Environmental Studies: Bastian Hagmaier – Shaping Sustainable Transformation

Bastian Hagmaier’s daily work mostly takes place where the future of sustainable mobility is discussed and decided—among local governments, universities, industry events, and project meetings throughout Germany. Since 2026, the now 33-year-old has been the managing director of a consulting and research firm specializing in sustainable mobility, where he oversees projects related to mobility strategies, public transit planning, and urban transformation.

“Transportation planning affects us all directly. At the same time, it is here that very concrete decisions are made about what livable, equitable, and climate-friendly cities will look like in the future,” says Bastian Hagmaier.

He is particularly concerned with one central question: How can ambitious sustainability goals actually be implemented—politically, administratively, and socially?

The path to this point was not entirely straightforward: After graduating from high school, Bastian Hagmaier first spent a year working and traveling in New Zealand, where he worked in agriculture, among other things, and gained some perspective on how he wanted to shape sustainability in his future career. Upon his return, he completed a voluntary social year in Hamburg and, at the same time, researched suitable degree programs. “Actually, I wanted to get out of the Lüneburg district back then,” he recalls. In the end, the college model was also a deciding factor in choosing Leuphana: “I was convinced by the opportunity to combine natural, social, and economic sciences.”

He began his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Economics. Early on, he was less interested in pure theory than in the question of how processes of social change can be practically shaped. At the same time, he was actively involved for several years in the student initiative “Enactus Lüneburg e.V.” Among other things, this led to the “2nd-Page” project, in which new notepads were produced from single-sided printed paper in collaboration with workshops for people with disabilities. “This project shows how ecological and social sustainability can work together,” he says.

Over the course of his studies, he became increasingly aware that sustainable transformation fails not solely because of a lack of good ideas, but often due to missing economic, organizational, or political frameworks. That is why he expanded his profile with an additional bachelor’s degree in “International Business Administration and Entrepreneurship.”

His path then led him to the double-degree master’s program in “Global Sustainability Science” at Arizona State University. There, he worked on projects related to sustainable supply chains, the circular economy, and urban transformation, among other topics. He wrote his master’s thesis on neighborhood-based mobility stations in Hamburg—a topic that continues to be a focus of his work today.

After graduating in early 2019, Hagmaier initially worked in the field of sustainable mobility solutions for large employers at 25ways mobility GmbH. At the same time, he supported companies and organizations on issues of sustainable mobility and transformation. This was followed by roles as a mobility and climate protection manager, as well as project manager for the Hamburg real-world lab “freiRaum Ottensen.” There, he oversaw one of Germany’s best-known projects for the redesign and traffic calming of public spaces. “It is precisely in such projects that it becomes clear how closely mobility, urban development, political processes, and social debates are intertwined.”

From 2023 to 2026, Hagmaier subsequently headed the mobility division of the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg. There, he was responsible for strategic mobility concepts, participatory processes, and projects focused on traffic calming, the expansion of sustainable mobility options, and the implementation of municipal climate goals.

Today, he works at the intersection of academia, administration, politics, and consulting. As managing director, he supports cities, regions, and public clients on issues of sustainable mobility and infrastructure development—from strategic mobility concepts to concrete on-site implementation.

He is currently particularly interested in the question of what municipalities with and without a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) can learn from one another—both in university teaching and in smaller research projects. He is especially interested in how sustainable mobility planning can succeed even outside major metropolitan areas.

As examples, he cites the urban mobility plan in Quedlinburg, the expansion of the bike-sharing program in Lüneburg, and the Hamburg project “freiRaum Ottensen,” where concrete construction is now beginning after more than six years of planning. “It is precisely in such projects that we see whether strategic concepts actually lead to visible change.”

Hagmaier remains closely connected to Leuphana to this day: he teaches at universities, supervises theses, and continues to engage in academic exchange. “The connection between academia and practice is enormously important to me. Universities are central places for developing new perspectives and ideas.”

The interdisciplinary nature of Leuphana has remained particularly influential for him to this day: “The university enabled me to broaden my academic horizons and combine different perspectives. It is precisely this ability that I need every day in my work.”

Or, as he puts it himself: “Knowledge only truly unfolds its value when it can lead to social change.”