Government as a change agent toward a sustainable economy

Panel: Panel 2. Policy implementation: learning from the past, improving the future

Authors:
Stephan Fickl, Austrian Energy Agency, klima:aktiv Management, Austria
Alexander Schmidt, osb-international Consulting GmbH, Austria

Abstract

Many of the recent political problems like health care, migration or climate protection have a level of complexity, which makes it difficult to tackle with relying on the “normal” instruments. If we take climate protection seriously, this means that we have to perform a deep social change towards a sustainable economy.
Besides pressure factors like high oil price, regulation or subsidies, two main factors are essential: a realistic vision of an agreeable future and a network of public and private institutions, which give momentum for the change and incorporate the change.

Thus, the government grows into a new role of leadership, management and facilitation of the social change. The main key is the building and stabilisation of a inter-organisational network to include, activate and focus the different stakeholders.

The paper will show the lessons learnt in building networks which generate co-operation for climate protection analysing the example of the Austrian climate protection program klima:aktiv, which started in 2004 with the aim to change the market by introducing services together with main market players, do this in a systematic and comprehensive way for some years; provide for quality management with standards and trainings; and secure confidence in the services by public support. Thus you get climate protection together with economic success, higher quality of life and less cost for the consumer!

The paper will show the important steps in threes phases of the project and will describe the main factors of success in the adventure of building a change network.