Future concept for sustainable business in the West Coast region

In cooperation with the four districts on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein (Nordfriesland, Dithmarschen, Steinburg and Pinneberg), business development organisations, chambers of industry and commerce and companies, corsus has developed a future concept for sustainable economic activity in the region. Support for regional companies is of central importance here.

The future concept focuses on the three transformation areas ‘Energy, climate protection and climate adaptation’, ‘Circular economy and pollution-free environment’ and ‘Human well-being and equal opportunities’. The vision and mission describe the West Coast region as a nationwide trendsetter for sustainable economic activity that relies on strong, interdisciplinary cooperation for the common good. A catalogue of goals and measures for all three transformation areas was developed for implementation, along with a roadmap as a timetable. Representatives of the districts, business development organisations, chambers of industry and commerce and business representatives were involved in the development of the objectives and measures via several project group meetings and consultations, which were supported by corsus.

In terms of content, the focus for energy, climate protection and climate adaptation was on measures for dealing with climate risks, climate adaptation strategies, resource conservation and climate neutrality, among other things. In the transformation area of circular economy and pollution-free environment, the stakeholders formulated goals and measures for material flows, purchasing, education on the circular economy and the reduction of pollutants in the environment. For the social aspects of the world of work in the third transformation area, measures for inclusive and modern corporate cultures and good framework conditions for a welcoming and immigration region on the west coast were developed. The representatives involved also recommended the establishment of a central contact point focussing on advice on sustainability issues, networking and public relations work.

The ‘WestküsteSDG’ project was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection as part of the federal ‘Future Region’ competition. The funding programme pursues the approach of rethinking the economy and the region and developing a strategy for the future. The focus is on promoting sustainable economic activity in the region and the expansion and further development of structures – together with local stakeholders.