Recording data, evaluating and making informed decisions – the State Office for the Environment (Landesamt für Umwelt – LfU) is responsible for a wide range of tasks concerning water bodies, nature conservation, geology and ground, immission control as well as technical environmental protection.
The State Office for the Environment is a higher state authority under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature (MEKUN) of the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
Approximately 510 people work at the LfU headquarters in Flintbek and at 11 other locations across the state. Together, they ensure that our natural resources are sustainably used and protected and that the diversity, beauty and uniqueness of our landscapes are preserved.
Our six departments cover the sectors Technical Environmental Protection, Immission Control, Water, Nature Conservation, Geology and Ground as well as a division for General Affairs. The departments are part of a greater network dedicated to addressing the ever-evolving challenges within their respective specialist fields.
The staff in the departments Nature Conservation, Water and Geology and Ground primarily collect essential baseline data and make it available for policy advising, planning processes, and authorization procedures. They develop strategic concepts and specialist assessments.
The departments Immission Control and Technical Environmental Protection handle major authorization procedures under the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and the waste disposal laws. Our employees authorize and monitor wind turbines, biogas plants, power plants and other large-scale technical facilities. They control the air quality in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and monitor national and European regulatory standards for actors and products as part of market surveillance – for example, in the fields of chemicals and ecodesign.
Organizational Structure of the LfU
The State Office for the Environment works towards the permanent preservation of the natural resources of Schleswig-Holsteins cultural landscape. Furthermore, it contributes to ensuring that the products of ecosystems can be utilized in a sustainable way.
Wide-ranging questions and diverse projects – exemplified by the "W" for Water, Wind Energy, and Wolf – offer and demand manifold approaches to collaborative development and the creation of future-oriented solutions.
Numerous interconnected areas of responsibility are managed and further developed by the staff of the LfU staff and their partners across the state.
We play a key role in the environmental administration of the state.
The lawyer Matthias Hoppe-Kossak is the Director of the State Office for the Environment. In addition to leading the agency, he takes on tasks such as chairing the committee "Runder Tisch Wolf", which contributes to shaping wolf management policy in Schleswig-Holstein. On behalf of the LfU, he is also responsible for the state-wide noise mapping project. Based on the noise mapping project, municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein develop their noise action plans to counteract noise pollution.
Prior to this role, Hoppe-Kossak was head of the predecessor office – the State Office for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Areas (Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und ländliche Räume – LLUR) – and also led the State Laboratory of Schleswig-Holstein.
1 Specialist authority operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature (MEKUN)
2 Head office in Flintbek, located in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, with three major branch offices in Flensburg, Itzehoe and Lübeck. In total: About 510 employees at 12 locations
3 Six departments, including five specialized departments: Technical Environmental Protection, Immission Control/Air Quality Control, Water, Nature Conservation and Geology and Ground
4 Director: Matthias Hoppe-Kossak
5 Established on January 1st, 2023, formed from the former State Agency for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Areas (Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und ländliche Räume – LLUR)
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Get to know the State Office for the Environment – our brochure
