Municipal Utilities Strategy 2040
With its new Strategy 2040, Stadtwerke Wolfenbüttel is establishing key framework conditions for strategic action in the future. To ensure that the content can be communicated in a way that is understandable, relatable, and effective over the coming years, a “Big Picture” was created.
topic
• Strategy
• Vision for the Future
• Transformation
industry
Municipal Utilities & Public Services
format
• Big Picture (Strategy Overview)
• Click Picture (Interactive Version)
area of application
• Strategic Communication
• Employee Communication
• Dialogue & Workshops
target group
• Executives
• Employees
• Stakeholders
special features
• Long-term corporate strategy
• Versatile communication format
• Use at events
• Guidance for orientation
Vera Steiner, Managing Director, and Kerstin Hecker, Head of Marketing at Stadtwerke Wolfenbüttel, in conversation with Wolf Wienecke of Big Pictury
Initial Situation & Challenge: A Multi-Faceted Strategy
The energy sector is undergoing fundamental change. Climate protection, regulatory requirements, rising customer expectations, new technologies, and the expansion of renewable energy present municipal utilities with major challenges.
For Stadtwerke Wolfenbüttel, this means that ensuring a secure and reliable supply remains at the core of its operations. At the same time, the company must continue to develop its infrastructure, create new energy offerings, modernize processes, and actively involve employees in the transformation.
The Strategy 2040 outlines this path—but that was precisely the challenge: many issues are intertwined. Technical infrastructure, market requirements, customer focus, organization, processes, culture, and skills must all be considered together. To ensure that everyone involved understands where the journey is headed and what contribution each individual area is making, a clear visual representation was needed.
The Solution: A Vision for the Future as a Shared Roadmap
The vision outlines not only individual measures but also the strategic path toward 2040. It links the utility’s overarching goals with specific focus areas and illustrates how the transformation is being achieved step by step.
The four core strategic areas structure this vision for the future:
Infrastructure & Technology
The networks will be further developed to be secure, efficient, and sustainable. Modern technology, digital solutions, and smart control systems will help ensure a reliable energy supply for the future.
Market & Customers
The municipal utility is expanding its role from a traditional energy provider to a supplier of modern energy solutions. Solar power, e-mobility, heating solutions, and new services will become part of a future-proof offering.
Organization & Processes
To successfully implement the strategy, clear responsibilities, efficient processes, modern work methods, and an organization that actively enables change are required.
People & Skills
The transformation can only succeed with the people within the company. Knowledge, skills, teamwork, employer appeal, and an open culture become decisive factors for success.
This creates a vision that doesn’t explain strategy in abstract terms, but rather makes it a tangible experience.
Individual scenes
More and more citizens are generating their own electricity, storing excess power, or feeding it into the grid. This creates new energy flows and peak loads, to which municipal utilities are responding with adapted grid infrastructure and smart control systems.
Regulatory requirements and technological advances are having a noticeable impact on the market. For municipal utilities, this means that customer offerings and products must be continuously refined to remain sustainable and relevant.
To ensure a sustainable infrastructure, the municipal utilities are already laying the groundwork today: The grid is being modernized, expanded, and made safer—to ensure greater stability, sustainability, and reliability of supply in the years ahead.
This is how the big picture came about
The 2040 Vision was developed in collaboration with the management team of Stadtwerke Wolfenbüttel and the marketing department. The goal was not only to present the strategic content but also to distill it in such a way that it would be understandable and relatable to different target groups.
1. Analysis & Strategy
In the first step, the key messages, goals, and areas of focus of Strategy 2040 were analyzed. The aim was to identify the most important messages and translate them into a clear visual structure.
2. Development of the Guiding Principle
The strategic content gave rise to a visual concept that maps out the path to 2040. The four core areas—Infrastructure & Technology, Market & Customers, Organization & Processes, and People & Skills—were integrated into the visual narrative as key reference points.
3. Review & Approval
As the process continued, scenes, symbols, and messages were fleshed out step by step. Through coordination and feedback sessions, a big-picture vision emerged that is both precise in content and visually memorable.
Effect & Results
"The Big Picture" makes Stadtwerke Wolfenbüttel’s Strategy 2040 easy to understand, emotionally engaging, and visually tangible. It provides guidance amid a complex process of change and supports internal communication regarding the future, energy, and utility services.
"Our future comes to life"
“Our Strategy 2040 is a very large and complex project for the future. With the ‘Big Picture,’ we can illustrate what carbon neutrality specifically means for us: investments, new responsibilities, changed processes, and, above all, the people who are shaping this path together. The image helps us get our employees, the Supervisory Board, and our customers on board—because it not only explains our future but also brings it to life.”
Vera Steiner, Managing Director , Stadtwerke Wolfenbüttel GmbH
Experience the big picture interactively
In addition to the "Big Picture," Stadtwerke Wolfebüttel uses the " Click Picture" extension. This allows users to interactively click on the visually designed scenes. The accompanying info boxes then provide access to more detailed information on the individual topics. For example, users can explore topics in greater depth or contact the relevant representatives directly.
Get started today—schedule your free initial consultation!
Take advantage of this opportunity to learn how a big picture can simplify and strengthen your communication in a 30-minute conversation. We look forward to hearing about your challenges.
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