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Sustainability makes profit in companies: Environmentally conscious working as a trend of the future?
// By Oliver Specht & Axel Nauert
Sustainable, long-term thinking and acting is also becoming increasingly important for companies. The highlight: Companies also benefit financially through more sales. We'll show you how to do it.
How sustainability and profitability go together
As with the hero in the Shire in Lord of the Rings, our story begins with the ideal world. When I was on the ICE from Munich to Duisburg at the end of last year, I was able to use the travel time wonderfully to think. I love the peace and quiet on the train and the free time from everyday work. However, I went to Duisburg to dissolve my parents' household - a long process because a new, barrier-free household with a stair lift and outpatient care had to be found in order to make life easier in the future. When I thought of my parents - the older generation - I automatically thought of my son - the younger generation. He is eleven years old and takes over our habits: He enjoys life to the fullest, is sure of himself and is aware that it will stay that way. So he leads a carefree life because everything is there. The Christmas wish list is empty. No wishes open.
I think about the future for him. However, I know that the CO2 budget for a liveable planet earth will be used up after 25 years. Then he will be just 36 years old, in the middle of his professional life and probably also has a family: the next generation. Today he can still move or influence little. In 25 years it will be too late and he will tell his children that Grandpa (aka me) did not recognize the signs back then. Or worse: that Grandpa knew but didn't act. Because the facts from science were known - only belief was missing.
Why it doesn't help to do the same thing over and over again
I am already sitting on the train and use only a tenth of CO600 for the 2-kilometer journey compared to a car journey. And still I have a better quality of life. I'm sitting in the Deutsche Bahn on-board restaurant, having breakfast and writing this foreword. So there are no economic disadvantages. For the ticket I paid 25 euros (thanks to my Bahncard 50) compared to around 50 euros for petrol. The ICE is full, which means that there is an increasing number of people who see the same benefit. I wonder why the demand for sustainability is not recognized by other companies. The range of services on the train is limited.
There are two types of breakfast, two newspapers and two types of beer. The railway is becoming more attractive as a mobility solution. So why are there no business models or companies that offer other services on the train? Make long-term profits and at the same time increase the attractiveness of sustainable mobility? Several different mobile services spontaneously come to mind: an Italian bistro, Greek restaurant, a bakery, kiosk services such as newspapers, lottery, books, etc. Or how about completely new mobility services such as a hairdresser, dental care, and beauty salon? True to the keyword: travel time is lifetime - and not stressful time like in your own car. In a traffic jam. The more I think about it, the more I believe that only business models that are based on this sustainable trend are successful in the long term. In other words: that make our planet earth more livable. At the same time I catch myself thinking: “Everything is fine. I'm sitting on the train, the train is full - it works! «And immediately afterwards I take my troubleebookto read about the development of the railway.
In doing so, I am amazed to find that the railways and stations in Germany were much more densely structured 25 years ago. So the last mile from the metropolitan train station to the place of residence could easily be covered. Since 1994, however, 6.100 of the 44.600 kilometers of the rail network in Germany have been shut down, which corresponds to a share of no less than 14 percent. At the same time, the number of registered cars grew by 18 percent. If sustainable mobility is a trend for the next 10 to 30 years, where are the companies that are investing in sustainable mobility offers? Today we have two well-known national transport companies (Deutsche Bahn and Flixbus) as well as local municipal utilities with transport companies. The number of employees in this segment has stagnated at around 25 over the past 500 years (compared with around 000 in the automotive industry). If we take the trend seriously, employees in sustainable mobility would have to grow much faster. Spending on sustainable solutions should also increase significantly. The public sector spends twice as much money on road construction and maintenance as it does on the railways and local public transport. Why? Do we need more surface sealing through streets and parking lots in the next 800 to 000 years? Shouldn't we sooner dismantle the streets and parking lots?
The working world of the future must become more sustainable
So what would I recommend to my son? "Go into the automotive industry." - "Do a bank training."? - Or: »Look for companies or business models that develop sustainable solutions for our living space.«? At the moment it is still our task to leave the earth as a livable planet for our children and grandchildren. We can do this when customers and companies rethink their approach, when solutions and technologies are developed for our planet instead of against it. We are convinced that companies can make a significant contribution to the sustainable development of our planet - and at the same time be very successful financially. We need this big, positive impulse - we all!
You are not holding a strictly scientific text in your hands here. Rather, he wants to invite entrepreneurs, consultants, executives, specialists, employees, women and men to develop sustainable strategies for the procedure, to use findings from recent trend research, to choose clever product designs, to pursue and implement circular economy (Cradle to Cradle) step by step and it wants to give recommendations for action. This text is in the context of a passionate dialogue. We have been conducting this dialogue differently in the interdisciplinary Alpha consultancy group for over a year. In this joint reflection process, we have created an innovative management approach that brings together sustainable strategy, social and ecological responsibility, new leadership, potential development and modern organization. Some places in this book refer to it. For the practitioner, we describe the path using a fictitious case study, a book within a book, so to speak. It's a story in its own right. But it would be a shame if you skip the rest.
For ecological change, we have to think and act strategically
I was an early reader of the magazine natur, founded by Horst Stern at the time. I remember an article that warned of global warming for sure 25 years ago, well scientifically founded, with the prospect of more frequent storms and floods. At the same time, I was a frequent flyer as a consultant, even became a pilot myself and had a (more than) sufficiently motorized Volvo V70. After an extremely exhausting ten-day workshop near Chicago, I came back to Munich and wanted to work differently, to live differently. I then dealt with new topics, with nutrition, yoga, music and neurosearch. I like my job as an organizational psychologist, coach and implementer, because I like people. I am concerned with how we manage to approach the new and preserve our spaceship Earth, this "blue jewel", as Alexander Gerst said on the ISS.
We have extremely competent people in organizations, good engineers, good researchers, good managers. The children of the board members go to the FFF demonstration on Fridays, talk to their parents and ask them why they are acting this way and not otherwise, whether they are not interested in saving and maintaining this spaceship and repairing the damage it has already caused . It is a complex task that must now be tackled. Gaining knowledge was always my aim, and my concern that we might be too slow is my engine, my motivation. My preoccupation with neurosearch has changed my view of people and psychological phenomena. I know that we have to take other aspects into account in our approach today and act strategically.
But we're fine ...?
The “Corona-Zeit «was a time to slow down for many people. However, some people used the time to think about the issues that really mattered to us in life and to put them on paper. 2019 was a successful year for most companies. The business models worked.
Our fictional case study is about an automotive company. The chairman of the board of management, Mr. Dr. Movinger (45) is extremely satisfied with his company. He has been there for six years and has pushed a lot, at the same time he has earned respect in the workforce. His sales colleague Mr. Schulz (55) has been working for Mobility GmbH for 25 years. For him it is important that the company culture is right and that the focus is on people. The chief financial officer mr Dr. Unger (50) has only been there for a year, is highly intelligent and is still in the role of an observer. The CEO for Technology & Development, Mr. Dr. Wohlfahrt (64), will retire next year. A successor is already in the starting blocks: the young and eloquent engineer Ms. Vogel (39). In previous years she was employed by an electric car start-up in California.
Case study Mobility GmbH
Dr. Movinger leans back proudly. He has just presented the annual financial statements of Mobilitäts-GmbH to his shareholders. His company was able to increase sales by another 3 percent last year and so they closed the year for the fourth time in a row with a record result. The share of luxury cars (SUVs) could be increased significantly, which led to a strong overall margin of 10 percent. Dr. Movinger joined the company six years ago as chairman of the management board and also took over the production department. He had been poached by a competitor with whom he had held many different positions, most recently where he was responsible for the US business. During the years at Mobilitäts-GmbH he was able to implement some important projects that are now paying off. With the workforce - initially skeptical about the "foreign" newcomer - he has now earned the respect he deserves, because he lends a hand and keeps the company on a short leash. The shareholders are also more than satisfied: the company is on a profitable growth path. The outlook is Dr. Movinger a little more careful though. The trade dispute and Covid-19 are uncertainties that can have a negative impact on sales; this may limit growth in the medium term. For Dr. Movinger is clear that he will stick to the previously successful business model. After all, the company is the market leader in the luxury segment and will continue to expand its strengths. He will cushion risks with a new cost-saving program. A reduction in overhead capacities would have been the next step anyway and is therefore pending in a...
