The civil society movement "Bits & Bäume" (B&B) works at the nexus of digitalization, sustainability, human rights and democracy. Ten NGOs and scientific organizations from the sustainability and/or digitalization scene, including the IÖW, established the movement in 2017. “Bits & Bäume” is the first, most important, and largest movement from civil society and science for sustainable digitalization in Germany. It is growing continuously and initiates urgently needed and critical debates in politics, science, and civil society.
A coordination unit was created in 2023 to continue and consolidate this work. The IÖW is involved in the “Bits & Bäume” alliance by contributing scientific impulses and expertise as well as supporting the work of the coordination office in the steering committee and supporting committee. The aim of the work of "Bits & Bäume" is to take a multidimensional and holistic view of the relationships between digitalization, sustainability and democracy, and to derive interdisciplinary recommendations for impetus and action for politics, society and business.