Petra Weiler
Mobility, Energy and Future Technologies
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Against this background, the topic of sustainability in the ecological sense is increasingly coming to the fore. In addition to environmental and climate protection, sustainability also includes social and economic aspects. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2016 show how multifaceted the concept of sustainability actually is. They set an ambitious and comprehensive framework for shaping political agendas. Measures to promote the three dimensions of sustainability – ecology, social justice and economy – do not necessarily go hand in hand. On the contrary, they often operate in a trilateral field of tension. For example, tax relief for employees to promote consumption can be unfairly distributed or result in environmentally damaging behaviour.
Sustainable energy supply
In order to keep global warming to a minimum, a shift away from fossil fuels is unavoidable, as they are responsible for a large share of climate-damaging emissions. The energy transition paves the way for a sustainable and economically successful future. The energy sector thus touches all three sustainability dimensions: clean energy supply (ecology), access to basic services (distributive justice) and the economic aspect. The switch from fossil fuels and nuclear fuels to renewable energy represents a comprehensive and broad-based system transformation that spans all areas of energy production, conversion, distribution and storage, as well as all utilisation paths (electricity, heating, cooling and mobility). Renewable energy includes wind and solar energy, hydropower, geothermal energy and bioenergy. The challenges and solutions we see here are explained on the page Intelligent Energy Generation and Storage.
Advising, Analysing, Promoting and Organising
With our expertise in the areas of environmental and climate protection, sustainable and inclusive mobility, socially just environmental protection measures, digitalisation, bioeconomy, sustainable energy sources and energy efficiency, we support and advise our clients from the federal and state governments in the design and implementation of funding measures. We also conduct studies and evaluations, organise networks and are involved in important European projects.
We are also continuously implementing measures within our company: We promote fairness, appreciation and diversity and strive to reduce our ecological footprint. For example, we have signed the "Diversity Charter", we promote environmentally conscious travel in business, and we use 100% green electricity.
