"Quo vadis sustainable economy?" - Future perspectives at the ö 2024 forum

Marina Hasler, Managing Partner of the Impact Hub, and Olmar Albers, Managing Director of öbu, kicked off this year's ö Forum with an interactive Q&A session. Participants were encouraged to stand up for "yes" answers to get a sense of their own familiarity with the topic. This warm-up was intended to get the audience in the mood for this year's motto "Quo vadis sustainable economy?". Under this guiding principle, the topics that are often on the periphery of sustainable business took center stage and highlighted the opportunities that sustainability offers for the environment, companies and employees.

The event, which brings together around 200 personalities from business, science, innovation and society every year, serves as a platform for the exchange of ideas on future-oriented business models that demonstrate the potential of a sustainable approach. With varied breakout sessions and keynote speeches on topics such as "Strengthening companies through a biodiversity strategy" and "The role of climate design in companies", the forum shed light on new perspectives and solutions for sustainable business.

The role of ESG data in business processes and corporate culture

In the opening keynote "Data-driven insights into the opportunities of the sustainable economy", Stefanie Egger, member of the Executive Board of Crif AG, and Prof. Dr. Justus Julius Kunz from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland shed light on the future of the sustainable economy in Switzerland. The central questions were: Where is the Swiss economy heading? Where are we today? How can we move sustainability out of the realm of mere compliance? 

Stefanie Egger pointed out the central role that ESG data plays in sustainable corporate governance. Crif AG evaluates companies on the Swiss market using secondary and primary data, with the Synesgy platform providing clients' primary ESG data in particular. Secondary data is based on publicly available information and industry averages, while primary data is collected directly from counterparties or suppliers. She added that simply collecting ESG data is not enough. Companies need to integrate it specifically into their business processes in order to benefit from sustainable strategies. Regular certifications also promote long-term improvements, as companies deal intensively with sustainability issues. Companies with good ESG values, such as lower CO₂ emissions, often also benefit from better financial conditions, such as more favorable interest rates on loans.

Following Stefanie Egger's presentation, Justus Julius Kunz focused on the role of corporate culture in the implementation of sustainability. He emphasized that ESG sustainability must not only be integrated into business processes, but must also be anchored in the corporate culture in order to secure long-term competitive advantages. Active CO₂ management is central to economic ESG success. Benchmarks help to measure progress and identify opportunities for improvement. However, a comprehensive transformation at all levels of the company with the active involvement of employees is crucial for a sustainable market position. Companies that pursue this approach not only benefit from innovative strength, but also from a stronger position on the labor market, as the younger generation in particular attaches importance to authentic sustainability.

Sustainable value creation - a global perspective

In the closing keynote at the ö 2024 forum, Dr. Stefan Gara, Senior Advisor at Sustainserv and Member of the Vienna State Parliament, and Dr. Matthew Gardner, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Sustainserv, discussed various approaches and current developments in the USA and the EU under the moderation of Dr. Stephan Lienin, also Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Sustainserv. Gardner criticized the increasing politicization of sustainability concepts in the US, where ESG is often referred to as "woke" - an attitude he sees as a hindrance to risk management and competitive strategies. Gardner explained that ESG is a strategic necessity for companies to minimize risks and maximize opportunities, regardless of political terms.

Gara pointed out the importance of planning security through European regulations such as the Green Deal, which also encourage Swiss companies to adapt to sustainability standards. The discussion made it clear that close cooperation between companies and local administrations is required for successful sustainable value creation, such as through the City of Vienna's "climate alliances". These promote partnerships that contribute to decarbonization and increased efficiency. Both experts emphasized that such cooperation and a clear focus are essential in order to secure sustainable value creation in the long term and keep companies competitive.

More information: www.oebu.ch

From climate risks to the circular economy

Breakout sessions play an important role at Forum ö. Five such workshops were held again this time, where various topics were discussed in small groups.

The breakout sessions at the ö 2024 forum focused on four topics: biodiversity, green communication, data management and climate risks. The latter was the subject of two workshops. After all, climate risks will probably have to be considered more and more by all companies in the future, as they can have a variety of effects - if not directly on a company itself, then most likely on the supply chains. After all, when major weather events affect entire regions, production comes to a standstill for a long time. From 2015 to 2023, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TFCD) dealt with such issues and provided information on what companies should do to mitigate the risks of climate change. They should also make this transparent in climate-related financial information. Based on the work of this task force, the "Climate Design" concept was developed, which was explained by Stephan Lienin, Dr. Stefan Gara and Dr. Matthew Garnder from Sustainserv GmbH. Climate Design is an innovation-oriented approach for companies that focuses on minimizing climate impact while optimizing business performance. By strategically managing the intelligent use of all resources - such as energy, materials, people and partnerships - along the value chain, the concept of Climate Design addresses environmental and social challenges, increases resilience and provides competitive advantage by aligning economic goals with climate responsibility.

GS1 Switzerland hosted a breakout session on the topic of the circular economy and how data management can become a driver of this. The organization, which developed the well-known barcode (also known as the EAN code) and made it a global standard, is also promoting a digital product passport (DPP) for the circular economy. This allows important product data to be traced or supplemented throughout the entire life cycle, as well as for the reuse of a product. "Only machine-readable data makes a functioning circular economy possible," says Dominik Halbeisen, Solutions Expert at GS1 Switzerland. A unique product ID enables the traceability of goods along the entire value chain and also includes the entire history of a product. The EU is making progress in this regard: DPPs for textiles, steel and batteries are to be implemented by mid-2027. Other areas should - or must - follow, because in principle every product is DPP-capable. In this context, the GS1 experts showed the participants how to create a simple DPP themselves.