Research focus
Evidence-based change management (Rousseau/ten Have 2022) shapes my view on climate transformation. I pay particular attention to decision-makers, governance processes, and organisational change, as these determine how climate ambitions are translated into action.
My current research programme centres on the Climate Action Triad (CAT), a heuristic framework for understanding climate-related individual change readiness. Through this work, I seek to contribute to more effective climate action and to organisational and societal transformation towards climate neutrality.
Conference contributions
Abstract: Could a lack of basic understanding of climate change, particularly among decision-makers, constitute a relevant barrier to transformation? This question emerged during the course of this research.
The paper examines the beginning of the climate transformation of a German Higher Education Institution (HEI) from an evidence-based change management perspective, asking how such transformations unfold in practice and what factors may facilitate or constrain organisational climate action. At an early stage of the research, the author was part of a climate project at the HEI for nine months as a participant-observer.
Subsequently, the change management intervention Climate Fresk was examined through a survey of 120 participants. While the participants, particularly those with intrinsic motivation, reported significant learning gains regarding the causes and consequences of climate change, the perceived increase in empowerment for climate action was only moderate. Nevertheless, the recommendation rate for the intervention was 90% across all participants.
In the qualitative part of the mixed-methods approach, strategic concepts and meeting minutes of governing bodies of the HEI from the last four years were analysed. These show commitment to strategic climate goals, but also a complete absence of discussions on climate neutrality as an organisational task of the HEI within important governing bodies. As an integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings, the study introduces the heuristic Climate Action Triad, a hypothesis-generating framework for investigating the climate-related change readiness of individual actors. This framework distinguishes between 1. climate problem understanding, 2. climate solution knowledge, and 3. constraints and barriers. The heuristic is applied to interviews with two members of the HEI executive board in order to identify possible barriers to change that may need to be addressed in the further course of the transformation.
Conference paper. Manuscript currently under peer review:
The transition to climate neutrality is ongoing worldwide, also in the city of Frankfurt/Main (Germany). After the local elections in 2026, the approved objective of climate neutrality in 2035 appears to be negotiable for the newly elected politicians. In addition, the current implementation seems to be too slow to achieve the target. This paper examines an ongoing field experiment using action research. The author is aware of the non-traditional study design.
The theoretical foundation of this case study is the evidence that people are willing to act climate-friendly and change management theory. The action researcher has furthermore a theoretical background in industrial engineering and management as well as climate change. She also has practical experience from working in industry and business consulting as well as a local political activist. The working hypothesis is that non-climate-friendly behaviour may result from a lack of information, limited imagination of possible solutions, or apparently conflicting personal needs.
This study starts with an open letter to the members of the new city council. An identical online petition is started. The first TV presence is achieved quickly. The handing over of the petition to the mayor and the chair of the city council with press coverage is only one week after the first action. The petition is also disseminated by the action researcher standing with a sign informing about the petition in the city. A website has been established and is being continuously expanded. Further action is planned depending on the outcomes and findings of the ongoing action research process.
The study is limited by time and money of the researcher which is addressed by an agile working approach focusing on effectiveness. It is ongoing with no predefined end date.
Study in cooperation with Adelheid Susanne Esslinger.
Climate neutrality must be achieved worldwide, also within educational institutions. This paper investigates whether the Climate Fresk is an appropriate and effective change management intervention at higher education institutions (HEI) in Germany. The Climate Fresk is a collaborative workshop based on IPCC information with currently over 2.3 m participants worldwide. It is used within business companies, financial institutions, HEIs and the broad public.
Measurement of the overall target climate neutrality is the carbon footprint. The latter is evaluated only ex-post on a yearly basis. Therefore, this study focuses on appropriateness defined as: the workshop can be used for all status groups within the HEI and a learning effect can be achieved. Effectiveness is measured with perceived empowerment to act climate-friendly.
Based on reflecting relevant literature and a change management model, the data collection follows a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative information is gathered during the intervention phase. Quantitative data is collected afterwards with a questionnaire.
Preliminary findings (n=70) are that the workshop has a very high recommendation rate for all status groups within the HEI. The workshop provides a learning effect regarding climate change. Perceived empowerment for climate action is slightly improved. An explanation might be that the workshop should be integrated in an overall consistent and well-managed change strategy with strong governance which was not the case.
The interview phase is still ongoing and planned to reach at least N=200 in autumn within Germany. An international rollout is also foreseen. There are still only relatively few scientific investigations about this workshop.
The Climate Fresk might be used as an intervention “all over the town” – with politicians, companies, press, scientists and citizens independently of the individual background – in the urban transition to a carbon-neutral future.
Objective:
Climate governance and transition require individuals to support and implement far-reaching changes. Existing research often focuses on barriers, resistance, and competing interests, but typically assumes a shared understanding of both climate change drivers and pathways to climate neutrality. This study introduces the Climate Action Triad (CAT) as a heuristic framework for conceptualising climate-related individual change readiness and explores the distinction between climate problem understanding and climate solution knowledge.
Methods:
The CAT comprises three dimensions: climate problem understanding, climate solution knowledge, and constraints and action barriers. Survey data were collected from 75 professors at a German university of applied sciences and 145 participants attending a public sustainability event. Participants rated their agreement with statements concerning climate change drivers, climate-neutrality technologies, and transformation pathways. Open-ended follow-up responses were collected to better understand participants’ reasoning and are subject to ongoing qualitative analysis.
Key results:
Across both samples, respondents showed high agreement that climate change is primarily caused by human activities and that fossil fuels are major drivers of global warming. Respondents generally agreed that they knew the main measures through which they could contribute to climate action. However, agreement was substantially lower regarding the role of animal-based food production, the adequacy of existing technologies for achieving climate neutrality, and the existence of feasible transformation pathways.
Conclusions:
The findings suggest that acceptance of anthropogenic climate change should not be equated with confidence in climate transformation pathways. The CAT proposes that climate problem understanding and climate solution knowledge represent distinct dimensions of climate-related change readiness. The framework further suggests that these dimensions should be examined before interpreting resistance, conflicting interests, or implementation barriers as genuine obstacles to climate action. Understanding readiness in this way may help decision-makers, organisations, and policymakers design more effective sustainability pathways and strengthen climate governance by and beyond 2030.
Objective:
Higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly adopt climate neutrality targets in response to SDG 13 and national climate commitments. This study examines whether and how such commitments are reflected in the governance practices of a German HEI and derives lessons for sustainability governance beyond 2030.
Methods:
The study applies a qualitative case study approach combining participant observation, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews with executive board members. Organisational structures, strategic documents, climate-related responsibilities, and meeting minutes of key governance bodies covering four years were analysed to assess the integration of climate neutrality into institutional governance.
Key results:
The findings reveal ambiguities in the allocation of responsibilities for climate neutrality and limited integration of the topic into formal governance processes. Despite institutional commitments, climate strategies, and emissions inventories, climate neutrality was absent from the agendas and substantive discussions of the examined governance bodies. The findings suggest a potential decoupling between formal sustainability commitments and governance practice. Interview evidence indicates high climate awareness and support for climate action among decision-makers. At the same time, climate change was primarily framed as a challenge of education, societal transformation, and competing priorities rather than climate-neutrality pathways.
Conclusions:
The case suggests that formal climate targets and strategic commitments alone are insufficient to drive organisational climate transformation. Effective SDG 13 governance also requires clear accountability structures, sustained attention within governance bodies, and mechanisms that integrate climate neutrality into routine decision-making. The findings suggest that formal commitments to climate neutrality and awareness of climate change do not automatically translate into organisational attention to climate-neutrality pathways. These lessons may support stronger climate governance and sustainable development beyond 2030.
Personal background
With an Diploma (equivalent to Master) in Industrial Engineering and Management from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany) acquired in 2001, I gained extensive experience in different industries and consulting. I have several years of experience in each of the following areas: Internal Audit, Controlling, Strategy Consulting and Operations Consulting. I then started to learn intensively about climate change and to reorientate my professional and personal life.
In 2024, I started my Master in Change Management and Transformation at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Art in order to work in the area of organisational change towards climate neutrality. In preparation of my Master thesis, I worked 9 months in the climate protection team of UAS Coburg. I welcome opportunities for research collaboration, conference symposia, joint publications, and doctoral supervision discussions.