Case Study
Climate Policy Communications (A joint communication effort by Laika and BaumEntscheid)

Laika supports BaumEntscheid: Together for a heat-resilient and weather-proof Berlin

Client

Volksentscheid Baum

https://www.baumentscheid.de/

Project date

February 2024 - present

Services

Climate policy communications

The results

8

MONTHS

64

ARTICLES SECURED

1.1B+

REACH

The mission

Since February 2024, the Space Dogs have been on a special mission, tackling nothing less than the future of Laika’s hometown: Berlin! The BaumEntscheid, founded in August 2023 by Ecosia’s Germany Director, Génica Schäfgen, and environmental activist and NGO founder, Heinrich Strößenreuther, faces a huge challenge: making Berlin heat- and weather-resilient by 2040 through the BäumePlus law. This is the first concrete climate adaptation law in Germany, designed to shield Berlin from the increasing effects of heatwaves, droughts, and heavy rainfall by massively greening the city and protecting it against extreme weather events. The Berlin public will vote on this law through a referendum in the next regional elections.

To succeed, the initiative needs widespread support from Berlin’s citizens. Our collaboration with BaumEntscheid aims to generate maximum public attention through media outreach, secure backing for the necessary fundraising campaign, and politically mobilize the local population. With a clear roadmap that included key milestones such as drafting the law, launching the fundraising campaign, submitting the law for cost evaluation, and gathering signatures, our joint mission began.

The campaign

In early March, a press conference was held to unveil the first draft of the law, invite Berliners to give feedback, and encourage support for the upcoming fundraising campaign. This event marked the next step toward the referendum and was our first major opportunity to bring attention to BaumEntscheid. We aimed to invite journalists from both local and national media to the press conference and to generate the first wave of joint coverage around the event. Both BaumEntscheid and Laika were able to draw on their extensive networks and experience. As a Berlin-based agency, we know the local media landscape particularly well. At the same time, BaumEntscheid brought strong existing contacts, prior media experience, and thematic credibility to the table. Thanks to this close collaboration and the combined efforts of both teams, we achieved significant media resonance in Berlin and beyond right from the first press conference. Prominent outlets like Berliner Zeitung, BZ, ntv, Welt, die Zeit and Tagesschau covered the press conference and the proposed law.

And that was just the beginning. The BaumEntscheid story continued to capture attention beyond online press. Within the same week, we secured a prime-time slot for Génica on the rbb24 Abendschau news show, where she gave a live interview, introducing the initiative to a large evening audience. The Space Dogs accompanied her to the studio and helped prepare for the TV appearance. That night, countless Berliners learned about how BaumEntscheid plans to make their city future-proof.

As the initiative gathered citizen feedback to finalize the law, we prepared for the next stage. A second press conference was held, again drawing significant media attention, to present the finalized law. Outlets like Berliner Morgenpost, Tagesspiegel, taz, Frankfurter Rundschau, merkur, FAZ and die Zeit, reported both online and in print. This press conference aimed to inform the public about the final version of the law while also pushing the responsibility back to the political realm, as officials were now tasked with providing a realistic cost estimate for the referendum's implementation.

The results

Since the beginning of our collaboration, we have jointly secured 64 pieces of media coverage, reaching over 1.1. billion monthly visitors. While these are great intermediate results, what matters most is that our media strategy successfully informed the Berlin public about the necessity and impact of the BäumePlus law, mobilized them to support the referendum, and moved us closer to making Berlin heat- and weather-resilient by 2040. The issue resonates with people, and we were able to translate the initiative’s vision into a media-ready narrative, using our network to amplify it.

Our work continues, as there’s still a long road ahead before the referendum during the next regional elections. Initial successes are great, but they will mean little if we don’t mobilize enough people for the next crucial steps, like the signature campaign. That’s why we remain committed to working alongside the initiative to help shape a future-proof Berlin.