the end of the 4th legislative period in

2009 (see annex 2 “An Overview of the Historic Development of Brandenburg’s Sustainability” in

the dossier). This first Advisory Board consisted of 24 members from the areas of business, public

administration, science and nature conservation (see annex 3 “Members of the 1st Advisory Board



for Sustainability (from 2007 to 2009)” in the dossier). The Advisory Board’s duties were to advise

the administrative authorities and politicians about issues of sustainability and implement pilot

projects. Furthermore the board should, “based on current knowledge and experience formulate

proposals and advice concerning urgent political and administrative tasks” and “draw attention to

necessary amendments“.2 The Advisory Board’s final report “Brandenburg auf dem Weg zur Mod-

ellregion für Nachhaltige Entwicklung” (“Brandenburg’s Path to becoming a Model Region in Sus-

tainable Development”) from 2009 offered first recommendations3 for both content and structure

for the state sustainability strategy. The state elections in 2009 led to the replacement of the for-

mer coalition between the two political parties SPD and CDU. The new coalition between the two

political parties SPD and LINKE led by Prime Minister Matthias Platzeck (SPD) determined in their

coalition agreement that advisory boards in general may only consist of 10 members in total for

the upcoming term.4

Based on the parliament’s resolution (see annex 4 “Resolution by the Parliament of the Federal

State of Brandenburg” in the dossier) the new government founded a new Advisory Board for

Sustainable Development in 2010. The new Advisory Board did slightly divergent from the coali-

tion agreement consist of 13 scientific members in total (see annex 5 “Members of the 2nd

Advisory Board for Sustainable Development (from 2010 to 2014)” in the dossier). Some of the

members had already been part of the first Advisory Board and were able to incorporate their

experience and knowledge into the working process of the new Advisory Board. As before, the

Advisory Board lied within the sphere of responsibility of the Ministry for the Environment led by

Anita Tack. “To avoid a linkage between the interests of the ministry and the Advisory Board”5, the

board’s office was moved from the Ministry for the Environment to the Potsdam Institute for Cli-

mate Impact Research, as previously agreed upon in the coalition agreement. Chairman Professor



Stock worked at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Two employees, paid by the

Ministry for the Environment, were responsible for the office work.

Although the size, formation and task had changed since the first Advisory Board, the new Adviso-

ry Board however decided to continue the work of the previous committee. Besides focusing on

the following key issues

Energy and climate change,

Demographic change,

Development of the economic structure,

Nature and environment protection, as well as

Education,

the Advisory Board’s main objective was to work out a sustainability strategy, while actively includ-

ing the citizens in the development process. The Advisory Board considered sustainability to be an

issue that should concern all of society. The goal was not only to determine the different steps

through an expert board but also to actively integrate all citizens of Brandenburg into the devel-

opment process. The understanding of sustainability as a social learning and creation process was

affirmed by the active incorporation of citizens which was supposed to make the implementation

of the strategy easier later on. In fact, the Advisory Board enabled a broader public participation

process than most other German federal states did in the context of developing a sustainability

strategy. 6 Once the state government determined the main points, the so-called “Eckpunkte”,

based on the board’s suggestions concerning the sustainability strategy, the public involvement

began. The citizens discussed the draft of the strategy paper which had been developed in coop-

eration between the Advisory Board, the IMAG and different ministries.



The Inter-Ministerial Working group

While the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development functioned as an independent, scientific

and initiative panel, the inter-ministerial working group on the other hand served as the “central

institution responsible for compiling the sustainability strategy”7. Its main objective was to further

examine the suggestions presented by the Advisory Board based on their practicability. The sug-

gestions were discussed between different departments. Furthermore, it was responsible for coor-

dinating the public communication.8 Dr. Heinrich-Daniel Rühmkorf, state secretary of the Ministry

for the Environment, was head of the IMAG until the new state secretary Almuth Hartwig-Tiedt

replaced him in November 2012. The IMAG members were representatives from nine different

ministries and the state chancellery. The representatives were mostly division chiefs and their sub-

ordinated employees9. In the beginning the members were very skeptical about the IMAG meet-

ings and the extra workload they would create. However, the first meetings helped them to over-

come their prior skepticism. They perceived them as stimulating and helpful. The frequent meet-

ings supported the creation of a reliable network that shared information concerning sustainability

between different departments. In total the group consisted of 17 participants.

The meetings were not only attended by public administration officials. Also Advisory Board mem-

bers Professor Stock and Dr. Statz, former chief of the division for eco-political matters and sus-

tainability strategy within the Federal Ministry for the Environment, attended the meetings on a

regular basis. The two employees working at the Advisory Board’s office attended several meetings

as well.



This did not only ensure a constant exchange between the different departments but also estab-

lished a direct link between the Advisory Board and the IMAG. The employees of the ministries

presented currently discussed issues within their departments at the IMAG and at the same time

informed the ministries about preliminary results of the IMAG meetings. Within the departments

these were passed on to the responsible units in order to assess and work on them. Over time,

the IMAG succeeded in developing solutions and compromises for the different issues that had

been brought up by the Advisory Board earlier. Among them one highly discussed issue con-

cerned the sustainability check. The parliament’s resolution about Brandenburg’s sustainable de-

velopment from January 21st 2010 required the state government to formulate the main points for

a state sustainability strategy and furthermore “asses if the sustainable instruments implemented

on a federal level (for example a sustainability check for legal regulations, regular progress reports

or a so-called “green cabinet”) can also be applied on a state level”10 (see annex 4 “Resolution

from the Parliament of the Federal State of Brandenburg”, Printing Matter 5/290-B“ in the dossier).

Dr. Statz concerned himself with the issue and developed recommendations on how to rate plans

and projects regarding their sustainable characteristics. He presented his ideas to the IMAG and

initiated the development of an excel-based sustainability tool. This tool was created to assess

governmental programs based on their sustainable aspects ahead of time and subsequently to

inform the key players involved about the results (see annex 6 “Introduction to the Expert

Workshop for the Sustainability Assessment on December 13th 2011” in the dossier). The different

ministries conducted several pilot projects.11 The tool led to controversial discussions within the

IMAG. Several state secretaries from different ministries with opposing opinions got involved in

the debates. Although the issue was deferred, it was mentioned in the sustainability strategy. The

results of the pilot projects should be evaluated and further governmental projects should be

identified which could be assessed in regard to their implications towards sustainability.12



The Dialogue Process

The Minister for the Environment, Anita Tack, was very interested in the Advisory Board’s idea of

actively integrating citizens and organized actors of civil society into the process of developing a

sustainability strategy. The Ministry for the Environment put a bidding consortium consisting of

two communication agencies in charge of organizing the public participation process. The first

dialogue began on March 23rd 2012 with an opening event (see annex 7 “Brandenburg will na-

chhaltig werden” - “Brandenburg aims to be more sustainable” in the dossier). About 200 citizens

participated. By inviting Dr. Volker Hauff, member of the Brundtland-Commission in the 1980s, the

event offered a prominent guest.

The opening event was followed by several workshops for citizens in the upcoming months. The

workshop topics included:

Climate and Energy Policy

Financial Policy

Education for Sustainable Development (BNE),

Economy and Employment,

Quality of Life in Cities and Rural Areas,

The Youth

Those participating in the workshops were citizens, as well as representatives from the environ-

mental, business, educational and administrational sector. The Ministry for the Environment was

responsible for recording the ideas, suggestions and opinions expressed at these workshops and

to pass them on to the Inter-Ministerial Working Group. They were then incorporated into the

debates and further discussed later on. Under the overall control of the Ministry for the Environ-

ment, the IMAG developed a first official draft for the state sustainability strategy. It was based on

the Advisory Board’s recommendations, the suggestions from the workshop and the results from



the coordination between the different ministries. During the second dialogue phase this first offi-

cial draft was publicly debated. Furthermore, a first expert workshop was conducted in order to

develop goals and indicators. The citizens were given the chance to voice their opinions on the

draft during a town hall meeting and they could comment on the document online. The feedback

from both online and the town hall meeting were passed on to the IMAG. The working group

then compiled the final version of the state sustainability strategy, which was passed by the state

government on April 29th 2014. Now, Professor Stock held the document in his hands. Many had

been involved in this extensive process and he was glad that as chairman of the Advisory Board

he had been part of the process. However, he was well aware that the actual work was yet to

come: the implementation of the state sustainability strategy.



Foot Notes All online sources include the date it was accessed (October 9th 2014).

1 Land Brandenburg (2014): natürlich. nachhaltig. Brandenburg. Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie für das

Land Brandenburg. Potsdam. (Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy)

2 Statement des Ministers zur konstituierenden Sitzung des Beirats für Nachhaltige Entwicklung,

2007, S. 2-3. (Minister’s Statement at the constitutive meeting of the Advisory Board for Sustaina-

ble Development)

3 Beirat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung und Ressourcenschutz des Landes Brandenburg (2009): Bran-

denburg auf dem Weg zu Modellregion für Nachhaltige Entwicklung. Endbericht, Potsdam Endber-

icht Brandenburg Endbericht 2009. (Final report from the Advisory Board for Sustainable Develop-

ment – “Brandenburg’s Path to becoming a Model Region in Sustainable Development”)

4 Vereinbarung zur Zusammenarbeit in einer Regierungskoalition für die 5. Wahlperiode des Bran-

denburger Landtages 2009 bis 2014, S. 60/61 (Coalition agreement)

5 Ibid. S. 61

6 Bertelsmann Stiftung (Hrsg.) (2014): Nachhaltigkeitsstrategien erfolgreich entwickeln. Strategien

für eine nachhaltige Zukunft in Deutschland, Europa und der Welt. Gütersloh, S. 200 ff. (How to

develop successful sustainability strategies by the Bertelsmann Foundation)

7 Ministerium für Ländliche Entwicklung, Umwelt und Landwirtschaft des Landes Brandenburg

(2014): Akteure bei der Aufstellung der Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie, verfügbar auf:

http://www.mlul.brandenburg.de/cms/detail.php/bb1.c.311719.de (Ministry for the Environment:

Actors in the process of developing the sustainability strategy ).

8 Ibid.

9 Interview mit Ministerium für Ländliche Entwicklung, Umwelt und Landwirtschaft des Landes

Brandenburg, 2013 (Interview, Ministry for the Environment).



10 Landtag Brandenburg, Drucksache 5/290-B, 5. Wahlperiode, Neudruck, Beschluss des Landtages

Brandenburg, 2010 (Resolution by the Parliament of the Federal State of Brandenburg).

11 Ministerium für Ländliche Entwicklung, Umwelt und Landwirtschaft des Landes Brandenburg

(2012): Nachhaltigkeitsprüfung, verfügbar auf:

http://www.mlul.brandenburg.de/cms/detail.php/bb1.c.311783.de (Ministry for the Environment:

Sustainability check).

12 Ministerium für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz des Landes Brandenburg (Hrsg.)

(2014): Natürlich. Nachhaltig. Brandenburg. Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie für das Land Brandenburg,

Potsdam, S. 80 (Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy)

Dossier

Annex 1: Table of Contents for the Sustainability Strategy of the Federal State Brandenburg 2014

Annex 2: An Overview of the Historic Development of Brandenburg’s Sustainability

Annex 3: Members of the 1st Advisory Board for Sustainability (from 2007 to 2009)

Annex 4: Resolution by the Parliament of the Federal State of Brandenburg, Printing Matter

5/290-B

Annex 5: Members of the 2nd Advisory Board for Sustainable Development (from 2010 to 2014)

Annex 6: Introduction to the Expert Workshop for the Sustainability Assessment on December 13th

2011 by Dr. Albert Statz in Brandenburg’s Ministry for the Environment



Annex 7: Newspaper article from March 20th 2012 “Brandenburg will nachhaltig werden” - “Bran-

denburg aims to be more sustainable”, Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten



Annex 1: Table of Contents for the Sustainability Strategy of the Federal State Brandenburg

2014

The Sustainability Strategy of the Federal State of Brandenburg April 25th 2014

Table of Contents

Part A: Introduc-

tion........................................................................................................... 5

1. Sustainability – the Path to a Political Strategy ............................................................................................ 5

2. What Does the Term “Sustainability” Mean? .................................................................................................. 8

Part B: Action – Concrete Focal Points........................................

......14

3. Determining the Focal Points ............................................................................................................................... 14

4. Economy and Employment in the Capital Area of Berlin-Brandenburg ......................................... 16

4.1 Initial Situation. ......................................................................................................................................................... 16

4.2 Need for Action ........................................................................................................................................................ 17

4.3 Guideline “Future-Orientated Employment in a Sustainable Economic Region” ...................... 19

4.4 Fields of Action ......................................................................................................................................................... 21

Field of Action 1: Further Adapt the Economic Policy to the Sustainable Approach ................ 21

Field of Action 2: Natural Resources as an Economic Potential for a

Sustainable Regional Development .................................................................. ................................. .24

Field of Action 3: Sustainable Corporate Governance as an Opportunity for Economic

Development................................................................................................................................................................. 28

Field of Action 4: “Good Work” and Securing Qualified Employees ................................................ 29



Field of Action 5: Involvement in Product Development, Production, Consumption and

Economic Development .................................................................................................................................... 35

5. Livable Cities and Rural Areas................................................................................................... 36

5.1 Initial Situation ........................................................................................................................................................... 36

5.2 Need for Action ........................................................................................................................................................ 38

5.3 Guideline “Livable Cities and Rural Areas“ .................................................................................................. 42

5.4 Fields of Action ......................................................................................................................................................... 43

Field of Action 6: Mobility ...................................................................................................................................... 43

Field of Action 7: Sanitary Environmental Engineering ............................................................................ 46

Field of Action 8: Preventive Health Care ..................................................................................................... 48

Field of Action 9: Social Solidarity. ................................................................................................................... 50

6. Brandenburg as a Model Region for Energy Transition and Climate Adaption ........................... 53


6.2 Need for Action ........................................................................................................................................................ 55

6.3 Guideline “A Model Region for Energy Transition and Climate Adaption” ................................... 57

6.4 Fields of Action ......................................................................................................................................................... 59

Field of Action 10: Energy and Climate Protection (Energy Transition) ........................................... 59

Field of Action 11: Adapting to the Effects of Climate Change (Climate Change) ..................... 64

7. Future-Compliant Financial Policy ...................................................................................................................... 69


7.2 Need for Action ........................................................................................................................................................ 73

7.3 Guideline “Future-Compliant Financial Policy”. ........................................................................................... 73

7.4 Fields of Action ......................................................................................................................................................... 75



Field of Action 12: Financial Policy ..................................................................................................................... 75

Field of Action 13: Budgetary Policy and Administrative Management ........................................... 77

Field of Action 14: Funding Policy ...................................................................................................................... 79

8. Education and Sustainable Development ....................................................................................................... 82


8.2 Need for Action ........................................................................................................................................................ 83

8.3 Guideline “Education and Sustainable Development” ............................................................................. 85

8.4 Fields of Action ......................................................................................................................................................... 87

Field of Action 15: Sustainable Education: Secure Equal Opportunities,

Enable Participation............................................................................................ ....... 87

Field of Action 16: Education for Sustainable Development: Integrating it into all in Edu-

cational Areas, Establish Linkage Between Key Players and Education .......................................... 92

Part C: Implementation – Paths leading to a Sustainable Development

96

9. Sustainability as a Political Process .................................................................................................................. 96

9.1 Participation and Communication .................................................................................................................... 96

9.2 The State Government as a Role Model ....................................................................................................... 97

9.3 Measureable Goals and Indicators ................................................................................................................... 98

9.4 Sustainability Check ............................................................................................................................................... 98

9.5 Sustainability Management ................................................................................................................................. 98

Annex 2: An Overview of the Historic Development of Brandenburg’s Sustainable Develop-

ment – Milestones of Brandenburg’s Sustainable Development



Diagram from the Sustainability Strategy of the Federal State of Brandenburg, p. 11.

1992 – First local Agenda-21 initiatives founded in Brandenburg

2005 – Coalition agreement in the 4th Legislative Period: sustainability is established as a cross-

cutting principle in all political sectors

2007 – 1st Advisory Board for Sustainable Development is convened

2010 – Parliament determines the development of a state sustainability strategy

2nd Advisory Board for Sustainable Development is convened

2011 – Main Points concerning the state sustainability strategy are approved: “Taking Collective

Responsibility for Our Future”

2012 – Dialog process concerning the sustainability strategy begins

2013 – Advisory Board presents suggestions concerning the state sustainability strategy

First draft of the sustainability strategy is submitted

2014 – The state sustainability strategy is passed



Annex 3: Members of the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development

Members of the 1st Advisory Board (from 2007 to 2009)

Name Position Organization

Prof. Dr. Ing. Udo Becker Head of the Faculty for Transport

Ecology

Technical University Dresden,

Faculty of Transportation and

Traffic Sciences

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Beh-

rendt

(resigned on March 3rd

2009)

Professor for “Waste Manage-

ment/ Remediation of Contami-

nated Sites”,

Head of the Institute Recycling

Management in the Technology

and Training Centre

Technical University of Applied

Sciences Wildau

Dr. Oliver Bens Head of the Staff Scientific Execu-

tive Board

German Research Centre for

Geosciences Potsdam

Dr. Martina Brandt Academic Staff Member in the

Area

Business Administration/Business

Computing, Technical University

of Applied Sciences Wildau

Klaus Burkhardt Mathematics Teacher (Retired),

Local Politician, Consumer Protec-

tor

Pfarrer Reinhard Dalchow Environmental Officer from the

Protestant Church

Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische

Oberlausitz



Prof. Dr. Gerhard de

Haan

Head Institute Futur Freie Universität Berlin, Education

and Future Science

Ulrich Fey President of the IHK Cottbus Chamber of Commerce and In-

dustry of Cottbus

Dr. Gerold Fierment Diplom Biologist Brandenburg Workshop Local

Agenda 21

Prof. Dr. Uwe Grünewald Head of the Faculty for Hydrology

and Environment and Water

Management

Brandenburg’s Technical Univer-

sity Cottbus

Prof. Dr. Florian Jeltsch Professor for Vegetation Ecology

and Nature Protection

University Potsdam, Institute for

Biochemistry and Biology

Roland Kant Manager of Ergo-Consult Project Management

Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert Head of Department for Energy,

Transportation and Environment;

Chair Holder of the Faculty for

Environmental Economics

German Institute for Economic

Research Berlin;

Humboldt-Universität Berlin

Tom Kirschey Chairman of the State Association German Society for the Conser-

vation of Nature, Brandenburg

Prof. Dr. Dr. Dieter

Kirschke

Head of the Department of Agri-

cultural Policy

Humboldt-Universität Berlin,

Department of Agricultural Eco-

nomics and Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Rolf Kreibich Scientific Director and Manager Institute for Future Studies and

Technology Assessment

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Nixdorf Head of the Faculty of Water

Protection

Brandenburg’s Technical Univer-

sity Cottbus, Faculty Environmen-

tal Sciences and Process Engi-

neering

Egon Rattei Board Member State Association for Farmers

Brandenburg

Prof. (former) Dr. Gerd

Schmidt-Eichstaedt

Prof. Former Construction and

Planning Lawyer

Technical University Berlin, Insti-

tute for City- and Regional Plan-

ning



Beate Schwigon Federal State Coordinator Brandenburg’s Association for

Landscape Management (DVL)

Prof. Dr. Dr. Martina

Schäfer

Junior Professor for Social Sci-

ence- Related Sustainability Re-

search

Technical University Berlin, Cen-

ter for Technology and Society,

Institute for Sociology

Dr. Elke Seidel City Councilor, Pulmonary Special-

ist and Environmental Physician

Health Authority Brandenburg

Dr. Albert Statz Former Government Director,

Former Head of the Sustainability

Unit

Federal Ministry for the Environ-

ment

Prof. Dr. Manfred Stock Board Representative for Regional

Strategies

Potsdam Institute for Climate

Impact Research

Dr. Franz Straubinger Manager Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg’schen Ad-

ministration Castle Schönstein

Burkhard Teichert

(resigned on February 9th

2009)

Chairman LV Bbg. der Naturfreunde e. V.

Prof. Dr. Hubert Wigger-

ing

Director of the ZALF, Professor of

Geoecology at the University

Potsdam

Leibniz Centre for Agricultural

Landscape Research (ZALF)



Annex 4: Resolution by the Parliament of the Federal State of Brandenburg, Printing Matter

5/290-B

Parliament of the Federal State of Brandenburg

Printing Matter 5/290-B

5th Legislative Period

Reprint

Resolution by the Parliament of the Federal State of Brandenburg

TOP 10: Sustainable Development in Brandenburg

At the 9th session on January 21st 2010 Brandenburg’s Parliament passed the following resolution:

“1. This year the state government must concern itself with the issue of sustainable development.

The discussions should be based on the recommendations presented by the Advisory Board for



Sustainable Development and Resource Protection at the Ministry for the Environment in 2009.

The parliament advises the government to convene a new independent scientific Advisory Board in

this matter.

2. The state government is requested to formulate the main points of a sustainability strategy by

October 2010. It should:

Incorporate a long-term and inter-ministerial focus,

Define concrete, measurable and long-term objectives, that remain effective beyond the

current legislative period,

Present suggestions on how to successfully involve society and determine if the sustaina-

ble instruments that were implemented on a federal level (for example a sustainability

check for legal regulations, regular progress reports, or a so-called ‘green cabinet’) can al-

so be applied on a regional level.

3. During the 1st half of 2010 the parliament will examine the instruments implemented on the

federal level or in a different federal state in order to assess which instruments may be used to

accompany an Advisory Board for Sustainable Development.”



Annex 5: Members of the 2nd Advisory Board for Sustainability (from 2010 to 2014)

Name Position Organization

Prof. Dr. Ingo Balderjahn Professor for Marketing University Potsdam, Department

for Business Administration, Fo-

cus on Marketing

Prof. Dr. Ing. Udo Becker Head of the Faculty for Transport

Ecology

Technical University Dresden,

Faculty of Transportation and

Traffic Sciences

Prof. Dr. Reiner Brunsch Scientific Director Leibniz Institute for Agricultural

Engineering Potsdam-Bornim

Prof. Dr. Gerhard de

Haan

Head Institute Futur Freie Universität Berlin, Education

and Future Science

Prof. Dr. Andreas Knie Research Fellow of the Research

Group

Science Policy Studies, Director of

the Project Group “Mobility”

Berlin Social Science Center

Prof. Dr. Rolf Kreibich Scientific Director and Manager Institute for Future Studies and

Technology Assessment

Prof. Dr. Heike Molitor Professor for Environmental Edu-

cation

University of Applied Sciences

for Sustainable Development

Eberswalde, Faculty of Landscape

Management

Dr. Timothy Moss Deputy Director; Head of the

Department for Institutional

Transformation and Regional

Common Goods

Leibniz Institute for Regional

Development and Structural

Planning (IRS Erkner)

Prof. Dr. Dr. Martina

Schäfer

Junior Professor for Social Sci-

ence- Related Sustainability Re-

search

Technical University Berlin, Cen-

ter for Technology and Society,

Institute for Sociology



Dr. Albert Statz Former Government Director,

Former Head of the Sustainability

Unit

Federal Environment Ministry

Prof. Dr. Manfred Stock Board Representative for Regional

Strategies

Potsdam Institute for Climate

Impact Research

Prof. Dr. Wilhelm-

Günther Vahrson

President University of Applied Sciences

for Sustainable Development

Eberswalde (FH)

Prof. Dr. Hubert Wigger-

ing

Director of the ZALF, Professor of

Geoecology at the University

Potsdam

Leibniz Centre for Agricultural

Landscape Research (ZALF)

Annex 6: Introduction to the Expert Workshop for the Sustainability Impact Assessment on

December 13th 2011 by Dr. Albert Statz in Brandenburg’s Ministry for the Environment

Link: http://www.nachhaltigkeitsbeirat.brandenburg.de/cms/media.php/bb2.a.5490.de/ws_nh_prue.pdf

Address,

State Secretary Rühmkorf has already pointed out the following issue: the use of the term

sustainability is often times diffuse and multifaceted. In many cases things are falsely de-

clared as sustainable – on the other hand political strategies often include sustainable as-

pects, however without being defined as sustainable or without one understanding the

http://www.nachhaltigkeitsbeirat.brandenburg.de/cms/media.php/bb2.a.5490.de/ws_nh_prue.pdf



sustainable aspect about it. The main points of the sustainability strategy presented by the

state government list several political principles with sustainable aspects such as “justifia-

ble”, “a multi policy approach” and “participative”, however it does not define a general

principle or criteria. It cannot be ignored that often times political actions are simply

summarized and then relabeled – which is nothing new in politics. How can one attempt

to develop a strategy without even defining its general understanding of sustainability be-

forehand – how is this possible?

This dilemma led to the Advisory Board having to begin dealing with the issue of develop-

ing a sustainability impact assessment very early in the process. The main points set by the

state government require that the political actions until now need to be fully examined

and that the focal points need to be determined based on their degree of sustainability.

During one of the IMAG discussions, one of the participants representing a ministry sug-

gested developing a catalogue with criteria to be able to rate political actions. The idea

was to develop sustainable political actions by assessing vital plans and political areas

based on essential questions and benchmarks of sustainability. A federal state sustainabil-

ity strategy with concrete goals and plans and its results functioning as benchmarks, still

has to be developed. The general questions that are indefinitely formulated, focus on the

core of sustainability. They are supposed to create a collective learning process and then

determine the fields of action. This is exactly what the federal state government’s main

points demand. The main objective is not only to determine possible deficits, but also to

furthermore develop the already existing positive political aspects.



Even though there is a wide variety of understandings of the term, scientific discussions

and political developments show that general principles concerning sustainable develop-

ment already exist:

o It is about securing a future for both our way of living and politics – this is ex-

pressed in the demand to establish a natural livelihood and ensuring equity be-

tween this generation and those still to come in the future.

o It is about looking more in depth into the reasons of political problems and sub-

sequently to be able to develop a better understanding of their solutions – which

requires the understanding of sustainable politics being a crosscutting task.

o It is necessary to agree upon clear and verifiable goals, as well as implementing a

new understanding of our politics (“Sustainable-Governance”) that allows us to

continuously monitor political actions to ensure their sustainability.

o It’s about not simply letting the government decide on both our lifestyle and poli-

tics, but instead ensuring that the public can actively partake in the process and

that both transparency and participation is increasingly promoted. The benefit of

such political actions must be continuously proven once implemented.

o The general management regulations regarding sustainability, the existing strate-

gies both on federal and EU level, as well as the approaches to integrate sustaina-

ble urban policies in different strategies and projects, already offer a wide range of

potential.

A sustainability impact assessment actually already exists – that is the reason why the Min-

istry for the Environment invited experts in this matter from the federal state of Baden-

Württemberg, as well as from other federal states. The European Union was the first to



develop an “impact assessment” and their sustainability criteria are essential factors of the

structural funds polices. They are oftentimes connected to the integrated impact assess-

ment process. The parliament has assigned the federal state government to further exam-

ine such an integrated impact assessment process. Sustainability impact assessments can

also be applied in other areas besides the legislative process and also in different time-

scales – ex ante, collateral or ex post – for example in plans, programs or projects. These

will be discussed individually.

Sustainability impact assessments tend to base their assessment on all three dimensions of

sustainability and their reciprocity, to fulfill the sustainability requirement of being cross-

cutting. To ensure this, coordination among the departments is required. One of the main

challenges for administrations and politics is to reduce the complexity of the sustainability

approach and to make it more manageable.

Brandenburg has developed a tool that is currently being implemented in different pilot

projects—the so-called “Sustainability Check”. When you read through the assessment

procedure, you will discover that it consists of two steps: the general and overall questions

are based on the “core” of sustainability – especially on the “management rules” – and

represent the first and very open step. The first step helps to define the aspects of sus-

tainability and determines which of the aspects need to be considered. This is similar to an

“preliminary examination”. At the same time it will answer the question if a sustainability

impact assessment offers any benefits at all. At this point it is especially important that the

questions widen the horizon in regard to new aspects, consternations, conflicts of objec-

tive and long-term effects, as well as possible alternatives. Due to the complexity of a

comprehensive assessment of all political actions, it is basically impossible to assess them



all. Subsequently, the assessment can only be applied to a certain selection. In the second

step, the crosscutting aspect will be assessed, to ensure that all three sustainability dimen-

sions are taken into account and to gain a broader insight of all problems and their solu-

tions. Mr. Pohlmann will explain the assessment procedure more in depth later on.

Our experiences in Brandenburg have made one thing very clear so far – it is very im-

portant to me to emphasize the following: the most essential aspect of any sustainability

impact assessment is the content it focuses on. The main objective of a sustainability im-

pact assessment is to structure and stimulate the learning process throughout the devel-

opment and discussions with all those involved. The learning process includes all principles

of sustainability and how these subsequently influence the individual’s work process. The

assessment checklist and the procedural rules can help throughout the process. They will

determine in the end if the individual learning processes will be implemented.

There is however a great risk: that of the assessment process becoming a stiff routine – we

have experienced this during the integrated impact assessment process: where one is

asked about the consequences caused by small and medium sized companies, budgets,

price levels etc. – too often the answers are “none” or “cannot be determined specifically”

or the answers are too general. Similar to what we experience during the assessment pro-

cess of “Gender Mainstreaming”. My experiences have taught me that the purpose of a

sustainability impact assessment has to clear before moving on to the – oftentimes per-

ceived as bothersome - discussions regarding changes of the federal state government or

to a another concrete procedure.

As stated earlier, it is about the benefit of a sustainability impact assessment. This benefit

depends on how the assessment is composed – with regard to content and procedure.



The benchmarks should show how much the procedure promotes learning processes in

regard to content and to what extent it improves political actions. Only by systemically

approaching the content, it can be ensured that sustainability will be more than a title for

upcoming political actions and reports, more than “new wine in old wineskins”. Ultimately,

sustainability is a new and comprehensive approach, a so-called “paradigm shift” in poli-

tics. I hope that through the workshop and different discussions we can exchange our ex-

periences and opinions and that it will bring us closer to developing a sustainability im-

pact assessment – however it may look like in detail.

Annex 7: Newspaper Article from March 20th 2012 “Brandenburg will nachhaltig werden“ –

“Brandenburg aims to be more sustainable”, Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten by Alexander

Fröhlich

Critique concerning the political parties’ (SPD and LINKE) approach towards lignite

Potsdam – By organizing several public events and dialogues in Potsdam beginning on Friday,

Brandenburg’s Minister for the Environment Anita Tack attempts (Political Party: DIE LINKE) to

develop a sustainability strategy for the federal state government by spring 2013. However, dis-



putes concerning the current government policies have already aroused. Especially the recent “En-

ergy Strategy 2030” decided by the cabinet will most likely lead to conflicts. The sustainability

strategy is supposed to cover a wide range of issues, including prospects for economically under-

developed regions, financial policies and education.

Even though Ms. Tack promised, that the federal state government’s strategies concerning energy

and sustainability would be compatible and would function as example for political actions, the

issue regarding the energy and climate change often leads to disputes. Manfred Stock, representa-

tive of the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development and scientist at Potsdam Institute for Cli-

mate Impact Research, criticized that the energy policy from the LINKE and SPD is not sustainable

enough. The continuous use of lignite, the new replacement of the generating plant Jänschwalde,

new open cast mines and the continuance as an energy exporting country stated in the energy

strategy, are not justified sufficiently. Currently, it is being assessed if better development concepts

without the use of lignite exist for Brandenburg and the Lausitz that would benefit the sustainabil-

ity strategy. Furthermore, it is important to further involve the citizens into the process connected

to the energy transition and to have them benefit economically from developments for example

through wind parks. Especially for the region Lausitz he aims to develop a “plan A” in the future

that will ensure that “plan B” regarding lignite will remain merely a second choice. Regions that

are primarily dependent on the production process of lignite or steel oftentimes are also the

poorest areas in their federal state. “The profits are being collected, while almost nothing is left for

the region”, criticized Stock. Beside the economically strong regions, those regions suffering from

“shrinking wealth” need attention.

Already in August 2010 the Advisory Board submitted a document, listing the main basic points

and in 2011 the federal state government presented their document that should serve as basis for



the strategy. Except for the political party FDP, all political parties currently in the parliament will

attend the conference regarding the sustainability strategy on Friday. Gregor Beyer, environmental

expert and regional leader of the political party FDP, described the dialog as merely an “alibi

event” and criticized that “environmentalists misused it to present themselves” and subsequently it

is a waste of money. 200 000 Euros will be spent to discuss issues that soon will be “left in the

bottom drawer”.

Documents

The incremental Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy · Isabella Proeller / Valeria Haasis – The Path to Brandenburg’s Sustainability Strategy 6 Stock worked at the