Local government climate transition maturity
Your territorial climate trajectory, measured by theme and translated into a costed roadmap.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Local government climate transition maturity
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One Datamensio maturity framework, aligned with public frameworks for territorial ecological transition (territorial climate-air-energy plan, Territoire engagé transition écologique, local green budgeting and accounting) assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
It is this mechanism, a level, a level above, and the action that connects the two, that turns an observation into a trajectory.
Is the energy consumption of building assets tracked and used to inform decisions?
- N1
No organised tracking. Consumption is known only when invoices are paid, with no view by building.
- N2
A tracking spreadsheet exists for the main sites, updated occasionally by one officer, without a complete history or comparison between buildings.
- N3
Consumption is tracked annually across the whole stock, related to floor area, and the highest consuming buildings are identified.
- N4
Tracking is monthly and tool supported, deviations trigger an operational intervention, and results feed into works programming.
- N5
Tracking is instrumented by site and by use, gains after works are measured and documented, and the stock trajectory is revised each year on this basis.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Build a complete inventory of delivery points and floor areas across the stock, appoint an officer responsible for annual consolidation, and present the ranking of buildings by consumption per square metre at the budget meeting for investment preparation.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurement
What this framework covers
This framework assesses a local authority’s capacity to lead its climate transition, from political sponsorship through to budget execution. It covers governance and the organisation of services, knowledge of consumption and emissions, the renovation and energy efficiency of building assets, mobility, water, natural spaces, waste and the circular economy, planning and urban development, public procurement, and the mobilisation of staff and residents. Each theme is assessed across five maturity levels, based on observable practices rather than statements of intent.
In practice, the difficulty is not knowing what to do but knowing where things stand. Planning documents exist, resolutions are passed, and yet steering remains fragmented. Is the energy consumption of every building tracked building by building, or reconstructed once a year from invoices? Who, within the organisation chart, arbitrates between two investment projects on the basis of their environmental impact? Are the actions listed in the climate plan linked to a budget line and a named officer, or do they remain at the level of intent?
The context of recent years has shifted the subject from the environment department to the chief executive’s office and the finance department. Green budgeting, the knowledge of property assets required by energy renovation obligations for public buildings, low emission zones, and quantitative water management are all subjects that engage finance, human resources and technical services together. A common confusion persists: having an adopted climate plan says nothing about the maturity of its implementation. The first is a document, the second is an organisational capability.
This assessment is not a compliance check. It does not conclude with "compliant" or "non compliant", and no label follows from it. It answers a different question: what level of control does each theme sit at, what target have elected members and the chief executive set, and what concrete action moves the authority to the next level. The gap between the observed score and the target generates the action plan. AI then groups these actions into a prioritised roadmap, readable at both management board and committee level.
The framework is ready to use and adapts to the size and competencies of the authority, whether a municipality, an inter-municipal body, a county or a region. AI adjusts the themes, questions and levels, or builds a variant from your own documents: climate plan, sustainability report, property master plan. Assessments carried out across several municipalities within the same inter-municipal grouping can be compared with each other and over time.
Reference standard: Datamensio maturity framework, aligned with public frameworks for territorial ecological transition (territorial climate-air-energy plan, Territoire engagé transition écologique, local green budgeting and accounting)
The themes assessed
Political sponsorship and governance
Identified elected lead, steering body, alignment between the mandate project and the climate trajectory, frequency of progress reviews.
Organisation and internal competencies
Where the transition mission sits, cross-departmental working, staff training, presence of nominated contacts within operational services.
Data knowledge and emissions
Emissions assessment, tracking of energy and water consumption by site, data quality and freshness, collection tools, remote metering.
Building assets and energy efficiency
Property stock inventory, energy audits, property master plan, multi-year works programming, regulation and operation of installations.
Mobility and travel
Transport and intermodality offering, cycling infrastructure, greening of the municipal fleet, staff travel plan, urban logistics.
Water, biodiversity and adaptation
Quantitative resource management, de-sealing of surfaces, greening, management of natural spaces, consideration of heatwaves and risks.
Waste and the circular economy
Prevention and source reduction, sorting and recovery, reuse on construction sites, catering services, incentive-based pricing.
Planning and urban development
Translation of climate priorities into planning documents, land use efficiency, environmental quality of developments, dialogue with developers.
Public procurement and budget
Environmental criteria in contracts, pooled purchasing, whole-life cost, green budgeting, linking of actions to a budget line.
Engagement and evaluation
Involvement of residents and businesses, communication of results, tracking indicators, annual review and update of the trajectory.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Does this assessment lead to a label or certification?
No. There is no certification for a local authority’s climate transition, and Datamensio does not issue one. The assessment measures a maturity level and produces a roadmap. It can serve as a preparation baseline if you are pursuing a labelling process elsewhere.
How does this differ from tracking the climate plan already in place?
An action tracking spreadsheet shows what has been started. The assessment evaluates the organisation’s capacity to hold the trajectory: available data, competencies, budget, governance. The two complement each other, the second explains why the first is or is not progressing.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete by an officer familiar with the authority. The full version in collaborative mode generally takes one to two weeks, most of the time spent consulting technical services, finance and planning teams.
Does the framework suit a small municipality as well as a region?
Yes, provided it is adjusted to the competencies exercised. You can remove out of scope themes, edit the questions and levels, or have AI build a variant from your own resolutions and planning documents.
Can several municipalities or departments be compared?
Yes. Assessments carried out on the same framework can be compared across business units, here member municipalities, departments or territories, and over time against your own previous results. A cross-cutting roadmap consolidates several assessments into a single programme.
How is the roadmap costed?
Each gap between the observed score and the target generates an action. The service catalogue proposes a solution for each action, with its cost, timeframe and expected effect on the score. Budget arbitration is therefore based on comparable elements.
Does answering require technical expertise?
The questions address management and steering practices, not the sizing of installations. Some questions, on energy or water, require input from a technical services officer: collaborative mode allows these questions to be assigned to them directly.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, with OVH, backed up with Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European solutions.