Rapid urbanization and the increasing environmental footprint of urban areas have resulted in recognising the
importance of cities in achieving environmental targets. Certification schemes, such as the Energiestadt label,
start becoming more common and provide guidance for local level action. Energiestadt specifically, certifies
cities and municipalities which commit to a sustainable energy and climate policy. By now, the label is wellestablished
and it currently counts more than 460 certified cities in Switzerland. The thesis investigates the
overall structure of Energiestadt label and critically analyses the effectiveness of its indicators by assessing
three areas: the design of the indicators’ system and how this compares to other similar labels; the alignment
of the indicators with the national strategy; and the performance of a municipality against certain
Energiestadt indicators. The results suggest that the label’s indicators are well-aligned with the direction of
the national energy strategy. However, improvements can be made with respect to the number of qualitative
indicators, as well as the way the label assesses municipalities which are more advanced with regard to their
energy and climate policy.
Urheberrechtshinweis
Papaefthymiou Maria-Eleni, Hochschule Luzern - Departement Technik & Architektur