The Birth of a Rising STAR

Kick-off with a "STARbowl" event in June 2023

As an initial activity,  the center held its first ‘STARbowl’ this summer on the topic of  "How to Drive Sustainability Transformation Through ESG & Business Model Innovation". STARbowls are fishbowl discussions on cutting-edge sustainability transformation topics, hosted by ESCP STAR. The inaugural edition was led by the center's co-founders, with distinguished  guest speakers such as ESCP Chair for International Accounting as well as Professor of Financial and Sustainability Accounting and Reporting Dr. Martin Schmidt; Dr. Lothar Rieth, the Head of Sustainability at EnBW Energie; and Axel Kaiser, the Founder and CEO of Denttabs.

Naturally, the event kicked off with a presentation of the ESCP STAR center and its key pillars: 

1. Sustainability-related research transfer that makes scientifically produced knowledge more accessible to practitioners and therefore more effective in change-making; 
2. Innovative educational formats that are designed to be more flexible and agile, responding to the particular and ever-changing needs of practitioners-to-be and those working in the field already; 
3. Community building and engagement where purpose-driven individuals and organizations come together to connect, brainstorm, and share best practices. 

Following the ESCP STAR center presentation, a fishbowl discussion covering various topics ensued, highlighting that sustainability goes beyond mere practice - it resonates within us and should be integrated into our hearts whatever we do, run our companies or teach the next generation. Businesses and management practices must become “enkelfähig”, meaning future-proof for our grandchildren, requiring us to embed sustainability into the very core of organizations, into their business models, for long-term success and survival (pun intended).

At first, in search of a common ground and ensuring that everyone involved played the same language game, definitions and key concepts around sustainability, compliance and reporting were clarified. To set the context for the regulatory environment under which European companies operate, several initiatives were named, such as European Green Deal, Sustainable Products Initiative, Supply Chains Responsibility, Circular Economy Action Plan, and EU Taxonomy. Next, benefits of good reporting were highlighted (running lower systematic risks, pleasing increasingly more sustainability-savvy investors, and increasing firm value).

The next discussion period was facilitated by Dr. Lothar Rieth of EnBW Energie, who shared a thought-provoking story of their own sustainable transformation in the energy sector, and was dedicated to questions in and around ESGs: 1. What differentiates ESG from sustainability? 2. What needs to be transformed? Economic systems, businesses, or societies? 3.  How are sustainable and digital transformations interrelated and what makes them radically different? Overall, participants in the discussion agreed that the key to sustainable transformation is the interplay between intrinsic motivations and economic incentives. Ideally, the two should be aligned, reinforcing each other. However, as the status quo in the socio-political context still struggles to define economic incentives behind sustainable business operations, companies can and should begin to question themselves where and how sustainability makes a difference.