A sector on the move

The automotive sector plays a pivotal role in the German economy. There’s no other sector upon which so many jobs depend—at manufacturers, suppliers and service providers. The diesel scandal has laid bare an Achilles’ heel: Almost a fifth of Germany’s CO₂ emissions stem from traffic. The pressure to undergo transformation is growing and it affects suppliers, too. Trust must be regained. We support our clients in shaping the mobility transformation in a sustainable fashion, dealing with growing transparency requirements and winning back credibility.

Growth against obstacles

As a traditionally strong sector in Germany, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry is firmly anchored across the complete spectrum of company sizes. It’s often the starting point for many value chains and thus shoulders a great deal of responsibility. Its growth is dynamic, yet its acceptance in society is frequently jeopardized: The environmental pollution scandals of the 1980s have been replaced today by criticism of the sector’s biotechnological procedures as well as allegations regarding the commercial exploitation of ever-new patterns of disease. We help our clients to anticipate political requirements and stakeholder demands and manage them successfully.

Coined by medium-sized companies

With few exceptions, manufacturers of machines and electronic products in Germany are mostly to be found among medium-sized companies. For them, digitalization is a major challenge. Most of these companies are also greatly concerned about the shortage of specialists and qualified young talent. We can show our clients how corporate responsibility can bolster good recruiting, what new dimensions of business responsibility are created by digitalization, and how sustainability can promote and safeguard the hallmark of German medium-sized businesses: constant innovation.

Change by prescription

Energy and raw materials are the basic stuff of all industry processes. The consumption of both is rising around the world, and along with it, the need to switch over to alternative sources. What renewable energies are for the energy sector, the circular economy could become for the raw materials sector: a way of meeting demand without straining finite resources. The German energy transition and the climate targets of the Paris Agreement are placing particularly heavy demands on energy producers, yet the manufacturers of building materials must also address their carbon footprint. We help our clients deal with new requirements and demands as well as ambitious climate and resource targets that will substantially change the market.

Huge leverage

Financial service providers are intermediaries. With this role comes enormous creative power, as demonstrated by sustainability funds and green bonds in recent years. With its action plan, the EU is attempting to make even better use of this leverage: Sustainable Finance is turning into a megatrend on the financial market. The idea is to prevent large amounts of money from flowing into areas that are not future-proof and thus not economically viable. This is an aspect which has already led large insurance companies to divest from fossil fuel energy. We help banks and insurance companies understand their stakeholders’ demands, deal with changing framework conditions and develop new ideas.

Responsible action

As an intermediary between producers and consumers, trade has a particularly great responsibility when it comes to sustainable development and is linked to many different topics and major challenges. Today, we’re witnessing how consumer demand-driven change has taken hold of the complete sector. At the same time, new hotspots are arising, such as the strong increase in traffic from e-commerce deliveries. In the textile sector, social aspects in the supply chain remain a perennial issue. We help our customers create full transparency, identify the most pertinent areas of action and work on these areas in dialog with stakeholders as well as for the strategic benefit of the company. This includes communication concepts that take the end consumer into consideration.

A reflection of society

Due to increasing urbanization, designing infrastructure in a future-oriented manner is once again being brought to the forefront. Meeting people’s need for housing, good transport connections and effective waste management is a business area experiencing strong growth. High-quality apartments are in demand while lawmakers are calling for energy-oriented refurbishment measures. At the same time, rent must remain affordable to prevent the social equilibrium from tipping. We support our clients in the areas of strategy, reporting and dialog. The biggest challenge is this: Finding the right balance between the investors’ interests, society’s expectations and ecological demands.

An active society

Whether social startups, initiatives, associations or foundations: Society is rich in organizations and people working towards sustainable development. While foundations typically pursue their goals consistently over many years, social startups tend to respond to very current needs. A large scene of civil society clubs and associations exists between those two ends of the spectrum. Taken together, this makes for a vivid picture of our democracy—and more and more companies are seeking to enter into dialog and collaboration with social and civic organizations. This is where we can play the role of intermediary for our corporate clients, while also supporting organizations when it comes to communication and preparing reports on effectiveness.

Smart framework conditions

Lawmakers must be able to assess the impact that legislative frameworks will have on the economy and on society. Which is why political consulting has nothing to do with backroom lobbying. It’s a process that brings together the relevant experts and players from business and society with decision makers to enable them all to engage in discussion about current problems. We support clients from the business world in conducting this dialog. Vice versa, we also help clients from the world of politics and administration to engage in exchange with companies, communication with society and collaborative projects with a wide range of players—with the goal of bringing about new perspectives and exploring potential solutions along value chains.

Digital responsibility

Media and telecommunication companies are well acquainted with disruptive upheavals: They had to rise to the challenges of digital transformation well before most other sectors. While social and ecological aspects seem almost insignificant by comparison, they mustn’t be neglected in this sector either. Large technology companies are also faced with increasing criticism for not paying enough taxes. Therefore, social engagement cannot simply serve as a fig leaf. We help our clients identify the sustainability topics that are most relevant for them, redefine their social responsibility and fill it with life in this age of digitalization.