WHO WE ARE
A group of motivated people who embrace the principle of partnership. Climate-Smart Municipalities (CSM) is a multi-partner inter-generational collaboration between Minnesota and Germany with twelve cities at its core that have decided to pursue comprehensive sustainability and climate goals that generate measurable local benefits.
Stakeholders in local and state government, politics, business, the nonprofit sector, academia, and the public learn from, help, and inspire each other. Sustainability, climate protection, climate adaptation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency are central topics for this international exchange. “Together, we are smarter!”
Together, we command deeper expertise, are able to look at things from a much broader range of perspectives, and create better and more imaginative solutions. Having the opportunity to discuss approaches in a binational group is invaluable. Turning those conversations into inclusive projects at multiple levels and witnessing how quickly and reliably such parallel diversity produces measurable results is inspiring. And it builds additional momentum.
Whether meeting in person or in a virtual format, the principle is to work for change. When communities choose to come together, a sustainable future is possible now.
The CSM project is a part of the International Energy Partnerships Project at the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment.
PARTNER CITIES
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MINNESOTA
Duluth
Siegen
GERMANY
Elk River
Iserlohn
Morris
Saerbeck
Rochester
Münster
White Bear Lake
Lüdenscheid
Warren
Arnsberg
REGIONAL PARTNERS
MN Region Nine Development Commission
City of St. Cloud
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Government entities
Germany's Foreign Office
Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry for Environment, Nature and Transport (MUNV)
North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy (MWIKE)
Energieagentur.NRW (2016-2021)
NRW.Energy4Climate (since 2021)
Minnesota Department of Administration
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Minnesota Department of Commerce
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Minnesota Environmental Quality Board
Community partners
Ever-Green Energy
Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union
Hiway Federal Credit Union
Minnesota Credit Union Network
University of Minnesota, Natural Resources Research Institute
Region Nine Development Commission
City of St. Cloud
FH Muenster University of Applied Sciences
Municipalities
German Cities
City of Arnsberg
City of Iserlohn
City of Münster
City of Saerbeck
City of Siegen
City of Lüdensheid
Minnesota Cities
City of Duluth
City of Elk River
City of Morris
City of Rochester
City of Warren
City of White Bear Lake
WHAT WE DO
Climate-Smart Municipalities connects diverse international stakeholders and leaders in local and state government, politics, business, the nonprofit sector, academia, and the public to learn from each other and to accelerate the transition to a more efficient and climate-friendly energy future at the local level.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
DIVERSITY STATEMENT
IonE’s mission is to help people and planet prosper together. We believe we are most likely to achieve our mission and realize our vision when we integrate diverse perspectives into our work and our workplace. We work to continually educate ourselves about the systems and structures that may discourage a diverse, equitable and inclusive community at IonE. We are committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive work environment and to collaboration with those most affected by the environmental and climate issues we address in our work.