More and more municipalities want to focus on broad well-being: long-term social value, alongside financial results. Issues such as climate, quality of life, health, inclusion, and economic resilience all come together in this context.
For most municipalities, the challenge lies not so much in formulating ambitions, but in translating these ambitions into administrative guidance, implementation, and accountability.
Within municipalities, roles are often divided among administration, policy, sustainability, procurement, and oversight. This frequently leads to fragmentation. Yet comprehensive well-being requires an integrated vision of residents, entrepreneurs, and civic organizations, as well as of the neighborhood, district, and municipality as a whole.
Municipalities are part of society and earn a legitimate place within it when they align with this integrated vision. The Guide to Sustainability Reporting and Accountability for Local Governments offers a practical tool for this purpose. However, few municipalities currently report on their sustainability in an integrated manner. Elements of the Guide do appear in various places—in the planning and monitoring cycle, policy plans, or separate reports—but a comprehensive overview is lacking.
Especially now, when society is taking a critical look at the role of the government and public trust is low, it is all the more urgent for municipalities to provide insight into their contribution to society.
A transportation company invests in more sustainable fuels or electric vehicles, but finds that customers are not willing to fully cover the higher costs. Due to the low profit margins in the transportation sector, this is often not financially attractive enough.
When a municipality reports comprehensively on well-being in all its dimensions, it provides a clear overview of performance in the social, environmental, and economic spheres. This enables administrators, council members, and residents to see the connections and make informed decisions.
At a time when trust in the government is under strain, transparency is not a luxury but a necessity. Municipalities that report clearly and honestly on their contribution to overall well-being strengthen their legitimacy among residents, business owners, and community partners.
Comprehensive sustainability reporting is not merely a matter of accountability after the fact, but also a management tool. It provides the City Council and the City Executive with a tool to comprehensively monitor and adjust initiatives related to broad well-being.
The publication “Let’s Get Started!” is a practical supplement to the Guide. It offers concrete guidance for municipalities that want to take the first step: how do you get started, which themes should you choose, and how do you set up the process? It serves as an accessible starting point for municipalities that do not yet report comprehensively but would like to.
Step 4
Cooperate Green is a founding partner of ImpACTmakers Municipalities, a platform that supports municipalities in measuring, managing, and reporting on well-being. Through ImpACTmakers, municipalities collaborate on shared methodologies, knowledge exchange, and practical tools to make well-being manageable.
Our consultants and accountants operate precisely at the intersection where social value and financial management converge. In doing so, we bring together the roles of policy advisor, sustainability expert, and accountant—and we help municipalities not only define broad well-being but also make it practically manageable.
