Photo: Screenshot sdgs.un.org from 06.07.2021
Würzburg (fhws) – People often talk about sustainability when their descendants make do with what they have now. In 2015, a globally recognized understanding of sustainability emerged among the member states of the United Nations in the form of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim is to ensure global sustainable development on the basis of 17 core goals. The good intention to act sustainably is also found in companies. But how does this work in concrete terms?
At the FHWS, Prof. Dr. Harald Bolsinger developed a model with eight milestones specifically for medium-sized companies back in 2015. The business ethicist of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt invites to the “Road of Sustainability”: Especially small and medium-sized enterprises often lacked an affordable start to tackle this one, in addition to many other tasks, on their own. Along the eight milestones, employees could now systematically implement a sustainability strategy for the benefit of their company.
Testing in corporate practice in the sense of applied science took place with UmweltBank AG. Bolsinger’s model was successfully applied there. Together with the VirtualUniversity of Bavaria, the Center for Digital Teaching at the FHWS and UmweltBankAG, Prof. Dr. Bolsinger produced a teaching module on sustainability and organizational development in SMEs. The module in German is available free of charge to interested parties as a case study prepared on film at www.wirtschaftsethik.biz/umweltbank.
All this has prompted the United Nations (Department of Economic and Social Affairs) to invite international imitation of the good example from Germany. “Supporting theSDGsthrough integration into business policy” was selected as one of the 464 “success stories” worldwide for the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.
Prof. Dr. Harald Bolsinger recommends a regular examination of the sustainability-related orientation of the respective company: “It leads to the strengthening of one’s own innovative strength and a differentiated position on the market. ” With this offer, the FHWS is once again contributing to the classic transfer of knowledge from university to corporate practice and is also available for questions and tips on an international level.
Original press release in German: „Straße der Nachhaltigkeit“ führt Unternehmen in acht Schritten in eine nachhaltige Zukunft :: Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Würzburg-Schweinfurt (fhws.de)