Hamburg cluster project KLIMAReady

• Hamburg organisations build on collaboration for a sustainable future
• Financing, regulatory issues and human resources are the stiffest challenges
• Senator Dr Melanie Leonhard sees potential for more cooperation

The results of our KLIMAready survey paint an impressive picture: Sustainability has long been more than just lip service in seven Hamburg industry clusters. In fact, numerous companies have already embarked on the journey of actively contributing to a climate-friendly future. At the end of last year, stakeholders in the Hamburg Logistics Initiative, namely Renewable Energy Hamburg, Hamburg Aviation, Life Science North, Maritime Cluster Agency Northern Germany, Food Cluster Agency Hamburg and Finance City Hamburg, were asked to complete a survey with 16 questions. A total of 128 participants shared insights into their current and planned measures, obstacles and support needs.

Dr Melanie Leonhard, Senator for Economic Affairs and Innovation: "The issue of sustainability is now firmly embedded in Hamburg's companies. The central message of the survey is: we want even more collaboration! Only by working together can we rise to the challenges and make Hamburg fit for a climate-friendly future. The KLIMAready project – in which seven Hamburg Cluster Agencies are involved for the first time – provides good opportunities to share and develop knowledge and promote innovative solutions."

Almost all respondents share a concern for climate change and sustainability

Asked which factors relating to sustainability and climate change affect the respective organisations, the most common response (71%)  was the energy transition in regard to the use of renewable energies, electromobility and energy efficiency, closely followed by the factors of emissions reduction (68%) and regulatory requirements (58%). Just over half of the respondents reported on customer expectations as a decisive factor. Technological requirements – including innovative drive systems – are relevant for around 23% of the organisations surveyed.

If we look at these assessments in the context of organisational size, it becomes evident that large companies (over 500 employees) assign above-average importance to the energy transition and emissions reduction, whereas small and medium-sized enterprises emphasise competitiveness in particular. But there is broad consensus in regard to evaluation across the individual sectors.

Around 9% of respondents stated that they have not yet implemented or planned any corresponding measures. The largest stakeholder group (67%) is working on measures to utilise renewable energies or sustainable technologies for energy production and use. Furthermore, over half of the respondents stated that they had prepared a sustainability strategy and/or sustainability reports and had provided appropriate staff training and/or hired new staff. Respondents also reported on their use of external assistance. Offers from the respective cluster agency organisation were used most frequently (45%).

Challenges and needs: Where companies look for support

The top 3 challenges in the implementation of climate-friendly measures are additional workload (48%), regulatory uncertainty (52%) and financing /high implementation costs (66%).
Information, networking opportunities and implementation support in the areas of using or producing renewable energies, more sustainable mobility, emission reduction and energy efficiency were requested in particular as specific support from the KLIMAready project. Clear wishes were also expressed:

• regular updates on regulatory amendments (48%)
• online services, e.g. databases or information pages on specific topics (47 %)
• networking and collaboration opportunities (46%)
• overview of regulatory issues in my sector (43%)
• opportunities for dialogue with other organisations (42%)
• guidelines for the implementation of climate-friendly measures (39%)

Hamburg and its connected mindset: Cooperation as the key

A clear messages from respondents: cooperation is the key. Almost all participants expressed interest in cooperation. 62% already build on dialogue with other organisations to drive the implementation of climate-friendly measures. An impressive 94.5% of respondents in this survey stated their belief that points of contact with other organisations will emerge moving forward. Sharing best practices, joint research projects, collaborations to reduce emissions and cross-industry training courses/workshops were highlighted in particular.

How the KLIMAready project works

KLIMAready is a project funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Authority for Economy and Innovation (BWI) of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Our intention in this project is to build bridges between sectors, companies and people. The aim is to join forces to overcome challenges and find new ways forward. Various measures are planned in this context. On the one hand, these are derived from the requirements analysis and, on the other hand – along the lines of agile development – will draw on lessons learned over the course of the project. Steps scheduled for the months ahead include:

• launch of the first clusterbridge, a cross-sectoral collaboration with agile organisation for the joint elaboration and evaluation of climate-relevant topics and the preparation of measures.
• processing of the lessons learned and design of additional cluster bridges.
• development of a website as a knowledge hub with information on regulations, funding opportunities and programmes in the field of sustainable corporate development for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region as well as best practice examples.
• planning and hosting of events for networking and competence building.

All these things share one major goal: We are getting KLIMAready together!