Sustainability management: Practical tips

Sustainability management: intention and attitude before tools & processes

S.W.: Sustainability management - how much is attitude, how much is tools and processes?

Stephanie Helmeth: The Brundtland Report's 1987 definition of sustainable development states that we as a generation should use our resources in such a way that future generations can still live well on our planet.

In order to seriously align an organisation in this sense, a clear and strong basic attitude is required. Tools and processes are then a means to an end. However, I would like to start one step further ahead, with the intention. The intention to engage with the topic of sustainability as an organisation, to develop an attitude and to want to make a contribution to it, is the initial spark for the rest of the process.

Sustainability is much more than just CO₂-Balance sheet

S.W.: When we talk about sustainability management, which areas are included?

Stephanie Helmeth: Every sustainability management process begins with the question: "What do we understand by sustainability in our organisation?" From this exchange, a target image is developed and a strategy is derived from the target image, which pays into it. Sustainability management is then responsible for implementing this strategy in all areas of an organisation.

Even if areas such as purchasing, energy or building management often take up more space in the public debate on sustainability, the ultimate aim is to scrutinise all structures, processes and systems step by step.

Sustainability - a cross-cutting issue across six fields of action

Here at HM, sustainability is a cross-cutting topic in the current university development plan across the six fields of action "Teaching", "Research", "Transfer", "Resources & Processes", "Organisation & Management" and "Student Engagement". In each of these areas of action, we have defined what sustainability means to us. Sustainability is therefore much more than just CO₂-balance sheet.

S.W.: We have a very dynamic environment. Companies in particular are under great pressure to question, develop, let go and rethink the status quo at ever shorter intervals. To what extent does this dynamism and the associated agility conflict with a sustainable approach?

Stephanie Helmeth: Let me answer this question in two ways: on the one hand, continuous change can be part of a sustainability strategy, as it enables new findings, information or technologies to be integrated into an organisation's structures very quickly. On the other hand, this question also shows that the field of sustainability is full of conflicting goals.

Let's take a look at the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If we delve deeper into these, we realise that the pursuit of some goals can initially have negative effects on other goals and that it is necessary to find new solutions or sometimes even compromises.

Current developments in the field of artificial intelligence are a good example of this. For example, new technologies can help us to apply fewer pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture and thus make a positive contribution to protecting the soil and water and produce healthy food in a resource-efficient manner. At the same time, the necessary calculations require a lot of energy and also technical equipment or hardware that has to be produced and whose production can have negative effects. One possible solution to mitigate these effects could be the use of renewable energies or the use of recycled raw materials as well as the improvement of working conditions in the supply chain.

Sustainability management therefore requires a great deal of communication and continuous discourse in order to keep the focus on what is capable of consensus and thus gradually align an organisation with sustainability. The central prerequisite for this is a clear alignment of the organisational strategy and a strong management commitment to it in order to be able to navigate well through these conflicting goals.

Sustainable employee management and development

S.W.: My favourite topic is "leadership". How would you use your expertise to characterise sustainable employee management and development?

Stephanie Helmeth: This is an exciting question that each organisation must answer for itself. Here, too, the first question to be clarified is what is meant by this. Does "sustainable" mean purely "long-term"? Then we may be talking about different things than if the focus is on "sustainable development". In my opinion, "sustainable development" is first and foremost about developing skills and a working environment among employees that enable them to bring sustainability - in line with the target image - into the organisation and live it. This also includes building up knowledge about sustainability in general and in the specific work context through further training and qualification of both managers and employees. 

Get into action: Empowering employees to implement the sustainability strategy

S.W.: When I work with companies to further develop their leadership culture, I ask the key question: "What does it take in your company for your employees to be committed to the company's objectives with their heads and hearts?"

In your view, would that be a question that would lead us to sustainable leadership?

Stephanie Helmeth: Yes, and I would even add an element, the hand. Many organisations find it difficult to get into action in the field of sustainable development. There is a lot of talk and conceptualisation, but implementation often fails. Therefore, in my view, the key is to empower the people in an organisation with the skills, decision-making scope and budget to implement the measures of the adopted sustainability strategy.

Aspects of a sustainable corporate culture

S.W. What aspects are part of a sustainable corporate culture?

Stephanie Helmeth: Let me answer this question using our university as an example. The recommendation of the 2018 University Rectors' Conference to universities is to implement a culture of sustainability. We have made this the guiding principle for our sustainability strategy. For us, this means making sustainability visible and tangible at HM. This can be seen, for example, in activities such as

• the public lecture series "Lectures for Future„
• Research projects and institutes such as ISES (Institute for Sustainably Energy Systems)
• participation in projects such as "Creating NEBourhoods Together" in Neuperlach, in which a neighbourhood is being redesigned according to sustainable criteria in a co-creation process with the local community 
• the bottom-up employee initiative "Round Table", where issues relating to sustainability at HM are discussed and measures are developed
• Lighthouse projects such as participation in ÖKOPROFIT, an environmental management programme set up by the City of Munich specifically for small and medium-sized organisations. Our FK04 (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology) has been participating in this programme for over 20 years, and our campus in Pasing was certified in 2024. 

In my view, a culture of sustainability is realised when it is a matter of course for us to automatically consider sustainability criteria in all our core and support processes. 

Practical tips for the sustainable orientation of medium-sized companies

S.W.: How can medium-sized companies that don't have the resources to devote entire departments to fulfilling bureaucratic requirements align themselves sustainably?

Stephanie Helmeth: The fact is that we have legal requirements and more and more companies are required to report. Even if this brings with it a great deal of transparency and engagement with sustainable corporate governance, it is also a fact that this reporting obligation represents a critical resource issue, especially for smaller organisations, because no central departments can be maintained for this purpose.

Nevertheless, I would also like to encourage these companies to consider the question: "What do we mean by sustainability in our company?" as part of a participatory process. I am sure that the companies even have the chance to implement ideas more quickly because perhaps more pragmatic decisions are made, decision-making processes are shorter and people are more willing to try out new approaches.

There are many key questions for everyday business life.

These are all examples of questions that each member of an organisation can answer for themselves and together with the team. The more participatory this process is, the greater the acceptance of and identification with sustainable action, whereby the overall vision must be supported by the company management. All attempts at measurability and reporting should focus on working towards a common, sustainable corporate vision.