Nieuw Amsterdams Klimaat
Sustainability platform generates 200+ initiatives for the Municipality of Amsterdam
Amsterdam wants to be a sustainable city, for now and for the generations that come after us. In 2019, the city therefore signed the Amsterdam Climate Agreement with the aim of being climate neutral by 2050. The transition to clean energy requires action from all of us. Together we are building a New Amsterdam Climate.
The Challenge
How can the Municipality of Amsterdam help Amsterdammers with the sustainability needed to achieve the goals, and provide them with the right practical tools? From that starting point, we conceived a digital platform that offers a holistic view of sustainability in the municipality. A platform that provides tools to anyone who wants to become more sustainable: young or old, business or homeowner, public organization or VvE. Where relevant information is easy to find, and where you can see what other Amsterdammers are doing. In short, the place to work together towards a climate-neutral Amsterdam.
Our Approach
In close collaboration, the Municipality of Amsterdam and Digital Natives worked together to come up with an appropriate concept. We started with a strategy phase in which the vision, proposition, and key core values were determined.
With that direction as a starting point, Digital Natives designed an identity where the themes of city, technology, and nature come together, the Amsterdam crosses have a place, and the new energy is visible.
Based on the identity, we created an interaction and visual design and designed a number of prototypes of various services in the field of sustainability.
In a short time, we built the first version of the platform with a multidisciplinary team using the SCRUM method. Where possible, we chose open source technology and used a headless setup with Craft CMS.
Like the initiatives featured on the platform, the platform itself is also a beginning. Therefore, we regularly implement improvements and continuously add new features and tools.
Result
After a short period of intensive sprinting, alderman Marieke Doorninck launched the Amsterdam Climate Agreement and the accompanying platform New Amsterdam Climate during the WeMakeThe.City festival. A digital platform for Amsterdammers who want to become more sustainable with extensive practical information on subsidies, loans, energy coaches, and general knowledge.
Hundreds of sustainable initiatives can now be found on the platform – Amsterdammers are massively supporting the goals of the municipality. On the interactive map, you can find information about climate-neutral sports, the sustainability of Artis, the green hydrogen agenda of the Port of Amsterdam, gas-free living, green shed roofs, and everything in between.
Thus, the platform helps every Amsterdammer take the next step towards a climate-neutral Amsterdam.
Web Accessibility
To make the platform accessible to every Amsterdammer, we paid extra attention to the WCAG guidelines. By working with good color contrasts, text alternatives for visual content, navigation via the keyboard, and support for screen readers, we ensured that the platform is also accessible to people with functional limitations. This resulted in the awarding of a WCAG 2.1 AA certificate by the Accessibility Foundation, in other words: a barrier-free score of 100%!
