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💚 Quarterly Academic Series - Sustainability @ WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management 2/2024   For this second installment of the Quarterly Academic Series, In Praxi and the WHU Sustainability Management Center welcome our affiliated Prof. Stefan Spinler, who will shine a spotlight on the transport sector with his talk: "𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲"   In recent weeks, we have all witnessed a heated public debate about transport as a sector that is “not pulling its weight” on the national path to net zero, and where creative and effective policy ideas are few and far between.   💡 Prof. Spinler and his team have been researching how a combination of technological and regulatory uncertainty impacts fleet investment decisions for companies. He will share the latest insights from this research 𝟏. 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓-𝟐𝟎𝟓𝟎 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝟐. 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 (𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟) 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬   👉 Join us on May 7th, bringing some much-needed data and analysis to decisions that companies are making under deep uncertainty – as well as to a meandering public discourse on how to decarbonize a sector that makes up one fifth of CO2e emissions in Germany.   🔥 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 (https://lnkd.in/eS4gjqcy)!   📆 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟕𝐏𝐌- 𝟖 𝐏𝐌 (𝐂𝐄𝐓) 📍 online via 𝐙𝐨𝐨𝐦 - the Zoom link will be announced via Email after your registration shortly before the session   Massimo Dal Bosco Dr. Raffaela David Dr. Keke Hiller #WHU #sustainability #community #alumni

Reflecting on my recent insightful session with General Business MDA students at Hochschule St. Gallen. Hosting a case study discussion shed light on the importance of adapting our language and approach when engaging with businesses at different stages of their sustainability journey. We have also set up product sustainability teams to look at our target system down to product level and customer engagement. This means we have huge amounts of data to manage and need a skilled team to communicate these subtleties effectively. Whilst many large companies have made great strides in the area of corporate sustainability, we recognise the challenges that smaller companies face when dealing with reporting requirements and legislation.   It's clear that some sustainability language, honed through interactions with industry leaders, can be overwhelming for those beginning their sustainability efforts. To bridge this gap, we should first address their challenges and tailor our approach to their needs. By being more target-oriented in our discussions, we can effectively scale success and drive broader adoption of sustainable solutions.   Here's to embracing diverse perspectives and fostering meaningful dialogues for a more sustainable future. Thanks to Sven Henkel Prof. Dr. Cordula Meckenstock and the General Business MDA students at Hochschule St. Gallen this case study was eye opening

Small but exciting news! I've been excited about my Corporate Responsibility studies at Hanken School of Economics since August, and today was an extra thrill—I got into the first-ever Sustainability Reporting course!   While I've been keeping a close eye on sustainability at work, the chance to be among the first to learn hands-on about this topic is fantastic, especially considering its growing importance for many companies this year.   The Corporate Responsibility module covers a wide variety of sustainability courses. Last fall, I completed courses on corporate sustainability and sustainable supply chains. The latter was especially eye-opening, giving me a deep understanding of the global logistics complexities, which is crucial given recent disruptions and the increased obligations on companies from CS3D and CSRD. I like how the courses in the module strongly connect, letting me use my knowledge and skills not only in my studies but also in my job. This connection will likely be even stronger now as I start the Sustainability Reporting course.   The next chance to apply for this study module is in the spring. Our group of 45 students comes from diverse backgrounds, making these studies highly recommended for anyone into sustainability topics. As the weather isn't quite as pleasant as during last weeks, I'm brightening up this post with a photo from my forest walk on the last day of 2023. #sustainabilityreporting

📌📌📌 Mahidol University leading the world on corporate sustainability research. Đại học Mahidol dẫn đầu thế giới về các nghiên cứu bền vững trong doanh nghiệp. Số liệu từ năm 1999. In a report released recently in Kybernetes journal (Impact Factor = 2.5), Mahidol University is identified as the most prolific university in terms of corporate sustainability research as related to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Adopting the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling, bibliometrics and qualitative content analysis techniques, the study analyzed 2,038 Scopus articles published between 1999 and 2022. Other world's leading institutions on the list include the University of Missouri, Columbia, USA and Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. CMMU has long been recognized as the leading business school focusing on corporate sustainability research. Its faculty members have consistently been identified by various global studies among the world's top scholars on Sustainable Leadership, seen as an approach toward ensuring corporate sustainability. 📌For the report, click here: https://lnkd.in/g3-yR-De

🍀Gaining new knowledge on ESG🍀 I was happy to attend the ESG Day at Aarhus Universitet last Friday. The conference was centered around the topic “The Finance Department as the driving force for supporting and managing companies’ ESG Reporting”. We were represented for both academic research and best-practice examples from three well-known companies. Key takeaways for me: • Sustainability must be integrated into the core strategy – companies need to work with sustainability with the same importance as other topics • Data is key – companies need good data to make informed decisions also in a sustainability context • Find your focus areas and focus your efforts – given the broad scope of sustainability, companies must identify and concentrate their efforts on specific areas  ➡️This aligns very well with the Double-Materiality-Assessment (DMA) that we in JYSK just have performed.  • The CSRD should be seen as an opportunity – even though it requires a lot of resources, it creates a holistic view of how the company creates value and identifies the major risks And always great to share the day with a friend from the University who also is working within sustainability Emma Lykke Therkildsen. We need to share experiences to develop the sustainability area as it is evolving quickly. Happy friday! 🌞

Already back in 2008 as part of my practice-oriented diploma thesis @Technische Universität Dortmund, I examined what characterizes the entrepreneurial tension between a strategically anchored and a marketing-oriented sustainability management (=greenwashing). By developing a catalog of criteria, I analyzed companies from a wide range of industries and assigned them to either „team strategy“ or „team marketing“. ⚖️ Those companies that strategically anchor sustainability in its business act authentically and are capable of surviving. They do not just safeguard their Licence to operate, but rather can differentiate themselves. Trust, credibility and transparency, but also the connection to the core business and the conviction of the CEO and the Managing Board play a major role. The area of tension becomes visible where the focus is on the short term return-oriented players in the financial markets. Sustainability ratings act as a kind of corrective here by interacting between both Corporates and investors. Today, 16 years later, it seems a bit cumbersome to see that it takes quite a long time for the topic to fully develop in all its facets and for also becoming an increasingly mandatory component in reporting. I find it really exciting that I work in a fantastic team and in a company now that started its sustainability journey just a couple of years ago. But this with full commitment: At Heidelberg Materials, the topic of sustainability is at the core of our strategy and is operationally implemented top-down based on clear goals and our 2030 Commitments. The focus on the core business plays an overarching role and is one of the key success factors. I am very grateful and proud to be part of this dynamic and exciting transformation process 🚛💚 Doing business sustainably and authentically: that is the long-term success factor! 👌 Tobias Hartmann Dr. Nicola Kimm Teresa Jatziri Landaverde Lorenzo Ira Brückner Dominik Nied Shauny Qu Matthias Münster Carlos Perez Pulido Christian Artelt Rachel Swysen Lara Rechlin Shane Sparg (PhD) Anna Wild André Brueck Hannah Lang Chowdhury Mishkat Taher Dr. Mubarik Chowdhry Aarti Barot

A pitch about my PhD project 🤸♀️ I have just attended an Industrial PhD Course, focusing on research-based value creation and personal branding 📣 It was a great challenge to outline a pitch of my project - here it is - I welcome your feedback and questions 💡 "I am a Sustainability Engineer doing an Industrial PhD together with Bureau Veritas Denmark on Sustainability reporting and management systems. I help companies to make sense of EU regulation on CSRD reporting and operationalize the complex concept of the double materiality assessment. My PhD project is all about how to create shared value between companies and their value chain through strategic implementation of sustainability reporting. I aspire to differentiate myself by not trying to reinvent the wheel of sustainability practices, but rather inspire companies to build on their existing practices, systems, datasets and experiences. I aspire to be a change agent that leads development of sustainability reporting practices beyond compliance to support decision-making and improved sustainability performance".

🚀 Thrilled to announce that our latest research paper “An investigation into the extent to which sustainable product development practices are implemented in manufacturing companies” has been published in Sustainable Production and Consumption! 🌍 In an era where sustainability is at the forefront of both regulatory and consumer demands, our study sheds light on the application of Sustainable Product Development (SPD) management practices in the manufacturing sector. Despite the availability of numerous practices, our industry survey spanning 20 companies across 14 sectors reveals that most practices are still being applied at a low capability level. 📊 Key Finding: Although the current implementation of SPD practices is at a lower capability, there is tremendous potential to enhance product sustainability performance. This underscores the critical need for stronger collaboration between academia and industry to bridge the theory-practice gap and transform knowledge into actionable sustainability strategies. 🙏 A heartfelt thank to all the companies who participated in our survey, offering invaluable insights into the application of sustainability practices during product development. I’m deeply grateful to my incredible co-authors and supervisors Prof. Daniela Pigosso and Prof. Tim McAloone for their guidance and dedication throughout this research. Another special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Yuri Borgianni and Free University of Bozen-Bolzano for hosting me during this research with all the support. 🔎 I invite you to delve deeper into our paper if you are interested in knowing the current landscape of sustainability applications. DTU Construct Centre for Absolute Sustainability https://lnkd.in/g4uX6Ayt

We are pleased to be on a co-mission with #erasmusuniversity to lower the footprint of #CTOUCH business. Therefor we need to change the way we produce our products, the way we bring them to market and recollect at end of life. This will impact our business model. We are eager to work together with the students of the master Sustainable Business Model lead by #Taslimalade and #Moonfung. #mvo #netzero #SBTi #facilitiesmanagement #circulaireeconomie

Corporate Sustainability: What are we talking about? In 2019, KLU Professor Johannes Meuer and his co-authors highlighted the crucial role of a unified understanding of Corporate Sustainability for successful sustainable business practices. They found over 30 different definitions in roughly 100 research papers, underscoring an issue that previously was overlooked. Effective sustainability action relies on shared understanding of Corporate Sustainability: - it aligns the sustainability goals of various stakeholders - allows to integrate sustainability into core strategies, and - to develop standardized metrics for measuring and reporting sustainability performance. Achieving a shared understanding of Corporate Sustainability is a very challenging process. - Diverse stakeholder interests, - complexity of sustainability issues, - rapidly evolving environments, - cultural and regional differences, - varying business models, - and regulatory progress are some of the hurdles that need to be overcome. The research of Professor Meuer and his colleagues was an invitation to reflect on and work towards a common understanding of Corporate Sustainability. Kuehne Logistics University extends this invitation to all its students, especially of KLU Executive Education. Prof Meuer and his team have developed a structured training approach to effectively teach how to reach a shared view of Corporate Sustainability within a firm. If you are interested – get in touch.   #CorporateSustainability #SustainableBusiness #ExecutiveEducation   https://lnkd.in/exeBeVmZ