The Ministry for Environment, Energy and Climate Protection of Lower Saxony introduces a new mobile app, bringing comprehensive environmental information directly to users’ devices. Citizens can now easily access data on topics such as flora and fauna, social impacts, climate change, and also contribute their own images and help shape a better future for the planet.
The Ministry for Environment, Energy and Climate Protection of Lower Saxony aimed to meet its citizens’ need for easy access to environmental information, by providing both experts and the general public with innovative tools for viewing, analyzing and selecting data and reports.
As a result, the Ministry sought an interactive platform that would not only showcase environmental data but also serve as an educational resource for citizens and specialists. At the same time, regulations such as the Open Data Directive, required greater accessibility of information to comply with the new guidelines.
During the initial phase, BearingPoint performed extensive data analysis and classification using research, clustering techniques, and identification of current user preferences in environmental portals. This provided valuable insights into the requirements and expectations of the target audience. The BearingPoint team then developed personas considering the most common traits and habits of Lower Saxony residents.
Based on the target audience’s specific behavior, the Ministry decided to first develop and offer its citizens a mobile application. Working with partners, BearingPoint structured all collected data into 20 topics, such as nature, climate, and pollution. This was followed by the creation of user stories, which formed the basis for the digital application development. In the final phase, the BearingPoint team handled the content and communication, to promote the new application to the public. After a successful launch in 2022, the joint team went on to build the accompanying website, further enhancing the app's capabilities and reach.
Through the newly launched platform, both the Ministry for Environment, Energy and Climate Protection and citizens benefit from centralized and consistent data on a multitude of environmental topics.
Users of the mobile app can now easily and interactively explore a wide range of information about nature and landscapes, flora and fauna, noise pollution, climate change, and more. The app's flexible map interface allows multiple topics to be accessed simultaneously, making the user experience seamless and efficient.
The platform also provides recommendations on other activities users can do, such as discovering nature reserves, walks, hikes and cycling routes. At the same time, citizens can actively contribute to this community-driven platform by sharing photos, providing feedback, and engaging with the app's interactive features. Therefore, the platform's expanded role is not only to provide citizens with environmental information but also to educate them and create a reliable data library for interested environmental experts.
The Lower-Saxony's Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection was established in 1986, focusing on nature conservation, water management, waste control, nuclear plant approval, and climate protection since 2008.
The Ministry for Environment, Energy and Climate Protection of Lower Saxony introduces a new mobile app, bringing comprehensive environmental information directly to users’ devices. Citizens can now easily access data on topics such as flora and fauna, social impacts, climate change, and also contribute their own images and help shape a better future for the planet.
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