The primary objective of this event was to explore the intrinsic intersection between sustainability performance and financial success for corporations while emphasizing the crucial role of financial institutions and investors in the corporate transition toward sustainability. Given the volatility and increasing uncertainty of today’s business landscape, the examination of sustainable and resilient practices is of utmost importance.
The local event was hosted by PwC Germany, a member of econsense, and recorded a high participation of more than 80 attendees. The event featured speakers representing various sectors, including corporates, investors, banks, public institutions, and science, who collectively underlined the significance of collaboration between these entities in achieving a successful sustainability transformation.
At the core of this ‚ecolution on Tour‘ were climate transition plans, which are essential for corporations’ progress towards climate neutrality and sustainability. Katarin Wagner (Executive Director, econsense) and Daniel Schmid (Chief Sustainability Officer, SAP SE & Chairman of the Board, econsense) opened the event with a welcome speech. Sebastian Schütz (Head of Sustainability, Deutsche Bundesbank) delivered a keynote emphasizing the importance of robust transition plans for both financial & non-financial undertakings.
The event further addressed the challenges posed by climate risks and their impacts, emphasizing effective strategies for businesses to manage these risks while minimizing their environmental footprint. Sebastian Schütz (Head of Sustainability, Deutsche Bundesbank) and Dr. Michael Verbücheln (Director Methodology Development, Value Balancing Alliance) engaged in a Power Talk on this pertinent topic, with a specific focus on how corporates and banks manage ESG risks and impacts. The power talk was moderated by Rainer Kroker (Partner, Sustainability Leader, PwC Germany).
Moreover, the event highlighted opportunities arising from sustainable actions, including the issuance of sustainability-linked bonds. These opportunities not only contribute to environmental well-being but also lead to reduced capital costs and increased investor interest. Rainer Kroker (Partner, Sustainability Leader, PwC Germany) delivered an impulse on the profits of sustainable transformation.
Subsequently, a panel discussion on the topic “Sustainability strategies & transition plans as a financial success factor for companies?” featuring panelists Nicolette Behncke (Partner Sustainability Services, PwC Germany), Prof. Loriana Pelizzon (PhD, SAFE/Goethe University), Anastasia Petraki (PhD, Head of Sustainability, EEGA, BlackRock) and Severin Weig (Director Group Treasury, Group Insurance & Corporate Risk, Heidelberg Materials) played a central role in the event’s discussion. The panel was chaired by Jannis Luca Arnold (Project Manager, econsense) and Vera Lisa Hasselwander (Project Manager, econsense).
The idea behind the ‘ecolution on Tour’ event series is to provide food for thought and offer a platform for exchange – always with a focus on the practical implementation of sustainability in business. Our host for the third ecolution on Tour this year was econsense member PwC Germany: Whether for a global player, a family business or a public institution, PwC is there for you at 21 locations in Germany. More than 13,000 committed experts serve our clients day in, day out – in audit and Audit and Audit-related Services (Assurance Solutions), Tax and Legal Advice (Tax & Legal Solutions), as well as Transformation, Risk & Regulatory, Sustainability, Cloud & Digital, Deals and Strategy&, PwC’s global strategy consulting business. PwC Germany takes a holistic view of sustainability and the value chain from strategy through to implementation, and from people, culture and change through to production processes. The interdisciplinary experts in PwC’s Sustainability business unit consists of more than 670 employees and holistically support customers in their transformation towards a sustainable company: from the strategy to anchoring it in daily processes to reporting and controlling the entrepreneurial impact – including the all-important energy transformation with engineering expertise.
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