Adam Schmitt has long been known in St. Ingbert's environmental policy. As early as 1998, he was a co-initiator and spokesperson for the "Local Agenda" initiative. As a city council member for "The Greens" and alderman for sustainability, he advocated between 2004 and 2019 for the sustainable development of the mid-sized town and adaptation to climate change. In 2018, the St. Ingbert city council appointed him as the sustainability officer.
There are really many topics that were important to him and still are today: wastewater regulation and rainwater infiltration, environmentally compatible waste policy, sustainable housing through the renovation of existing buildings, urban greening, but also livable residential areas and good local public transport are among the daily items on his to-do list. For example, he was a co-founder of the Solar Cooperative St. Ingbert, in whose context numerous solar systems were already installed in the early 2000s. A special achievement for the city of St. Ingbert: together with Dr. Markus Monzel, he was instrumental in initiating the reorganization of the local waste collection and thus the founding of the independent waste management company St. Ingbert (ABBS), a success story. In addition, as a member of the Biosphere Association Bliesgau e.V., he has made a significant contribution to St. Ingbert becoming a biosphere city and keeping this concept alive on a permanent basis.
„Sustainability can only be achieved through networking and good partners,“ explains the 70-year-old, who in every gesture and word clearly shows how much the topic means to him. Thanks to his work in the state administration as head of the Department of Aquatic Ecology, his involvement in the Saarland Ministry of the Environment and numerous environmental committees, as well as many other partly voluntary roles in environmental protection, he knows many idea generators, initiators, key players, and decision-makers. „I am a tough person and sometimes I rub people the wrong way,“ he says about himself, „but you can only bring about change if you provoke people a little and remain persistent.“ Adam Schmitt has been committed for decades to the sustainable development of St. Ingbert and is the spokesperson for the Bliesgau regional group of the Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND). He wants to exercise motivation, strength, and passion. At the same time, there should still be enough time for family and grandchildren – that is very important to him. Mayor Dr. Ulli Meyer thanks Adam Schmitt for his many years of commitment with a gift basket from the St. Ingbert World Shop: „You have contributed greatly to St. Ingbert managing structural change well and acting and planning sustainably as the city at the gateway to the biosphere. This special sustainability awareness distinguishes St. Ingbert as an attractive city.“
