Dr. Andreas Kunz’s Post

Updating #clusternetworks as drivers of circular economy As host for Clusterdesign & Upskilling I was asked exciting questions and needs from visitors of #salz21 - the Salzburg Technology and Innovation Forum #austria. Thx for all the inspiring discussions on concrete use cases to find out what next steps cluster managers can do to boost the power of clusters. We found out 3 core points: 1. Knowledge administration vs. #cocreation: realize the business model of clusters and if necessary - CHANGE! 2. Entertainer or #innovationdriver: realize the core role of cluster managers and if necessary - CHANGE! 3. push or #pull: do the customers come to your cluster or do you go to your customers and if necessary - CHANGE! I’m looking forward to the next steps in this ongoing process! Florian Frauscher, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Thomas Maierhofer, Matthias Konrad, Julia Fuith, Roman Heidinger, Alexander Reich-Rohrwig, Gerlinde Oberndorfer, Werner Pamminger, Jäger Michael, Magdalena Resch, Christian Wenninger, Patrick Kosmider, Lene Kunze, Samira Chadli

As we step into the New Year, may it be filled with joy, growth, and a deep commitment to green practices, efficiency, and sustainability. Let's embrace innovation, reliability, and eco-friendliness in all our endeavours. Here's to a year of positive impact on the environment and a brighter, more sustainable future! Best, Sagar Khandelwal

💡 “How to meet human needs in a most energy and resource efficient way?” ➡ Rewinding to CIRCULAR REPUBLIC FESTIVAL: Janez Potocnik's inspiring speech on living well in planetary boundaries. One of the highlights on last November´s #CRF23 was definitely Janez Potocnik's impressive speech on shaping a system change and building a circular economy. For those who missed it, Janez, International Resource Panel (IRP) Co-Chair and former EU Commissioner, delivered a compelling message about the urgent need to transition. 📣 At the beginning of the spreech he set the tone with a quote from the slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek ▶ 'It is clear that we are approaching the ecological and digital apocalypse, but we should not lose nerves.' Janez emphasized that the linear "take-make-dispose" system is no longer an option and that we must embrace a closed-loop approach where resources are kept in use for as long as possible. He made clear: Natural resources and environmental sinks are now limiting factors of human wellbeing and the extraction and the processing of resources drives triple planetary crisis. We have to remember how nature is organised according to circularity principles - nothing is lost, and everything has its purpose. Janez' speech resonated deeply because he clearly named the situation but also emphasized that the concept of circular economy is well known and broadly accepted globally. He outlined 6 main recommendations that businesses and policymakers can take to make the green future and circular economy a reality: 👉 Institutionalize resource governance and define resource use paths 👉 Redirect finance to serve the transition 👉 Make trade an engine of sustainable development 👉 Create low-carbon, clean and circular business models 👉 Correct market signals to mainstream sustainable production and consumption 👉 Focus actions on the most resource-intensive provisioning systems Watch the recording to learn more: https://lnkd.in/ePaMEts9 🙏 Thank you, Janez Potocnik for your exemplary leadership in driving the change. #circulareconomy #sustainability #EU #CRF23 #JanezPotocnik #LivingWellWithinPlanetaryBoundaries  

At Texcórdova, we are proud to announce our active participation in the Impulse 2024 conference, organized by Fibrenamics, under the captivating theme "Blue is the new green". Inspired by the visionary Gunter Pauli, the pioneer of the Blue Economy, we have embraced a plethora of innovative ideas and inspiring examples that pave the way forward in terms of sustainability and environmental responsibility. Pauli's ideas, centered on the efficient use of available resources to create a sustainable system that benefits both the environment and the economy, guide our vision and practice. Our journey towards sustainability and minimizing our ecological footprint is ongoing and comprehensive. It's an effort that goes beyond the surface, targeting the core of our operational ethos. We are committed to continuously refining our processes and developing products that effectively reduce the environmental impact of our industry, aligned with the principles of the Blue Economy. The path to environmental sustainability is extensive, and at Texcórdova, we are already aligned with a sustainability-first mindset, inspired by Gunter Pauli's revolutionary ideas. We invite our community, partners, and clients to join us in this vital commitment to a greener, more sustainable future, where innovation and the economy walk hand in hand with respect for our planet. #Texcórdova #BlueIsTheNewGreen #Sustainability #Future #EcoFriendlyInnovation #GunterPauli #BlueEconomy

We are delighted that our latest edition of our Positive Pawprint report is now available. Read about the progress we've made in the past year , aligning with our three core sustainability pillars: People, Planet, and Patients. https://ow.ly/Plya50QvNaM

Last week #SouthPole’s Climate Leaders Forum was held for the first time in #Berlin and my colleague Jonathan Moss and I had the chance to host an afternoon filled with alarming climate facts, drastic calls for action, but also a lot of best practice sharing among companies. Some key insights of the event include: 🌡 Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founding director of the PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, kicked off the event with a daunting fact “We’re on the verge of reaching the 1.5 degree goal for the first time in 2023” once again underlining the urgency of the issue while also outlining some solutions around subversive politics, scalable Innovation, public procurement and viral narratives. 🌍 Dr. Olivia Henke, board member of the Stiftung Allianz für Entwicklung und Klima highlighted the need for financing climate protection projects to mitigate climate change in countries of the Global South as an important contribution to a sustainable and climate-friendly transformation. 💶 This requires investments in innovative, climate-friendly and ideally circular business models and the right regulatory frameworks that incentivise investments according to Covestro's Christoph Reißfelder. Investments that are currently on the line as Germany's constitutional court just deprived the government of its 60 billion euro climate and transformation fund. ⚡ Innovation was also a key aspect that Alexander Farsan, Head of Climate and Environment at Klarna was emphasising. He called for bolder measures and how companies should adopt a less risk averse approach to environmental sustainability, but rather take action now as some level of uncertainty around climate target-setting and planning into the future will always remain. 🤝 South Pole's Judit Legrady elaborated that strong and collaborative partnerships among the private sector, regulatory bodies, and NGOs, alongside long-term commitments, as well as the involvement of local communities are inevitable to make any progress in the climate space. Massive thank you goes out to those colleagues that were facilitating insightful workshops around the topics #CSRD, #climaterisks, #sciencebasedtargets, #renewableenergy strategies or #climateprojects, as well as to the event’s organisers Adele Bunk, Uta Hönemann and Clara von der Ropp for making it a success.

One week later, I’m reflecting on #ForumAlpbach’s „Europe in the World“ days where I had the privilege to attend inspiring panel discussions. However, my highlight was interacting with different bright minds such as politicians, scientists, climate activists, entrepreneurs and employees. What I learned is that - at least within the Forum Alpbach bubble - there is a big common will for a green transition, which means: 1️⃣ A green transition needs a systematic change with less poverty and more equality underpinned by my key panel statements*: - „Climate change requires us to change everything!“🔥(Sandrine Dixson-Declève) - „We need to be honest about the failures of the current system… If we truly cost in the cost of the risk, the price of carbon would be $27,000 by the end of the century. We’re off by an order of magnitude and would have a fundamentally different economy.“💰(Indy Johar) - „Global inequality is bad for democracy… During last year windfall profits went to companies in oil or grain which the west failed to tax… Unfortunately, political power is exercised by people with economic power.… A higher global standard of living will be the result of a green transition which is not necessarily measured in GDP.“⚖️(Joseph E. Stiglitz) 2️⃣ A green transition needs sustainable solutions in every sector. Here are some outcomes of Mondi Group’s session about circular economy ♻️: - Classify waste as resource - Simplify materials and daily life in recycling (just 11% of waste in the EU is recycled) - Foster a bottom up approach (ex. use your employee voice within the company) - Improve collaboration across parties, regulation, civil society, companies and scientists What are my personal actions resulting from these learnings❓ ➡️ Further contribute to Mondi‘s Netzero 2050- & energy transition and forward thinking for the challenges ahead ➡️ Inform colleagues & mates about the necessity of a green transformation ➡️ Get active on 15/09/2023 (global climate strike @Vienna Heldenplatz) ➡️ A lot more reading and learning to be done Thanks to Mondi Group & Paulus Goess, Fabio Peyer, Nobue Beate von Wurzbach, Evelyne Panzenböck, Vera Kritsch, Beatrix von Mentzingen, Bettina Pepek, Chiara de Eccher, Florian Schein! #EFA #EuropeInTheWorld #Inspiration #Bold #GrowCreateInspireTogether *some rephrasement for easier reading was done

We hosted the 26th Sustainable Business Roundtable (SBRT) at ESMT Berlin yesterday. Established in 2011, the SBRT serves as a peer-to-peer learning network for leading global companies actively involved in the sustainability transformation. 🌐✨ Here are the key insights from the discussions: 🌍 Global Challenges: Businesses must collectively address climate change, unsustainable consumption, and rising inequality, recognizing the human crisis is intertwined with the climate crisis. 🤝 Equality in Demand: 84% of consumers advocate for equal wages, reflecting a societal push toward fair compensation. 🎯 Strategic Sustainability Focus: Organizations aspiring to an inspirational social sustainability strategy should focus on societal, employer, and community responsibilities for a fair and equal society. 🔄 Holistic Business Impact: Ambitions need alignment with robust systems for human rights, responsible taxation, and material issues specific to each industry. Topics may include disaster recovery, sustainable housing, regenerative agriculture, responsible mining, or digital responsibility. Thank you to all speakers (Raji Jayaraman, Julia Olofsson, Jakob Berndt, Paula Byrne, Manuel Bougeard, Gabriel Moscovici, Marike Mehlmann-Tripp, Hanna Kehl, Sven Matika, Malte Will, Bas van Abel, Hans Reitz) for sharing your insights! Thank you also to the participants for your active contribution! And last, but not least, thank you to my colleagues Olga Almqvist (she/her), Laura Ulloa, Jannis Röthemeier, Joern Soyke for your great support! FUTURE Institute for Sustainable Transformation🚀🌐 #Sustainability #ESG #BusinessInsights #SocialImpact