Local government case study: Bad Nauheim, Germany

This case study is part of DEAL's Cities & Regions: Let's Get Started guide for local governments, where you can find other case studies as well.  
The material for the story was contributed by Yuge Lei (City of Bad Nauheim). 

Scroll down or click on the right for versions in Spanish, French and Brazilian Portuguese. 

Bad Nauheim's story (in English) 

Bad Nauheim started working with Doughnut Economics in 2021, aiming to embed a holistic perspective in the decision-making processes of the city administration and associated daughter companies.To date, they have created an adapted Bad Nauheim Doughnut as a compass and a common vision, a Doughnut Screening tool alongside structural changes to decision making structures. They have held an 8-months long Future Workshop citizen co-creation process to develop measures through the lenses of the Doughnut. An Integrated Climate Protection Plan has been developed, and an Integrated Climate Adaptation Plan is in the making.

About the place

Bad Nauheim is a small town in central Germany with 34.000 inhabitants. It is located in a very fertile agricultural land, on top of a mineral brine spring. It has been a spa town since the 1800s that is now a modern place for health treatments and recuperative therapy, with public infrastructure to hold up to 60.000 visitors. Since 2014, Bad Nauheim is a certified “Fairtrade Town”. 

Why Doughnut Economics

Bad Nauheim is using Doughnut Economics in order to embed a truly holistic understanding of human wellbeing while highlighting the local areas of influence, in the decision-making processes of the city administration and associated subsidiary companies - such as the local energy provider and the local housing association. The intention was to apply a systemic approach to the most pressing challenges of the time such as climate justice and embed it in a framework that encompasses the bigger picture instead of creating insular solutions. The very intuitive visual of the Doughnut was seen as a good tool for inclusive communication.

Lead departments, organisations or partners

The work is led by individual champions within the authority. A new Office of Sustainability and Climate Protection was set up with the aim of combining a more systemic approach. A Sustainability Manager was hired due to their experience with Doughnut Economics, and has been mostly leading this work since. She was joined by a Climate Protection Manager who chose to work for Bad Nauheim in order to work with the Doughnut approach.

Who else has been involved

Many individuals and organisations have been actively shaping and developing the work through participatory processes - elected leaders, department leaders, civil servants, representatives from subsidiary companies, civil sector representatives, Bad Nauheim residents, and businesses.

Journey to date

The concept of Doughnut Economics was introduced to key decision makers (Mayor and Head of Central Administration) by an external expert, who was then hired as a Sustainability Advisor, tasked to adapt and implement the concept within the municipality.

The process started in 2021 with a series of workshops with senior management staff: heads of departments and CEOs of the municipal subsidiary companies (energy supplier, housing association). Accompanied by DiFU (German Institute of Urban Affairs), a Bad Nauheim Doughnut was developed as a compass and a common vision for a liveable and future ready city. This Doughnut, representing the most important areas of influence of the town, serves as a vision for the city to strive towards. It has been used to inform and guide citizen participation processes and change management processes within the municipality. 

A Doughnut Screening tool is currently being developed for city project coordinators to assess activities during the project development stage, and to increase transparency in decision making processes. The tool is to be connected to the smart city infrastructure as well as local, regional and national databases to allow more objective assessment of measures. The results of the assessment are to be exported in different formats for project planning or budget approval processes. Alongside this, decision making structures are undergoing a structural change to strengthen cross-departmental coordination. At the same time, indicators for a Data Portrait are currently being developed.

In 2022, a deliberative process was held over several months - a Future Workshop on all ecological dimensions (climate protection, climate adaptation, air quality, nature conservation, land use, water management) - with an assembly of a random sample of 100 residents, who worked in groups to develop measures to help Bad Nauheim move inside the Doughnut. 21 measures were co-developed, from a bigger number of proposals that were screened through the Doughnut screening tool, and through a financial and jurisdiction assessment. The measures were developed in detail, including financing and implementation, and presented to the Council. Out of these, the implementation of 7 measures - mostly climate adaptation measures - have been prioritised and approved for budget by local parlaiment in October 2024. All CO2 emission reduction measures were directly included in the Integrated Climate Protection Plan (adopted in early 2024), where a total of 42 measures were outlined with the main focus of reducing CO2 emissions locally (some of which were co-developed by a participative body - a Climate Forum, which is still active), each accompanied with a Doughnut Assessment. An Integrated Climate Adaptation Plan is in the making.

Key outcomes 

1) City Doughnut as a strategic compass

2) Data Portrait (in progress)

3) Integrated Climate Protection Plan

4) Doughnut Screening Tool

5) Sustainability report within the yearly budget planning

6) Climate Adaptation Concept (in progress) 

Key benefits

More collaboration and exchange within the municipality and its subsidiary companies. The holistic view of the Doughnut brings people together and highlights opportunities and areas of individual influence. 

Main challenges 

Breaking down the holistic complexity without creating too much extra work, which people resent, while maintaining the integrity of the concept. 

Lessons learnt 

The Doughnut is a very good and easily understood visual, which people get instantly. It is a good starting point for discussion where people feel seen. Key to the success of lasting change is the building of relationships with everyone involved. Open communication and repetition is key. 

To learn more 

Future Forum 

Doughnut Economics as a Strategic Compass (a report including Bad Nauheim)