Students from the Co-Innovation Lab develop software for the Bavarian State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection (LENK). The Bavarian Emission Measurement System (BEMS) records air travel by the immediate state administration and automatically calculates the CO₂ equivalents generated. BEMS thus creates the prerequisite for subsequent offsetting of air travel.
Climate protection has arrived in the everyday life of the immediate state administration
The State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection (LENK) is currently implementing a Council of Ministers resolution under which the CO₂ equivalents generated by official air travel by the immediate state administration must be offset from 2020. The initiative is part of the implementation of the Bavarian Climate Protection Act, under which Bavaria is to be climate-neutral by 2040.
Complicated processes complicate LENK’s work – cooperation with the Co-Innovation Lab helps
In the absence of an automated recording tool, LENK decided to use standardized Excel spreadsheets to query the individual departments for air travel data, which it then compiles in LENK and calculates the kilometers flown and the emissions incurred. Since this process cannot be a permanent solution, LENK entered into cooperation with the Co-Innovation Lab at Munich University of Applied Sciences. As part of the project, the eleven-member team of business administration and computer science students worked closely with their coaches from the Co-Innovation Lab, lecturers and contact persons at LENK.
Co-Innovation Lab develops intuitive web application for flight data collection
The Bavarian Emission Measurement System (BEMS) facilitates flight input for employees of the immediate state administration through an intuitive interface and step-by-step guidance through the input process. A control function prevents input errors from occurring. The export and import function, which makes it possible to save several flights in the system at once, also makes work easier. A clear dashboard facilitates data evaluation for the individual departments and LENK. For LENK, the software forms the basis for subsequent compensation by recording air travel nationwide and automatically calculating the CO₂ equivalents generated.
The state agency for energy and climate protection is convinced of the result
The successful implementation of the project attracted a great deal of attention. The final presentation was attended not only by people from Bavarian authorities, but also from Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and from the coordination office for the Climate Neutral Federal Authority at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
The contact persons at LENK summarize: “Since the students discussed the progress of the tool with us every two weeks, we were able to express wishes and point out open points during the development. Everyone was very committed to the project, and the result is impressive: BEMS simplifies the entry of data for the responsible travel offices at the authorities, the flight kilometers are determined on the basis of the great circle distances between the airports entered, and the greenhouse gas emissions generated are calculated automatically. It thus fulfills all the requirements we had set for the recording and balancing tool from a technical point of view.”
This Co-Innovation Lab project was carried out in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
The Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the major social challenges of our time. Together with stakeholders in the public sector, students develop forward-looking solutions. They are supported by Amazon Web Services with state-of-the-art cloud technologies and the Working Backwards innovation methodology. We live digital transformation.
More information about the Co-Innovation Lab and the Digital Transformation Lab (DTLab) at Munich University of Applied Sciences:
- Website Co-Innovation Lab: https://www.co-inno-lab.org/
- Website DTLab: https://hm.edu/dt-lab/ & Challenge auf der DTLab-Website