Germany – Support Services for Public Administration – Organization and Execution of the Federal Award 'Blue Compass' 2025/2026

The Federal Award 'Blue Compass' is the highest state award in Germany for projects aimed at prevention and adaptation to the effects of climate change. Whether it’s heat, drought, flooding, or wildfires, the impacts of global warming and related extreme weather events can cause significant damage. Therefore, it is crucial to take preventive measures to promote effective climate adaptation. Many projects and initiatives are already addressing this challenge. The goal of the Federal Award 'Blue Compass' is to showcase innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions for dealing with the consequences of climate change and to encourage various stakeholders to replicate these efforts. The award has been held since 2016 and has been jointly organized by the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUKN) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) since 2021. Projects have been able to apply in four categories: municipalities; private and municipal companies; research and educational institutions; associations, federations, and foundations. The number of applications has steadily increased in recent years. In 2022, a total of 240 projects applied for the award, and in 2024, a new record was set with a total of 301 applications. With this recognition, the 'Blue Compass' serves as a central communication tool within the framework of the German Adaptation Strategy (DAS), showcasing the wide range of excellent local climate adaptation projects, whose experiences and results will also inform the advisory work for municipalities through the Climate Adaptation Center (ZKA). The Federal Award 'Blue Compass' will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2026 and will be further developed in content. This includes two key innovations: (i) the introduction of a special category for 'School Projects' to specifically promote initiatives in the educational sector and thus foster interest in the topic among children and young people, and (ii) the expansion of networking aspects for the winning projects both during and between the award ceremonies. As part of the anniversary, all graphics will be adjusted with a corresponding logo '10 Years of the Federal Award Blue Compass' – the 10th anniversary will be a central point of communication for the upcoming competition round. The aim of this project is to organize and execute the Federal Award 'Blue Compass' for the competition round 2025/2026. Further technical details can be found in the service description.